Abstract
With more energy efficiency it is possible to do the same—or even more—with less energy. This is why energy efficiency is prompted by many as an absolute remedy for the evils of energy use, such as the environmental pressure or the security of supply. Nevertheless, historically energy consumptions at the world level have always been growing in spite of—or perhaps because of—an increasing level of energy efficiency. Some scholars have called this paradox the rebound effect. The rebound effect (REE) is an unintended consequence of the introduction of more energy-efficient technology. It occurs when the reduction in energy consumption is less than that expected from the magnitude of the increase in energy efficiency. REE and backfire are caused by behavioural and/or other systemic responses to efficiency gains in production or consumption (Maxwell et al. in Addressing the rebound effect, a report for the European Commission DG Environment, 2011). However, this paradoxical nexus between energy efficiency and energy consumption is not only confined to human-made systems: nature exhibits a same type of linkage among energy efficiency, energy growth and complexity. To what extent can the energetics of evolution help us in understanding this conundrum and forge a doable energy policy aimed at reducing energy use by fostering energy efficiency? In this chapter we will analyse current areas of improvement in energy policy targeting energy efficiency in the light of the rebound effect and we will try to advance a different policy framework, based on a deeper understanding of this phenomenon.
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Notes
- 1.
Energy density is generally defined as the amount of energy flowing per unit of time and unit of volume. For further information, see for example (Chaisson 2002).
- 2.
On September 3rd 2016, at the G20 summit in Hangzhou, China and USA agree to ratify Paris climate deal and delivered a joint declaration to put the pact of Paris into force before the end of the year. This is a major step to change the secular position of these countries on climate change and a promising breakthrough.
- 3.
The difference between the actual and the optimal efficiency level is often referred to as the efficiency gap. The energy efficiency gap can depend from many factors, from market barriers, to social behaviors and justify the policy intervention due to the lost opportunity (IEA 2007).
- 4.
- 5.
Despite many scholars still employ energy intensity (energy consumption over gross domestic product) as a measure of efficiency, in the European Union most of experts agree that E/GDP is a very rough indicator of efficiency and it is often used ODEX as a much more refined indicator. In addition decoupling is an indication that GDP and energy grow are not growing at the same rate, usually the grow rate of energy is smaller than GDP. But recently (since 2008) in the EU energy consumption is declining notwithstanding a GDP increase, this is a new trend never experienced before.
- 6.
The “Solow-residuals” are the observed divergence from the predictions of the model, based only on capital and labour force, and the real GDP. These residuals, according to Solow, encapsulate the role of technological progress, which is an endogenous factor in his view (thus, “unexplained” by the endogenous variables of the model).
- 7.
Lucas and other scholars advocating endogenous growth tried to establish a relationship between technological change—the exogenous, augmenting factor of economic growth, which is expressed by a fitting parameter in the equation, by some kind of variables measuring the “human capital” of economy, like the number of new patents, educated people or skilled workers over unskilled workers, etc.
- 8.
On these points see also Lebot et al. (2004).
- 9.
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Ruzzenenti, F., Bertoldi, P. (2017). Energy Conservation Policies in the Light of the Energetics of Evolution. In: Labanca, N. (eds) Complex Systems and Social Practices in Energy Transitions. Green Energy and Technology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-33753-1_7
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