John Dimitropoulos

Bio: John Dimitropoulos is an academic researcher from University of Sussex. The author has contributed to research in topics: Rebound effect (conservation) & Energy policy. The author has an hindex of 4, co-authored 4 publications receiving 943 citations.

UKERC Review of evidence for the rebound effect: Technical report 2: Econometric studies

Abstract: This Working Paper examines the evidence for direct rebound effects that is available from studies that use econometric techniques to analyse secondary data. The focus throughout is on consumer energy services, since this is where the bulk of the evidence lies.

UKERC Review of evidence for the rebound effect: Technical report 5: Energy, productivity and economic growth studies

Abstract: This report forms part of the TPA’s assessment of evidence for a rebound effect from improved energy efficiency. Technical Report 5 focuses upon the relationship between energy, productivity and economic growth and examines the claim that improved energy efficiency will increase economy-wide energy consumption - the so-called ‘Khazzoom-Brookes postulate’.

Reducing energy demand: A review of issues, challenges and approaches

Abstract: Most commentators expect improved energy efficiency and reduced energy demand to provide the dominant contribution to tackling global climate change. But at the global level, the correlation between increased wealth and increased energy consumption is very strong and the impact of policies to reduce energy demand is both limited and contested. Different academic disciplines approach energy demand reduction in different ways: emphasising some mechanisms and neglecting others, being more or less optimistic about the potential for reducing energy demand and providing insights that are more or less useful for policymakers. This article provides an overview of the main issues and challenges associated with energy demand reduction, summarises how this challenge is ‘framed’ by key academic disciplines, indicates how these can provide complementary insights for policymakers and argues that a ‘sociotechnical’ perspective can provide a deeper understanding of the nature of this challenge and the processes through which it can be achieved. The article integrates ideas from the natural sciences, economics, psychology, innovation studies and sociology but does not give equal weight to each. It argues that reducing energy demand will prove more difficult than is commonly assumed and current approaches will be insufficient to deliver the transformation required.

Circular economy rebound

Abstract: Summary The so-called circular economy—the concept of closing material loops to preserve products, parts, and materials in the industrial system and extract their maximum utility—has recently started gaining momentum. The idea of substituting lower-impact secondary production for environmentally intensive primary production gives the circular economy a strong intuitive environmental appeal. However, proponents of the circular economy have tended to look at the world purely as an engineering system and have overlooked the economic part of the circular economy. Recent research has started to question the core of the circular economy—namely, whether closing material and product loops does, in fact, prevent primary production. In this article, we argue that circular economy activities can increase overall production, which can partially or fully offset their benefits. Because there is a strong parallel in this respect to energy efficiency rebound, we have termed this effect “circular economy rebound.” Circular economy rebound occurs when circular economy activities, which have lower per-unit-production impacts, also cause increased levels of production, reducing their benefit. We describe the mechanisms that cause circular economy rebound, which include the limited ability of secondary products to substitute for primary products, and price effects. We then offer some potential strategies for avoiding circular economy rebound. However, these strategies are unlikely to be attractive to for-profit firms, so we caution that simply encouraging private firms to find profitable opportunities in the circular economy is likely to cause rebound and lower or eliminate the potential environmental benefits.