Energy Savings Certificates: Instrument Overview and Prospects for Reduction of Synthetic Nitrogen and Pesticides in Agriculture

The article presents the Energy Savings Certificates (ESC) mechanism, a market-based policy tool aimed at reducing energy use across diffuse sectors, including agriculture. It explains that energy suppliers, known as "obligated parties", must achieve defined energy savings by promoting efficiency measures among their clients or incur penalties. In agriculture, 27 standardised actions generate certificates, mainly in greenhouse horticulture, although agricultural ESC represent under 1% of total certificates. The paper discusses how adapting ESC to agriculture can support reductions in indirect energy use and environmental inputs like synthetic nitrogen fertiliser and pesticides. It also highlights the scheme’s flexibility to foster innovation, collective approaches, and the challenges of evaluating input reduction actions.