Journal
ANNUAL REVIEW OF ENVIRONMENT AND RESOURCES, VOL 46, 2021
Volume 46, Issue -, Pages 135-165Publisher
ANNUAL REVIEWS
DOI: 10.1146/annurev-environ-012320-084937
Keywords
energy efficiency; energy intensity; efficiency policy; energy efficiency gap; public policy
Categories
Funding
- Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at the London School of Economics
- ESRC Centre for Climate Change Economics and Policy (CCCEP) [ES/R009708/1]
- UKRI/EPSRC under the Heat, Buildings, Digital and Flexibility Themes of the Centre for Energy Demand Solutions (CREDS) [EP/R 035288/1]
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After 40 years of research, energy efficiency initiatives are generally perceived as highly effective, with innovation contributing to lowering energy technology costs and increasing energy productivity. However, rebound effects at the macro level still warrant careful policy attention.
This article presents a critical assessment of 40 years of research that may be brought under the umbrella of energy efficiency, spanning different aggregations and domains-from individual producing and consuming agents to economy-wide effects to the role of innovation to the influence of policy. After 40 years of research, energy efficiency initiatives are generally perceived as highly effective. Innovation has contributed to lowering energy technology costs and increasing energy productivity. Energy efficiency programs in many cases have reduced energy use per unit of economic output and have been associated with net improvements in welfare, emission reductions, or both. Rebound effects at the macro level still warrant careful policy attention, as they may be nontrivial. Complexity of energy efficiency dynamics calls for further methodological and empirical advances, multidisciplinary approaches, and granular data at the service level for research in this field to be of greatest societal benefit.
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