Improving energy efficiency may have limited impact due to 'rebound effect' say researchers

Thu 14 May 2009 View all news

Researchers from the Cambridge Centre for Climate Change Mitigation Research say that climate policy makers should look beyond simple energy solutions and consider indirect and economy-wide effects when forming legislation. They say that efficiency improvements can be largely offset by higher energy demand as 'energy services' become cheaper. This behaviour change, known as the 'rebound effect', could cut future carbon and energy savings by half.

The Guardian reports that the new study, led by Terry Barker of the Cambridge Centre, showed that if the International Energy Agency's (IEA) recommendations for efficiency measures are followed in full in the next few decades, the total rebound effect – the proportion of potential energy savings offset by changes in consumer and industry behaviour – could be 31% by 2020 and about 52% around the world by 2030.

Terry Barker said: "The green stimulus packages being implemented to tackle the financial crisis in several countries all include investments in energy efficiency. They may be a lot less effective at reducing energy use than expected because of the rebound effect, especially in developing countries."


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