Moving the Latin American market towards energy efficient appliances: the case of Topten Initiative

Corrales A.A.; Hepp M.; Bush E.; Marroquín M.C. · Eceee Summer Study Proceedings (2021)

Resumen

Residential energy efficiency has been considered one of the most important strategies to reduce the global carbon footprint. Some European countries, like Switzerland, have led in the number and diversity of residential energy efficiency initiatives. Different types of intervention have been implemented by different actors from the public and private sectors, although it is recognized that the latter have deserved less attention. Unlike the European process, Latin American countries present their own and varied contexts that can affect the implementation of energy efficiency initiatives in different ways. For example, the level of environmental commitment, awareness, pricing policies, access to financing and macroeconomic conditions can significantly influence the success of energy initiatives. Topten is a private initiative that pursues the market transformation by promoting purchases of more efficient appliances and products, based on a web platform which shows comparisons of these, based on their energy efficiency. Up to now, this has been implemented in 16 European countries, China, and four Latin American countries (Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Peru). The objective of this article is to study the impact of the Topten initiative in these countries, considering the relevance of five main drivers of impact: (a) Level of development of the website (b) Impact on the development of policy instruments (c) Involvement with retailers and manufacturers (d) Involvement with policy makers (e) Involvement of buyers. The analysis has been carried out using information obtained from the Topten teams implemented in each country, using multicriteria analysis of key indicators. The results can be used as inputs to promote the development of private initiatives as well as public energy efficiency policies.

Instituciones: Universidad La Salle