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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 This paper discusses the effect of residential energy prosuming on households' energy consumption behavior with the objective of finding evidence of a 'prosumer rebound effect' on energy consumption. Prosuming is the partial self-consumption of distributed energy production. We hypothesize that prosumer households are systematically different from consumer households with regard to housing situation and socio-economic characteristics. We ensure an appropriate quasi-randomized comparison by using propensity score matching as our identification strategy. We employ data from a nationwide online survey among homeowners in Germany. While the data show a correlation between lower energy consumption and prosumer households, we find no significant difference in energy consumption behavior between prosumers and non-prosumers in a comparable sample with regard to socio-economic and housing characteristics. Instead, the lower energy consumption of prosumer households is attributed to more energy-efficient technical equipment and thus to purchasing behavior. Our results do not show evidence of either negative or positive externalities of prosuming on residential energy consumption behavior, and therefore we conclude that there is no need for additional governmental measures, e.g. in the form of taxation or subsidies, to address behavioral changes in energy prosuming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates how households respond to efficiency improvements of their heating system. The analysis is based on the stated preference approach with an innovative choice experiment. The design includes questions to quantify both the direct and indirect rebounds. A series of easy discrete possible changes have been suggested to prime the respondents for deciding on potential actions impacting their heating service demand. Responses to these qualitative choices are moreover used to cross-validate the quantitative results. Overall, we find relatively low direct rebound effects. However, after accounting for the indirect rebound calculated using energy embodied in goods and services purchased by re-spending initial savings, we estimate an average total rebound of about one third. The econometric analysis points to substantial variations across individuals that are partly explained by observed characteristics. The results are consistent with the conjunction that heating is a basic need which calls for little rebound in high-income groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper demonstrates the importance of modelling energy-intensive household services in general, and private transportation in particular, as combinations of energy and other inputs. Initially a partial equilibrium approach is used to analyse private transport consumption as a self-produced commodity formed by household vehicle and fuel use. We particularly focus on the impact of private vehicle-augmenting technical progress in this framework. We show that household fuel use will fall if it is easier to substitute between vehicles and fuel in the household production of private transport services than it is to substitute between private transport and the composite of all other goods in overall household consumption. The analysis is then extended, through Computable General Equilibrium simulation, to investigate the wider implications of similar efficiency improvements when intermediate demand, prices and nominal income are endogenous. The subsequent reduction in the price of private transport service (not observable in market prices) allows the wage measured relative to the CPI to rise whilst the wage relative to the price of foreign goods falls. This simultaneously increases UK international competitiveness, encouraging increased exports and reduced import penetration whilst allowing employment to rise. This provides an additional supply-side stimulus to production, employment and household income. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on agency theory and absorptive capacity literature, this paper empirically analyzes factors of adoption and barriers to adoption of four crosscutting, ancillary energy efficiency measures (EEMs) for non-residential buildings (efficient lighting, building insulation, heating system replacement, and optimization of heating system operations). The empirical analysis employs a large representative sample of organizations in the German trade, commerce and services sector. Results from econometric analyses provide evidence for a negative effect of principal–agent relationships (landlord-tenant; owner-user of energy supply equipment; parent-subsidiary) and for a positive effect of organizational attributes that contribute to absorptive capacity (energy manager in place; energy audit conducted; experience with decentralized low carbon energy). However, the significance of these effects varies by measure. For non-adopters, heterogeneity of crosscutting ancillary EEMs has little impact on the ranking of barriers to adoption. The most relevant barriers for all EEMs are rented spaces, high investment costs, and other priorities; least relevant are technical risk to production and risk to product quality. Finally, we find little evidence for differences in the factors of adoption and barriers to adoption between manufacturing and non-manufacturing organizations. These findings are robust to alternative model specifications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public acceptability appears an essential condition for the success of low-carbon transition policies. In this paper, we investigate the role of self-interest on citizens' preferences for the distribution of costs and environmental benefits of energy efficiency policies. Using a discrete choice experiment on nationally representative household samples of Sweden, Italy, and the United Kingdom, we first investigate preferences for national burden-sharing rules and for the distribution of environmental benefits accruing primarily in rural and/or urban areas. We examine the role of self-interest and self-serving bias in a correlational manner by looking at the effects of income and location of residency on preferences for these policy attributes. Moreover, we investigate the effect of self-serving bias on preferences for burden-sharing rules in a causal manner by experimentally priming randomly assigned groups of participants to feel either rich or poor. Our results suggest that the accountability rule is the most popular and the equal-amount rule the least popular burden-sharing rule. Further, policies with environmental benefits accruing primarily in rural areas are least preferred. We find some evidence for self-interest, especially through our correlational approach. Finally, across country samples, our results reveal heterogeneity in preferences for policy attributes and in the prevalence of self-interest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Perceived risk in future energy cost savings of energy efficient technologies has been well identified as a major barrier to the adoption of such technologies. However, direct empirical evidence of the impact of consumer risk aversion on the adoption of energy efficient technologies has been limited. In this paper, we elicit consumer risk preferences using a multiple price list experiment tailored to household energy decisions. We then use the elicited risk preferences to explain consumers' self-reported historical purchase of energy efficient appliances and installation of energy efficiency retrofitting technologies. Using data from 432 homeowners from Arizona and California, USA, results show that more risk averse consumers are less likely to adopt energy efficient technologies (except for the case of energy efficient air-conditioners). In addition, the findings provide evidence that households' perceived mobility as measured by the probability of moving within five years, can amplify the negative impact of risk aversion on the adoption of energy efficiency retrofitting technologies. Overall, the results provide implications for policy makers and companies involved in promoting energy efficient technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent papers argue that the energy return on energy invested (EROI) for renewable electricity technologies and systems may be so low that the transition from fossil fuelled to renewable electricity may displace investment in other important economic sectors. For the case of large-scale electricity supply, we draw upon insights from Net Energy Analysis and renewable energy engineering to examine critically some assumptions, data and arguments in these papers, focussing on regions in which wind and solar can provide the majority of electricity. We show that the above claim is based on outdated data on EROIs, on failing to consider the energy efficiency advantages of transitioning away from fuel combustion and on overestimates of storage requirements. EROIs of wind and solar photovoltaics, which can provide the vast majority of electricity and indeed of all energy in the future, are generally high (≥ 10) and increasing. The impact of storage on EROI depends on the quantities and types of storage adopted and their operational strategies. In the regions considered in this paper, the quantity of storage required to maintain generation reliability is relatively small. • EROIs of wind and solar technologies are generally high and increasing. • Impact of storage on system EROI depends on quantity, types and use of storage. • Power systems with high solar and wind penetrations need small storage capacities. • Energy conversion efficiency greatly increases EROI of macro-economic system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article develops 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. We explore the rebound effect for different groups of residents. Traditionally, debate has focused on decreased prices for energy services due to efficiency improvements and their effects on energy demand. The methodological innovation provided by this paper is that it implements two theoretical estimation strategies: (i) energy efficiency elasticity of the demand for energy services, and (ii) price elasticity of the demand for energy services. Our findings reject the hypothesis of a backfire effect in the context of residential electricity use. Specifically, based on energy efficiency elasticity, we provide evidence of a rebound effect of between 72% and 86% but with substantial heterogeneity among consumption quantiles. Our results show that the direct rebound effect has critical relevance for energy efficiency policy in the face of energy invisibility in France. • The rebound effect of residential electricity demand is estimated • The recent French PHEBUS survey and quantile regression are used • The results provide evidence of a rebound effect of between 38% and 86% • Findings reveal substantial heterogeneity among consumption quantile • The analysis suggests that the rebound effect has critical relevance for energy efficiency policymaking [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Resilience is a hot topic within the international development agenda and Sustainable Development Goals. Nowadays, resilience plays a crucial role in improving the quality of life of vulnerable categories and is designed as a major strategy to face the diverse dimensions and dynamics of vulnerability. Energy results among the most relevant fields of applications of resilience policies, especially when it comes to electricity. As a multidimensional concept, energy resilience policies must relate to the dimensions of sustainability – here considered as the interplay between the economic, social, environmental and governance dimensions. Due to the complexity of the phenomenon, energy resilience can be effectively outlined making use of composite indicators techniques. This paper presents the following new results: i) energy resilience is defined and ranked, strengthening a composite indicator for both OECD and non-OECD countries; the determinants of energy resilience are investigated; ii) an innovation on the construction of the World Bank's Regulatory Indicators on Sustainable Energy is operated. Our exercise makes use of an approach based on interval data to assess the sensitivity of the measure from different specifications. For the same scope, the robustness of the ranks obtained is analyzed through an uncertainty analysis. These choices aim to enhance the soundness and the validity of the composite indicator. The methodology provides a more reliable baseline to validate the results and the conceptual assumptions undertaken. It is found that, according to the diverse theoretical frameworks and methodologies applied, some countries vary considerably both in the pillars that aggregate the variables and within the minima, the centers, and the maxima of the intervals. • Energy and resilience are compelling development policy, regulatory, and scientific quests. • Energy resilience is measured by an interval data composite indicator. • Interval data is a robust method for measuring energy resilience. • GDP is related to energy resilience. • Results vary with respect to linear methods in that they allow to better represent uncertainty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]