Energy Evaluation Europe 2025

❔ What do energy policy measures actually achieve?
❔ How do we evaluate not only their efficiency, but also their effectiveness?
❔ And how do these findings feed back into the policy process?

Under the motto “Show me the evidence: Evaluation as the decision maker’s best resource,” scientists from the Energy Evaluation Community from all over Europe gathered in Berlin last week for Energy Evaluation Europe 2025—and discussed precisely these questions.

💡 There were many exciting answers: The focus was on the further development of applied evaluation methods, the expansion of data skills, and dealing with data availability. At the same time, there was a heated debate about how much evidence is actually necessary and how detailed evaluations need to be in order to remain scientifically sound on the one hand, but manageable for political decisions on the other. It’s an exciting balancing act.

The question of how scientific findings can be effectively reflected in policy was also a recurring theme throughout the conference. In his opening keynote speech, Claude Turmes emphasized research findings as the most important foundation for forward-looking policy—and called on the scientific community to actively seek dialogue with policymakers. In the closing panel, Carolin Friedemann and Heinrich Strößenreuther underscored the power of narratives and the importance of mutual understanding for successful communication.

IREES was represented by Eberhard Prof. Dr.-Ing. Jochem, who gave a presentation on accelerating transformation through energy efficiency and climate protection networks, and Heike Brugger, who co-curated the conference’s special issue in advance.
👉 Click here for the open access special issue

This was a valuable exchange that we will incorporate into our work and collaborations.

IREES – RESEARCH FOR FUTURE 🌍🍃