Rebound Effects Demand an Efficiency Rethink Rebound Effects
Demand an Efficiency Rethink Jesse Jenkins and Harry Saunders
explain why energy demand will not decrease even if we find ways
to use it more efficiently. In energy planning circles,
efficiency is often viewed as an inexpensive way to reduce
energy consumption and greenhouse gases. Governments and NGOs
prominently adopt efficiency policies, while the International
Energy Agency (IEA) and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change (IPPC) estimate that efficiency measures can greatly
reduce emissions, therefore helping to stabilize our global
climate. This focus on efficiency is particularly prominent in
the world’s emerging economies, where getting more out of less
energy is seen as a key path to both sustainable growth and
reduced climate risk. Yet recent research (including ours)
highlights a powerful but largely overlooked economic phenomenon
that requires a global rethink of energy efficiency and its role
in climate mitigation and sustainable