Rebound, Technology and People: Mitigating the Rebound Effect with Energy-Resource Management and People-Centered Initiatives

摘要

A recent book by Horace Herring and Steven Sorrell (Energy Efficiency and SustainablernConsumption: The Rebound Effect) suggests that energy efficiency will not be successful inrnreducing energy consumption and that a reliance on energy efficiency to reduce carbonrnemissions may be misguided. Such claims are rooted in concerns over the rebound effect andrnraise important policy issues. Do improvements in energy efficiency cause people to use morernenergy? Do energy service demands increase when appliances and technologies become morernefficient? In other words, is rebound best understood as a social and behavioral response torntechnology-based solutions? Alternatively, how might a shift from technology-focused policiesrnto people-centered policies offset the tendency toward increased energy service demands andrnpromote energy resource management? This paper summarizes the evidence regarding thernprevalence and characteristics of the rebound effect, documents its historical contribution to U.S.rnEnergy consumption, and considers the causal relationships which both result in rebound andrnsuggest potential mitigation strategies. The second section explores the impact of different typesrnof program strategies on energy efficiency, energy conservation, and rebound. The paperrnconcludes with a discussion of the strengths and weaknesses of people-centered versusrntechnology-focused approaches to reduce energy consumption and accelerate carbon savings.