Energy policy after 2020 Economic arguments to pursue energy policy for non-climate related reasons

This research investigates the contribution of sustainable energy policy and energy saving policy to the public goals of energy policy in the Netherlands. Not surprisingly current discussion about sustainable energy policy focus on the contribution of energy policy to the goals of climate policy, i.e. the mitigation of climate damage as a result of the production and consumption of energy. This overshadows many other effects of sustainable energy and energy saving. This study highlights these other objectives for sustainable energy policy and energy saving. This study examines the public goals of energy policy for non-climate related reasons through the lens of market failures. The general conclusion is that sustainability, energy security and affordability of energy only partially support a case for sustainable energy if as a thought experiment we ignore the case for climate change. In that case air pollution is the most important reason to promote sustainable energy as a public goal of energy policy. For energy security and affordability the impact of sustainable energy may in fact be negative. Energy saving does contribute to sustainability, energy security and affordability of energy as public goals and achieves a positive contribution in a cost effective way.