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.

Consumer needs and their satiation properties as drivers of the rebound effect - The case of energy-efficient washing machines

Abstract: The possibility of the "rebound effect" to technological progress has triggered a debate in energy economics concerning the usefulness of the promotion of efficiency progress. Until now, a multitude of empirical evidence has been gathered so to assess the magnitude of the effect in the first place. Progress in theoretical research has been rather modest, however. In this paper, we argue for a broadening of the theoretical basis beyond neoclassical consumer theory. We more specifically suggest turning toward consumption theories that deal with consumer needs and learning processes. We postulate that the rebound effect to energy efficiency progress is a special case of behavioral reactions to technological change more in general. Our central hypothesis is that rebound effects will only occur as long as the consumer needs appealed to by the product are not yet satiated. We exemplarily illustrate how to apply these arguments for the case of energyefficient washing machines.

Energy efficiency - Trends, determinants, trade-offs and rebound effects with examples from Swedish housing

Abstract: This thesis is based on five separate papers. The first paper analyses the development of the Swedish building sector over time by decomposing CO2 emissions in underlying trends, and studying separate energy use trends for existing buildings, new buildings and best available technology. The results show rapid improvements in energy efficiency during the seventies, but that this development stagnated in both existing and new buildings in the late eighties and nineties, and that the diffusion of energy efficient technologies appears to be slow. The specific energy use for heating in average new buildings is twice as high as in the best performing buildings 20 years ago. The second paper deals with the causes of these trends, including an econometric part and a qualitative part. The third paper handles indirect energy use and CO2 emissions coupled to the production phase of buildings. Results from an input-output analysis are disaggregated into activities and materials which can be compared to results from bottom-up studies. The results show only minor differences for production and processing of building materials, but for other upstream sectors such as transport, services and production of machines, the input-output analysis gives much higher values. This implies that bottom-up studies may underestimate the relative importance of energy use in the production phase in relation to the use phase. The forth paper handles rebound effects of energy efficiency improvements caused by decreasing prices of energy services as well as by reduced direct energy expenditures which can be redirected to other goods and services. Different parameter assumptions are tested. The total rebound effects of energy efficiency appear to be in the range of 5 to 15 percent in most cases, but cases with low or negative investment costs for energy efficiency may result in higher values. The fifth paper is an optimization study on the potential trade-offs between energy efficient supply systems (combined heat and power/district heating) and energy efficient end-use of heat. The cost effective solution depends to a large extent on the relation between the electricity price and the CO2 price. This in turn depends on what technologies that are available for electricity production. Without alternatives to basic condensing electricity production, high CO2 prices result in high electricity prices, high profitability of combined heat and power and thus little incentive to reduce heat demand. In contrast, if low CO2 alternatives are available, the electricity price levels out at high CO2 prices. In this case, end-use efficiency measures may be cost effective also in buildings with district heating.

The Role of Government Climate Policy in an Oil Price Shock: A CGE Simulation Analysis

Abstract: Malaysia has made a pledge to reduce its 2005 GDP emission intensity levels by up to 40% by 2020 as its contribution to combat climate change. One of the proposed policies to achieve this goal is carbon taxation. We used a computable general equilibrium model to analyse the results of three scenarios - the impact of an oil price shock, the implementing of the climate policy on the Malaysian economy and the oil price rise when the Malaysian climate policy is implemented. We also attempt to assess how these scenarios contribute to the mitigation of rebound effect. The Malaysian climate policy implies a gain on the Malaysian economy of around 0.8% of GDP. The oil price shock in the presence of the Malaysian climate policy implied an additional gain on it of 0.2% of GDP (making a total gain of 1% of GDP), but this is equal to the 1% of GDP that Malaysia would lose from the oil price rise in the absence of the climate policy. This is implying that the climate policy is a potential economic protection for Malaysia. The climate policy and oil price shock would lead to mitigation of rebound effect in Malaysian economy.