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Energy Efficiency Indicators (Recommendation 1.4)

Developing effective energy efficiency policies requires a good understanding of how energy is used and the various factors that drive or restrain demand. Such an understanding requires accurate data on energy end-use and the associated activities. To this end, the IEA has developed in-depth energy efficiency indicators to provide state-ofthe- art data and analysis on energy use, efficiency development and policy. Likewise, the availability of detailed end-used data has increased in many countries in the past few years.

Despite this progress, the IEA has identified significant gaps in the completeness, timeliness and quality of the required energy and other data.

Collecting data carries a cost for companies, organisations and countries. However, lack of data - or not having the right data - may lead to misinformed policy decisions and suboptimal choices that proved to be far more costly than the long-term. Therefore, governments should ensure that their energy efficiency policies are supported by adequate end-user information.

Recommendation

i) This will require governments to increase the resources allocated to energy end-use data collection

ii) At a minimum, governments should ensure that they are able to complete and submit the annual energy efficiency data template developed by the IEA in co-operation with other organisations