New academic paper on the rebound effect

It has been a while since EiD had a post on analysing the rebound effect. Miklós Antala and Jeroen van den Bergh will soon have a paper published in the May issue of the journal, Energy Policy, entitled “Re-spending rebound: A macro-level assessment for OECD countries and emerging economies.” Abstract It is well-known that energy … Continue reading New academic paper on the rebound effect →

Explaining why electricity use is declining

Steven Nadel writes on the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) website about his analysis to explain why electricity use is declining in the U.S. It would be good to see equivalent analysis for Europe or other regions. Let us know. U.S. Electricity Use is Declining and Energy Efficiency May be a Significant … Continue reading Explaining why electricity use is declining →

Having a sober look at the impact of energy efficiency measures

Understanding the true energy savings from investing in energy-efficient roducts has been an on-going problem for analysts and policy makers. Patrick Collinson writes in the Guardian about the UK’s Energy Saving Trust downgrading of claims for savings on new boilers and loft insulation. It will be good to hear of other efforts to find out … Continue reading Having a sober look at the impact of energy efficiency measures →

We need to live within our biosphere’s thresholds

Andrew Simms of the New Economics Foundation wrote in the Observer about society’s need to live within our means in a material sense. As he argues, limits govern everything, even though the way we behave gives no indication we have learned that lesson. Simms argues that our economies – and this is a lesson that … Continue reading We need to live within our biosphere’s thresholds →

Evaluating behavioural energy efficiency programmes

Katherine Tweed writes on the Greentechefficiency website about the difficulty in evaluating many energy efficiency programmes in the US. She reviews a recent report by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE). She explains that a dearth of data is making it difficult to effectively evaluate nearly 300 programmes across the U.S. Can … Continue reading Evaluating behavioural energy efficiency programmes →

Explaining the drop in energy consumption in Australia

Hugh Saddler, a research associate at the Centre for Climate Economics and Policy at Australian National University, analyses the recent drop in energy demand in Australia in an excellent article in the Climate Spectator. The demand drop mystery explained Until 2010, for well over a century, through two world wars and the Great Depression, … Continue reading Explaining the drop in energy consumption in Australia →

Focus on 2030: new report and blog by E3G

Ingrid Holmes and Luca Bergamaschi of E3G recently published a briefing report on why energy efficiency is a key component for making the 2030 energy and climate package work. The European Commission is therefore developing a 2030 framework for EU climate change and energy policies following a consultation that took place in 2013. This briefing … Continue reading Focus on 2030: new report and blog by E3G →

Quote of the week

On November 12th, the IEA launched its 2013 World Energy Outlook. At the launch in London, Maria van der Hoeven, Executive Director of the IEA said: Energy efficiency will be essential to getting that balance right – and I am pleased to say that it has become a focal point of energy policies. As we … Continue reading Quote of the week →

Business and sustainable development

With the next eceee industrial summer study less than a year away, analysing how business considers the various aspects of sustainability is very important. John Drummond, chairman of sustainable behaviour change at Corporate Culture, wrote recently in the Guardian about a new survey that shows that the majority of businesses are taking behaviour change seriously … Continue reading Business and sustainable development →

New academic paper – “The Green Deal and the Energy Company Obligation”

Jan Rosenow, Senior Consultant at Ricardo-AEA, and Nick Eyre, Environmental Change Institute at Oxford University, put together the first comprehensive academic peer-reviewed paper on the British Green Deal published in the journal ‘Energy’ of the Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers. The Green Deal, introduced alongside the Energy Company Obligation, marks a substantial change … Continue reading New academic paper – “The Green Deal and the Energy Company Obligation” →