The Jevons Paradox And The Myth Of Resource Efficiency Improvements, The Jevons Paradox And The Myth Of Resource Efficiency Improvements

摘要

This is both a specialised book, and one of considerable general relevance. The Jevons Paradox, first described by the economist W S Jevons in his 1865 book "The Coal Question", is well expressed in his own words: "It is wholly a confusion of ideas to suppose that the economical use of fuel is equivalent to a diminished consumption. The very contrary is the truth." Put another way, greater efficiency in the use of fuel (or anyrnother resource) at the microeconomic level enables less to be used per unit of output, while at the macroeconomic level more ends up being used elsewhere. This paradoxical effect, also known as "rebound", has been subject to a range of assessments over the years, from insignificant to large, and in the latter case, sometimes known as "backfire". If true, energy efficiency should not be seen as in any sense a silver bullet for addressing issues such as Peak Oil or Climate Change, and to do so is, in their opinion, "foolhardy".