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Research from economics and psychology suggests that behavioral interventions can be a powerful climate policy instrument. This paper provides a systematic review of the existing empirical evidence on non-price interventions targeting energy conservation behavior of private households. Specifically, we analyze four nudge-like interventions referred to as social comparison, commitment devices, goal setting, and labeling in 44 international studies comprising 105 treatments. This paper differs from previous systematic reviews by solely focusing on studies that permit the identification of causal effects. We find that all four interventions have the potential to significantly reduce energy consumption of private households, yet effect sizes vary immensely. We conclude by emphasizing the importance of impact evaluations before rolling out behavioral policy interventions at scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The rebound effect presents a major flaw in to energy conservation policies that aim to reduce energy consumption through energy efficiency development. Economics and energy related disciplines have thus far developed tools to measure such a phenomenon. This paper attempts to explain this seeming paradox using a thermodynamic-evolutionary theoretical framework in addition to the traditional economic approach. We here propose that evolutionary systems, such as biological or even economic systems, may rearrange themselves in a more complex fashion under the pressure of an increasing flux of energy, driven by the higher conversion rate of greater efficiency. Higher complexity, due to a greater energy density rate, counteracts the positive effects of energy efficiency. We investigated this hypothesis in the context of the road freight transport system and the productive structure. The qualitative analysis in this paper, further substantiated by figures, provides a link between the dynamics of production patterns and the effect of efficiency in the light of the macro-economic effects of increased energy demand. The analysis departs from a rigorous investigation of the actual energy efficiency evolution in the road freight transport system to develop through a survey of the subsequent worldwide economic revolution in the production system. It is then shown how outsourcing, the key feature of globalization, can be identified as the main source of traffic density growth. Finally, four paradigms are used to stress how the shift in the production system must be considered a leap in structural complexity that consequently serves to increase the frequency of components’ interactions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Policymakers are increasingly concerned about rebound effects, which lead to lower savings than expected when energy-efficiency increases. There are difficulties in making coherent comparisons between magnitudes of rebound effects in different sectors, such as home heating, industry and transport. A barrier to this in domestic heating is the conceptual difficulty of estimating rebound effects as energy-efficiency elasticities, since the large, stepwise increases in energy-efficiency through thermal retrofits fit uneasily with differential calculus. This paper offers a solution. Firstly, it develops a ‘cross-sectional’ method in which elasticity-based rebound formulae are used to estimate implied average rebound effects in large datasets of energy consumption and energy efficiency. It then shows how a simple power curve can model these datasets, simplifying the mathematics, giving ‘constant’ rebound effect results that are immediately meaningful, and extending compatibility to rebound effect modelling in other sectors. The method is then extended to case studies of thermal retrofits of individual dwellings. Here the inherent inaccuracy of using linear approximations in rebound effect formulas is also illustrated. The cross-sectional, ‘constant’ rebound effect methodology is offered for wider use in estimating rebound effects in case studies and in domestic heating as more datasets of energy consumption and efficiency become available. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electricity consumption produces private goods, such as heat for homes, but fossil fuel consumption impacts the public goods of clean air and water. While self interests can increase usage, social interests, such as global climate change, can impact an individual's attitude toward energy consumption. This paper examines the tragedy of the commons using household data, and compares the impact of self and social interests in predicting electricity consumption. Using both stated and observed behavioral data, the results show that self interests have a greater impact on energy saving behaviors and electricity use. We extend the analysis to control for an individual's environmental concern and perceived behavioral impact, finding similar results, and supporting the notion that the tragedy of the commons occurs regardless of a person's perception or environmental concern. These findings may explain why pro-environmental attitudes do not necessarily lead to pro-environmental behaviors, and it contributes to our understanding of the motivating factors for energy savings and electricity use by examining both stated and observed behaviors. Policies aimed at electricity reduction may have a greater impact if they focus on private interests, such as pricing, rebates, subsidies, and taxes, rather than social interests alone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rebound effect, or the increased use of energy services following an increase in the efficiency of that service, is widely studied in the literature, but it is usually only considered in a single-service environment. Such a framework ignores the potentially significant indirect rebound effects that occur through increased purchasing power for other services and does not allow for joint efficiency improvements across many services, what we call "efficiency correlation." We develop a household production model with two energy services and distinct but simultaneous efficiency changes to test the implications of efficiency correlation on net energy elasticities and the rebound effect. Positively correlated efficiency choices across end-uses not only increase technically feasible energy reductions but also drive additional rebound responses that erode these savings. Model simulations suggest that the rebound effects through the efficiency correlation channel are just as large as traditional direct and indirect rebound effects reported in the literature, though they are offset by added technical energy savings. Moreover, we find that negative correlation can significantly reverse any energy savings (e.g. a household installs energy-saving window panes but then trades in their sedan for a SUV), but current Federal efficiency standards make this scenario unlikely. This paper offers new insight into a host of additional behavioral responses to efficiency improvements, particularly the incidence of efficiency correlation across different energy services, and highlights its implication for realized energy savings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Is there a trade-off between spending on the green economy and an economy's strength? This paper addresses this question by estimating output multipliers for spending in clean energy and biodiversity conservation, and by comparing these to multipliers of spending on non-ecofriendly energy and land use activities. Using a new international dataset, we arrive at two key results. First, we find that every dollar spent on key carbon-neutral or carbon-sink activities can generate more than a dollar's worth of economic activity, whereas non-green spending returns less than a dollar. Second, for categories of spending where formal comparisons are possible, like renewable versus fossil fuel energy, we find that multipliers on green spending are about twice as large as their non-green counterparts. The point estimates of the multipliers are 1.1–1.7 for renewable energy investment and 0.4–0.7 for fossil fuel energy investment, depending on horizon and specification. These findings survive several robustness checks and lend support to bottom-up analyses that find that stabilizing climate and reversing biodiversity loss go hand in hand with economic prosperity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on a large sample for the German commercial and services sector, this paper econometrically assesses the relevance of various types of barriers to energy efficiency at the sectoral level and across fifteen sub-sectors. The results at the level of entire sectors suggest that the lack of information about energy consumption patterns and about energy efficiency measures, lack of staff time, priority setting within organizations, and – in particular – the investor/user dilemma are all relevant barriers. Allowing for sector-specific differences in the relevance of these individual barriers yields a more heterogeneous picture. The numbers and types of relevant barriers vary across sub-sectors, and the majority of sub-sectors are subject to relatively few barriers. The statistically most significant barriers are found for the sub-sector of public administrations. These findings are robust, independent of whether the definition of an organization's energy efficiency performance includes only measures that have actually been realized or also those that are being planned. For planned projects, however, organizations appear to underestimate internal priority setting as a barrier to energy efficiency. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Combustion of motor fuels has a variety of environmental impacts on local, regional and global scales. Taxing motor fuels more heavily would mitigate those environmental impacts. However, many governments are reluctant to increase motor fuel taxes because they fear that the tax incidence will be regressive and that economic development will be impeded. Using data for the New England region of the United States, this paper argues that an oil-importing region can conserve energy, avoid regressive impacts and encourage economic development by taxing motor fuels more heavily and rebating the incremental revenues to owners of motor vehicles. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In semi-arid conditions in Northwest India, smallholder agriculture has made increasing use of subsidised mechanisation and energy inputs to reduce short-term risks. However, detrimental environmental consequences have occurred, not least a rapidly falling water table, and energy-intensive production is threatened by the prospect of increasing scarcity and expense of energy supplies, especially as urban demands are forecast to grow rapidly. This paper describes the energy flows through four subsystems of smallholder agricultural villages: the crop system; non-crop land uses; livestock systems; and households. It employs a multi-objective programming model to demonstrate choices available for maximands either of net solar energy capture or financial surpluses. Applied to three villages selected to represent major settlement types in the Saurashtra region of Gujarat, the results demonstrate that both energy conservation and financial performance can be improved. Although these results need qualifying because of the reductionist, linear character of the model used, they do provide important insights into the cultural role of mechanisation and the influence of traditional agricultural practices. They also underline the need for local energy conservation strategies as part of an overall approach to improved self-determination in progress towards rural sustainability. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]