Blind spots of energy transition policy - case study of Latvia

Abstract

Most drivers have been blindsided on the road when the car next to them is not visible neither in the side mirror nor when turning their heads to the side. Blind spots like these can also arise during economic development forecasting and developing political documents. Previous experience suggests that in previous energy and climate policy documents, the impact assessment of measures in many countries was not effective, as state aid instruments did not consider the blind spots faced by national economies in the postsupport phase. Blind spots are problems and situations that the energy sector has to face unexpectedly. This paper presents a methodology for the impact analysis of energy policy instruments, including identification of previously unexpected problems – blind spots. The developed methodology is based on the analysis of energy sector legislation and literature on implementation of energy policies, as well as an assessment of financial support instruments in Latvia. Overall, this paper gives an insight into the importance of energy sector policies evaluation and proposes ways to avoid blind spots in the future using the developed methodology.