ABSTRACT
The term ‘policy’ can be used with a variety of meanings. In this chapter, the focus is on government policies, i.e. all initiatives that a government takes to reach a certain social goal.
In this chapter, we first discuss the various reasons why governments introduce energy policies (14.1). Next, the various types of policy instruments will be discussed (14.2). Finally, methods for the analysis of the effectiveness of policy instruments are described (14.3). In this chapter, the focus will be on policies to stimulate energy efficiency improvement and the application of renewable energy.
