Regulation of energy efficiency by voluntary agreement : South Africa's energy efficiency accord.
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Date
2008
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Abstract
Energy efficiency is an issue currently generating huge interest as a potentially costeffective
solution to the twin challenges of environmental pollution from energy production,
and the increasing scarcity of energy resources. This research aims to interrogate the
practicalities of regulation of energy efficiency to ask what scope there is for public-led
encouragement of greater energy savings in industry. Shortcomings of current theory
addressed include a discounting of the impact of heterogeneity of industrial activity on
prospects to effectively regulate for energy efficiency, and a conflation of the different
aspects of societal functioning to which energy efficiency regulations and incentives can
be applied. The research argues that the scope for energy savings has been exaggerated
and the factors which drive pursuit of energy efficiency within firms of different sizes poorly
understood and articulated. The Voluntary Agreement form of environmental regulation is
assessed for its applicability to regulating for energy efficiency in the context of these
characteristics of energy efficiency in industrial settings. An in-depth interview approach
with core participants in an example of a Voluntary Agreement for energy efficiency in
South Africa, the Energy Efficiency Accord (Accord), reveals the difficulties of regulating
for specific technologies, the generally targeted nature of energy efficiency incentive
schemes which provide household and commercial-type programmes to heavy industry,
and the fact that environmental objectives and capacities are highly developed within firms
interviewed and in most cases precede participation in Accord activities. The inference is
that participation at this stage of the Accord's existence is driven by the need to develop
and maintain relations between key stakeholders, and to exploit opportunities to influence
the form of energy efficiency regulation enacted as opposed to the need to obtain forms of
technical guidance. The particular pattern of participation in the Accord is argued to result
in part from the historical dominance of large, energy-intensive firms in South Africa, and
to be consistent with the theory that the more energy-intensive firms in a society will be
motivated to participate in voluntary initiatives such as the Accord.
Description
Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2008.
Keywords
Energy consumption--South Africa., Energy conservation--South Africa., Theses--Development studies.