Showing papers on "Rebound effect (conservation) published in 2020"
TL;DR: In this article, the panel smooth transition regression technique was employed to explore the optimal threshold values for CO2 emissions reduction in the case of OECD countries and emerging economies, and the results showed that: (1) OECD countries are at a level of excessive technological progress, which will have a rebound effect and increase CO 2 emissions.
137 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors classified the most important academic studies that have addressed the environmental and economic aspects of industrial energy-efficiency programs using a systematic review, and provided some novel recommendations to improve the performance of IEEPs, using some restrictive policies on the negative impacts of rebound effects.
59 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors developed a quantile regression model to measure the magnitude of the direct rebound effect for residential electricity demand based on micro-level data from an original survey of a representative sample of 2356 French households.
46 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors decompose and study different effects of technological progress on carbon emissions in China based on the combination of the logarithmic mean divisia index method, the Solow residual model, and spatial econometrics.
Abstract: In this paper, we respectively decompose and study different effects of technological progress on carbon emissions in China based on the combination of the logarithmic mean Divisia index method, the Solow residual model, and spatial econometrics. Furthermore, we propose an improved approach to estimate the rebound effect index. By comparing the different effects of technological progress on carbon emissions, our results indicate that China's overall domestic technological progress reduced its carbon emissions over this period. As for the rebound effect index, the estimated results are higher than in previous studies because of the spatial rebound effect, which was ignored by previous studies. Regionally, although the eastern region had high rebound effects, the western region is at the greatest risk from the rebound effects. Finally, we present specific environmental policy proposals for China's sustainable development based on empirical results.
46 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigated the bidirectional relationship between changes in cropland area and intensity, using a global cross-country panel dataset over 55 years, from 1961-2016.
Abstract: In the context of growing societal demands for land-based products, crop production can be increased through expanding cropland or intensifying production on cultivated land. Intensification can allow sparing land for nature, but it can also drive further expansion of cropland, i.e., a rebound effect. Conversely, constraints on cropland expansion may induce intensification. We tested these hypotheses by investigating the bidirectional relationships between changes in cropland area and intensity, using a global cross-country panel dataset over 55 years, from 1961-2016. We used a cointegration approach with additional tests to disentangle long- and short-run causal relations between variables, and total factor productivity and yields as two measures of intensification. Over the long run we found support for the induced intensification thesis for low-income countries. In the short run, intensification resulted in a rebound effect in middle-income countries, which include many key agricultural producers strongly competitive in global agricultural commodity markets. This rebound effect manifested for commodities with high price-elasticity of demand, including rubber, flex crops (sugarcane, oil palm and soybean), and tropical fruits. Over the long run, strong rebound effects remained for key commodities such as flex crops and rubber. The intensification of staple cereals such as wheat and rice resulted in significant land sparing. Intensification in low-income countries, driven by increases in total factor productivity, was associated with a stronger rebound effect than yields increases. Agglomeration economies may drive yield increases for key tropical commodity crops. Our study design enables the analysis of other complex long- and short-run causal dynamics in land and social-ecological systems.
40 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors compared the rebound effects of fossil and non-fossil energy consumption separately, and found that non-energy consumption had a higher rebound effect than fossil energy and that technological progress was helpful in decreasing the proportion of fossil energy consumption.
Abstract: Although the rebound effect caused by technological progress has been widely accepted, few studies have estimated and compared the rebound effects of fossil and nonfossil energy separately, because fossil and nonfossil energy consumption have different effects on sustainable development. We use the data envelopment analysis–Malmquist index, logarithmic mean Divisia index, and Jacobian matrix methods to estimate and compare the rebound effects of China's fossil and nonfossil energy during 2006–2014. Empirical results show that nonfossil energy had a higher rebound effect than fossil energy and that technological progress was helpful in decreasing the proportion of fossil energy consumption. Furthermore, we found that technological progress contributed to increases in the relative price of fossil energy, causing nonfossil energy to be more favored. Simultaneously, nonfossil energy produced a substitution effect on fossil energy over the long term. On the basis of the empirical analysis, we also present some environmental policy implications.
36 citations
TL;DR: The size of the economy-wide rebound effect from an energy efficiency improvement is crucial for estimating the contribution that energy efficiency improvements can make to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and for understanding the drivers of energy use as mentioned in this paper.
33 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, an agent-based model is used to simulate standard and smart home electricity consumption and GHG emissions during the simulations, and the authors show that, while indirect rebound effect in smart homes is low (about 5% in the simulations), the choice of metric used for smart electricity management is key to maximize the GHG emission reductions of smart homes.
Abstract: Decreasing the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the residential sector is critical to the low-carbon transition. Applying information and communication technologies to power systems makes it possible to reduce GHG emissions in the residential sector, for example through the development of smart homes. Smart homes are more energy efficient and thus, they may be prone to the rebound effect (RE), (i.e., an increase in demand following the introduction of more efficient technology). Moreover, because the electricity's environmental impacts, cost and demand all vary over time, the potential for RE may also fluctuate. Accounting for these temporal aspects could therefore provide more insights into how and why potential RE may occur in smart homes, especially with regard to households' behaviours. In this study, an agent-based model is used to simulate standard and smart home electricity consumption. Life cycle assessment and environmentally extended input-output tables are used to calculate the households' electricity consumption and RE GHG emissions during the simulations. Results show that, while indirect RE in smart homes is low (about 5% in the simulations), the choice of metric used for smart electricity management is key to maximize the GHG emissions reductions of smart homes. When smart homes perform load shifting based on an economic rather than environmental signal, RE increases by almost five-fold. Moreover, certain periods, such as weekdays or the winter season, lead to more significant RE. Thus, considering factors that decrease RE could enable smart homes to reach their full potential contribution to sustainability.
31 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors analyzed energy usage behavior in households, using a mix of primary and secondary techniques, and found that seasonal consumption trends correlated with climatic parameters, use of inefficient equipment and rebound effect.
30 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the LMDI decomposition analysis is used to investigate the factors affecting coal consumption in energy intensive industries in China, and the empirical findings indices that first, gross industrial output and structural changes had accelerated coal consumption, whereas energy intensity decelerated coal consumption.
29 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors compared the size of the energy rebound effect at both macroeconomic and sectoral levels in different transportation modal subsectors, namely rail, road, water, and air travel.
Abstract: Energy use is becoming more efficient due to technological innovations. We focused on the transportation sector in China to develop a national multisector computable general equilibrium (CGE) model for analyzing the rebound effect from an improvement of 10% in the energy efficiency. We compared the size of the energy rebound effect at both the macroeconomic and sectoral levels in different transportation modal subsectors, namely rail, road, water, and air travel. The findings showed that the magnitude of the rebound effect varies across the transportation modes. This is particularly true for the air transportation sector, which has an economy-wide rebound effect of 30.1% and an own-sector rebound effect of 74.6% because of a sharp increase in the export demand for air transport services. We also quantitatively evaluated the contribution of energy efficiency improvement in the transportation sector to China’s economic growth and carbon reductions and found a positive dividend effect on the economy as well as the environment. The modeling results suggest that improving overall transportation energy efficiency by 10% generates an economy-wide welfare gain of approximately 29 billion yuan, while 19 billion yuan are attributable to a more efficient road transportation subsector. Furthermore, to offset the effects of these mode-specific rebound effects, we simulated the effectiveness of different policies and solutions. These included economic instruments in the form of energy, environmental, and carbon taxes, household transport consumption structure adjustments, and energy structure adjustments. This study revealed that combining these sustainable development policies offers opportunities for economy-wide multisectoral improvements in energy savings, emissions reduction, and economic benefits.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors assessed the environmental rebound effect in the household sector from increased shares of wind power into the Colombian power grid, across six environmental impacts and for the period 2020-2030.
TL;DR: This article found that larger, less fuel efficient vehicles are more responsive to fuel price changes than smaller vehicles and that drivers in urban areas are more sensitive to fuel prices than drivers in rural areas.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined a field experiment in Austria that investigated rebates and non-monetary incentives to reduce household electricity consumption during evening peak demand times and found that households reduced their consumption in response to the monetary incentive but were then subject to a substantial rebound effect whereby their electricity consumption increased overall.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors analyzed data from 409 households from 2016 to 2017 using an interactive regression model with human behavior indicators, contrary to the wildly accepted view that new technologies can have a rebound effect (RE), they found that house DER not only facilitate environment protection in terms of limiting emissions but also inhibit electricity usage through a negative rebound effect.
TL;DR: In this article, a new function, average of vehicle kilometer traveled in a unit of time (AVKT), is suggested for calculating the average distance driven by a car over a given period of time, based on the cost of fuel, the car's energy efficiency, the driver's environmental awareness quotient, and the rebound effect.
TL;DR: A distributed look-ahead scheduling scheme for smart buildings to smooth power fluctuations in the distribution network to improve the regulation efficiency and the solution methodology can be applied in real-time even though the decomposition algorithm is called repeatedly.
TL;DR: In this paper, the effect of local government decision-making competition on regional carbon emissions is analyzed, and four measures can reduce the influence of such competition on carbon emissions: improving the performance evaluation system of local governments; promoting the marketization of factor prices; improving both the energy efficiency and upgrading of industrial structures; and introducing macro emission reduction policies that allow the central government to intervene directly.
Abstract: Analyzing the effect of local government decision‐making competition on regional carbon emissions is important for reducing carbon emissions in rapidly urbanizing areas. Taking the energy rebound effect into account, this study analyzes the effect on carbon emissions of competition between local governments in decision making. Focusing on China's three urban agglomerations, this study further discusses how to avoid this influence. The results show that local government decision‐making competition is one of the main causes of the regional “green paradox”; the effect of local government decision‐making competition on carbon emissions has significant regional heterogeneity and spatial dependence, and the short‐term energy rebound effect is greater than the long‐term energy rebound effect; and local government decision‐making competition has three effects on carbon emissions that also have interaction and substitution effects between them: factor market distortion, investment bias, and the “race to the bottom” of environmental policies. However, four measures can reduce the effect of local government decision‐making competition on carbon emissions: one, improving the performance evaluation system of local governments; two, promoting the marketization of factor prices; three, improving both the energy efficiency and upgrading of industrial structures; and four, introducing macro emission reduction policies that allow the central government to intervene directly.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors empirically assess the effects of energy taxation on the rebound effect and find that a tax rate of 3.76% would totally counteract the economy-wide rebound effect of 82.82% they estimate for the Spanish economy.
Abstract: The rebound effect reflects the difference between the expected energy savings from energy efficiency, and the real ones, considering the former is higher than the latter. In some extreme cases, some scholars consider energy use can even increase after an energy efficiency improvement. This is due to agents’ behavioural responses. After almost four decades of theoretical and empirical studies in the field, there is a strong consensus amongst energy economists that the rebound effect of energy efficiency exists, although its importance is still being discussed. However, there are few empirical studies exploring its potential solutions. In this research, we empirically assess the effects of energy taxation on the rebound effect. Using a dynamic energy-economy computable general equilibrium (CGE) model of the Spanish economy, we test a global energy efficiency increase of 5.00%, and at the same time, different ad valorem tax rates on energy industries. We find that a tax rate of 3.76% would totally counteract the economy-wide rebound effect of 82.82% we estimate for the Spanish economy. This tax rate would still allow some economic benefits provided by the increase of energy productivity.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors track and quantify the factors sourcing the energy efficiency improvement (EEI) resulting from 5, 7, and 10% EEI shocks at macro and sector levels in Iran.
TL;DR: Concerns on some emerging concerns on the socio-economic effects of a pandemic on the environment from a rebound effect perspective are reflected.
Abstract: The irruption of the COVID-19 pandemic has raised concerns on sustainability issues. The pandemic has accelerated the implementation of technologies such as ICT and shifts in mobility behaviour. Such changes have the potential to reduce environmental burdens, but also to trigger large environmental rebound effects. This perspective article reflects on some emerging concerns on the socio-economic effects of a pandemic on the environment from a rebound effect perspective. Although the pandemic offers potential to improve the environmental conditions, it brings also a high risk to produce Jevons' Paradox, i.e., increase environmental burdens rather than decrease them, as initially expected. Governments should be aware of these risks and assess the possibility to implement additional measures, like environmental taxation or limiting the use of resources, to help achieving sustainability targets.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors estimate the water rebound effect in the agricultural crop farming by combining Slacks-based Measure (SBM•based) of Malmquist Index and Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index (LMDI) method.
Abstract: By using the data of 30 provinces from 1998 to 2016 in China, this paper estimates the water rebound effect in the agricultural crop farming by combining Slacks‐based Measure (SBM‐based) of Malmquist Index and Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index (LMDI) method. We find that the average water rebound effect is 70.3%, implying that over two‐thirds of the water saving from irrigation technology improvement is offset by higher water consumption. We find evidence on the regional heterogeneity in terms of the magnitude of rebound: Southwest is the highest, whereas Northwest is the lowest. The heterogeneous rebound effect across regions is mainly due to the difference in water endowment and irrigation land availability. Our results indicate that irrigation technology improvement is not necessarily sufficient for achieving agricultural water conservation. In particular, the difference in natural geography conditions across regions needs to be considered in designing water conservation policies at a sub‐regional level.
TL;DR: Based on the panel data of electricity industry in 30 provinces of China from 1997 to 2013, the authors systematically examined the rebound effects of electricity consumption under the two sources of technological progress, namely independent innovation and technology import.
TL;DR: Wang et al. as mentioned in this paper studied the energy-conservation and emission-reduction potentials of the three major energy-consuming industries in China and designed the implementation paths to achieve the emission reduction target set at the Paris Climate Conference.
TL;DR: The authors argue that well-resourced actors co-opt energy efficiency increases to provide new or enhanced CO2-producing goods and services while fostering public desire for these and lobbying vigorously against tighter CO2 emissions standards.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigated the potential for meeting Denmark's Energy Efficiency Directive (EED) target through a policy-induced increase in households' investments in energy efficiency retrofits and showed that reducing the hurdle rate from 25% to 4% could meet more than a third of Danish energy-saving requirements for the period 2021-2030.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors show that fuel economy gains measured on laboratory test cycles, adjusted for on-road conditions and weighted by the distribution of vehicles by age and their relative use, closely match estimates by the Federal Highway Administration based primarily on traffic counts and motor fuel tax records.
TL;DR: Wang et al. as discussed by the authors proposed an improved production-theoretical decomposition analysis (PDA)-Meta-frontier Malmquist index (MMI)-based method and explored carbon rebound effects in China from 2006 to 2015.
21 Jun 2020
TL;DR: The term skill rebound is proposed to denote the digitalization-induced lowered skill requirements needed to perform a specific activity, which leads to an increase in the activity in question and thus to rebound effects.
Abstract: Efficiency gains in economic processes often do not deliver the projected overall savings. Irrespective of whether the increase in efficiency saves energy, resources, time or transaction costs, there are various mechanisms that spur additional consumption as a consequence. These mechanisms are generically called rebound effects, and they are problematic from a sustainability perspective as they decrease or outweigh the environmental benefits of efficiency gains. Since one of the overarching purposes of digitalization is to increase efficiency, rebound effects are bound to occur frequently in its wake. Rebound effects of digitalization have been ignored until recently, but they have been increasingly studied lately. One particular mechanism of digital rebound, however, has been largely disregarded so far: the digitalization-induced lowered skill requirements needed to perform a specific activity. As with other types of rebound effects, this leads to an increase in the activity in question. In this paper, we propose the term skill rebound to denote this mechanism. We use the example of self-driving cars to show how digitalization can lower the skill bar for operating a vehicle, and how this opens 'driving' a car to entirely new socio-demographic categories such as elderly, children or even pets, leading to increased use of the (transportation) service in question and thus to rebound effects. We finally argue that these unintended environmental effects of skill rebound must be better understood and taken into account in the design of new digital technologies.