Rebound effect (conservation)

About: Rebound effect (conservation) is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 773 publications have been published within this topic receiving 25741 citations.

If Cars Were More Efficient Would We Use Less Fuel

Abstract: If Cars Were More Efficient, Would We Use Less Fuel? B Y K E N N E T H A . S M A L L A N D K U R T VA N D E N D E R R EDUCING US GA SOLINE CONSUMPTION MIGHT SEEM A straightforward task: just increase vehicle fuel efficiency, also known as miles per gallon (MPG). That, of course, is the principle behind the existing Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards. But it’s not that simple. If MPG improves, the cost to drive a mile declines, so people drive more. Some critics have even argued that this “rebound” effect is so large that not much gasoline is saved, and other problems such as congestion are exacerbated. Is this right? Our research measures the size of the rebound effect and discovers that it is not large. Moreover, we find that it has become smaller over time, and is likely to become smaller still. This means that improved fuel efficiency does translate into lower fuel consumption. Our results also have implications for the policy choice between CAFE standards and fuel taxes as ways to reduce energy consumption. This is easiest to understand by relating the rebound effect to a slightly different question: how do drivers respond to changes in fuel prices? Kenneth Small is research professor and professor emeritus of economics at UC Irvine (ksmall@uci.edu). Kurt Van Dender is associate professor of economics at UC Irvine, currently on leave at the Joint Transport Research Centre of the International Transport Forum and the Organisation for Economic Co- operation and Development (kvandend@uci.edu). A C C E S S

Energy conservation, the rebound effect, and future energy and transport technologies: an introduction to energy conservation and the rebound effect

Abstract: Energy conservation is considered an appealing environmental strategy because it is expected to combat climate change, environmental degradation, and resource scarcities, without substantially reducing individual and social welfare However, potential savings resulting from energy-efficiency improvements frequently seem to be overestimated, while economic growth effects may offset possible energy savings Because of behavioral responses evoked by efficiency improvements, the result of an increase in efficiency is not necessarily a decrease of the same percentage in energy use but one that may be a much smaller percentage This outcome is commonly called rebound effect The magnitude of the rebound effect is the key to the absolute effectiveness of technological efficiency improvement and the relative effectiveness of energy-conservation programs vs energy-price or tax policies in reducing energy use While there seems to be no question about the existence of the rebound effect, there is a controversy about its magnitude Since the residential demand for energy services is typically weakly elastic, the rebound effect is rather moderate In the context of transport-efficiency improvements, empirical studies on the rebound effect indicate that its magnitude lies within the range of 10-30%, while only a few analyses display large rebound effects This debate is but one example showing the difficulty of evaluating of environmental programs, such as energy conservation programs It is difficult to accurately measure the energy savings resulting from utility conservation efforts, which is why empirical evidence on the genuine effects of energy conservation measures appears to be weak