Showing papers on "Rebound effect (conservation) published in 2015"

Literature review on rebound effect of water saving measures and analysis of a Spanish case study

Abstract: The hypothesis of a rebound effect as a consequence of water saving investments is taken analogically from the Jevons paradox models in energy economics. The European Commission (EC) alert about the consequences in water stressed regions that are investing heavily in modernization of irrigation networks and systems. This paper reviews the literature, linking water savings with water diversion and water depletion, both from theoretical models and empirical evidence from the published research. In order to increase knowledge of this phenomenon, a new empirical case study is presented based on a survey of 36,000 ha of recently modernized irrigated areas in the Guadalquivir basin (southern Spain). The results of the case study illustrates the conditions that may avoid rebound effect, although the results of the available empirical evidence and the published theoretical research are diverse and lead to contradictory results. Further research is therefore needed to determine the causes and solutions of water saving investment impacts and the possible speculative rebound effect.

The Rebound Effect and Energy Efficiency Policy

Abstract: What do we know about the size of the rebound effect? Should we believe claims that energy efficiency improvements lead to an increase in energy use? This paper clarifies what the rebound effect is, and provides a guide for economists and policymakers interested in its magnitude. We describe how some papers in the literature consider the rebound effect from a costless exogenous increase in energy efficiency, while others examine the effects of a particular energy efficiency policy — a distinction that leads to very different welfare and policy implications. We present the most reliable evidence available quantifying the energy efficiency rebound, and discuss areas where estimation is extraordinarily difficult. Along these lines, we offer a new way of thinking about the macroeconomic rebound effect. Overall, the existing research provides little support for the so-called “backfire” hypothesis. Still, much remains to be understood, particularly relating to induced innovation and productivity growth.

The Microeconomic Theory of the Rebound Effect and Its Welfare Implications

Abstract: Economists have long noted that improving energy efficiency could lead to a rebound effect, reducing or possibly even eliminating the energy savings from the efficiency improvement. This paper develops a generalized model to highlight features of the theory of the microeconomic rebound effect that are particularly relevant to empirical economists. We demonstrate when common elasticity identities used for empirical estimation are biased and how gross complement and substitute relationships govern this bias. Furthermore, we formally derive the welfare implications of the rebound effect to provide clarity for ongoing policy debates about the rebound.

Worldwide impacts of climate change on energy for heating and cooling

Abstract: The energy sector is not only a major contributor to greenhouse gases, it is also vulnerable to climate change and will have to adapt to future climate conditions. The objective of this study is to analyze the impacts of changes in future temperatures on the heating and cooling services of buildings and the resulting energy and macro-economic effects at global and regional levels. For this purpose, the techno-economic TIAM-WORLD (TIMES Integrated Assessment Model) and the general equilibrium GEMINI-E3 (General Equilibrium Model of International-National Interactions between Economy, Energy and Environment) models are coupled with a climate model, PLASIM-ENTS (Planet-Simulator- Efficient Numerical Terrestrial Scheme). The key results are as follows. At the global level, the climate feedback induced by adaptation of the energy system to heating and cooling is found to be insignificant, partly because heating and cooling-induced changes compensate and partly because they represent a limited share of total final energy consumption. However, significant changes are observed at regional levels, more particularly in terms of additional power capacity required to satisfy additional cooling services, resulting in increases in electricity prices. In terms of macro-economic impacts, welfare gains and losses are associated more with changes in energy exports and imports than with changes in energy consumption for heating and cooling. The rebound effect appears to be non-negligible. To conclude, the coupling of models of different nature was successful and showed that the energy and economic impacts of climate change on heating and cooling remain small at the global level, but changes in energy needs will be visible at more local scale.

Drought and the rebound effect: a Murray–Darling Basin example

Abstract: Droughts are natural hazards, to which irrigators must adapt. Climate change is expected to increase both the frequency and severity of future droughts. A common adaptation is investment in water-efficient technology. However, increased efficiency can paradoxically result in rebound effects: higher resource demand among consumptive users, and lower flow benefits for environmental users. Under an assumption of increasing future drought conditions, we examine anticipated rebound effect impacts on environmental and private irrigator water availability/use outcomes from current water efficiency-centric policy in Australia’s Murray–Darling Basin. We determine that rebound effects for environmental and private irrigation interests are likely. Our results identify greater technological change and higher consumptive land and water demand in northern Basin annual production systems, as irrigators switch to perennial cropping systems under subsidization incentives. Policy incentives to encourage water use efficiency paradoxically reduce environmental flow volumes on average. We find that environmental policy objectives will only be achieved when water is not a binding production constraint, typically in wet states of nature.

An analysis of the household energy rebound effect from a practice perspective: spatial and temporal dimensions

Abstract: This article presents and discusses results from an empirical study of people’s uses of various types of heat pumps in Norwegian homes. We analyze the rebound effect from a practice theory perspective. In-depth interviews were conducted with 28 homes in 2012 and 2013, and in two cases, we observed the process and aftermath of the installations of heat pumps. We disentangle the motives behind people’s acquisition of heat pumps and examine how heat pumps are taken in use, that is, the ways heat pumps form part of—and modify—the social practices into which they are integrated, whether related to heating, comfort, time management, or other routines and concerns. The results show that a comfort rebound effect (direct rebound) is at work in two specific senses. First, a “temporal rebound” occurs as people expand the amount of time the home is heated. Secondly, the heat pump enables a physical expansion of the heated space, which we refer to as the “spatial rebound”. We show that three sources of agency contribute to these shifts: people’s own practical knowledge, expert knowledge, and the heat pump’s embedded script. Our findings indicate that the ways that heat pumps are viewed and used differ significantly between the suppliers who promote them and the households who buy and use them.

The Rebound Effect in Home Heating: A guide for policymakers and practitioners

Abstract: This is a definitive guide to the rebound effect in home heating – the increase in energy service use after a technological intervention aimed at reducing consumption. It sets out what the effect is, how it plays out in the home heating sector, what this implies for energy saving initiatives in this sector, and how it relates to rebound effects in other sectors. The book outlines how the concept of the rebound effect has been developed and the scope of research on it, both generally and particularly in the home heating sector. Within the context of energy and CO2 emissions policy, it summarises the empirical evidence, exploring its causes and the attempts that are being made to mitigate it. Various definitions of the rebound effect are considered, in particular the idea of the effect as an energy-efficiency ‘elasticity’. The book shows how this definition can be rigorously applied to thermal retrofits, and to national consumption data, to give logically consistent rebound effect results that can be coherently compared with those of other sectors, and allow policy makers to have more confidence in the predictions about potential energy savings.

Fuel price elasticities in the U.S. combination trucking sector

Abstract: This paper estimates fuel price elasticities of combination trucking operations in the United States between 1970 and 2012. We evaluate trucking operations in terms of vehicle miles traveled and fuel consumption for combination trucks. Our explanatory variables include measures of economic activity, energy prices, and indicator variables that account for important regulatory shifts and changes in data collection and reporting in national transportation datasets. Our results suggest that fuel price elasticities in the United States’ trucking sector have shifted from an elastic environment in the 1970s to a relatively inelastic environment today. We discuss the importance of these results for policymakers in light of new policies that aim to limit energy consumption and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from heavy-duty vehicles.

What Drives Austrian Raw Material Consumption?: A Structural Decomposition Analysis for the Years 1995 to 2007

Abstract: The growth in Austria's raw material consumption (RMC) or material footprint is driven by changes in consumption and production. In using the tool of structural decomposition analysis and applying it to Austrian RMC between 1995 and 2007, three specific drivers (technology, composition, and volume of final demand) are identified and quantified. The overall growth of Austrian RMC across the period of time under investigation shows that neither improved production or consumption efficiency nor reduction of consumption alone can lead to absolute material savings. The “rebound effect” has been used to describe how efficiency gains can be offset by growth in overall consumption, putting “degrowth” on the agenda of sustainability sciences and political movements. Absolute decoupling, that is, simultaneous growth in gross domestic product (GDP) and reduction of RMC, can only be achieved if reductions in final demand volume as a driver of material use are not offset by increases as a result of the changing final demand mix and/or technology effect (and vice versa). The Austrian case study provides very little evidence for such developments having occurred simultaneously during the period of time under investigation. In order for economic degrowth to contribute to lower material use and thus greater environmental protection, it must occur not only quantitatively, but also qualitatively in production and consumption structures

Transitioning to energy efficient vehicles: An analysis of the potential rebound effects and subsequent impact upon emissions

Abstract: Given the shift toward energy efficient vehicles (EEVs) in recent years, it is important that the effects of this transition are properly examined. This paper investigates some of these effects by analyzing annual kilometers traveled (AKT) of private vehicle owners in Stockholm in 2008. The difference in emissions associated with EEV adoption is estimated, along with the effect of a congestion-pricing exemption for EEVs on vehicle usage. Propensity score matching is used to compare AKT rates of different vehicle owner groups based on the treatments of: EEV ownership and commuting across the cordon, controlling for confounding factors such as demographics. Through this procedure, rebound effects are identified, with some EEV owners found to have driven up to 12.2% further than non-EEV owners. Although some of these differences could be attributed to the congestion-pricing exemption, the results were not statistically significant. Overall, taking into account lifecycle emissions of each fuel type, average EEV emissions were 50.5% less than average non-EEV emissions, with this reduction in emissions offset by 2.0% due to rebound effects. Although it is important for policy-makers to consider the potential for unexpected negative effects in similar transitions, the overall benefit of greatly reduced emissions appears to outweigh any rebound effects present in this case study.