Reducing energy demand: A review of issues, challenges and approaches

Sorrell, Steve

doi:10.1016/j.rser.2015.03.002

Cited by 622 publications

(322 citation statements)

References 56 publications

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“…Our approach here therefore puts the creation, sharing and reproduction of collective routines at the center of the analysis 12,13 . We suggest that this shift in focus is necessary to understand how users contribute to transitions in energy systems.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The roles of users in shaping transitions to new energy systems

2016

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Current government information policies and market-based instruments aimed at influencing energy choices of consumers often ignore the fact that consumer behavior is not fully reducible to individuals making rational conscious decisions all the time. Rather, the decisions of consumers are largely configured by shared routines embedded in socio-technical systems. To achieve a transition towards a decarbonized and energy-efficient system, an approach is needed that goes beyond individual consumer choice and puts shared routines and system change at its center.Here, adopting a transitions perspective, we argue that consumers should be reconceptualized as users who are important stakeholders in the innovation process and are shaping new routines and enacting system change. We review the role of users in the building up of new decarbonized and energy-efficient systems and provide a typology of user roles.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The roles of users in shaping transitions to new energy systems

2016

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“…However, it has long been established that even cost-effective energy efficiency measures are often not taken up by consumers or businesses (the so-called 'energy efficiency gap'), and that therefore policy is needed to support their delivery [19][20][21]. In order to achieve the low-carbon pathways set out by the Paris Agreement and also at European and national level, the current uptake and ambition of energy efficiency improvements needs to improve significantly and much deeper and rapid decrease in energy use than is currently the case is required.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The need for comprehensive and well targeted instrument mixes to stimulate energy transitions: The case of energy efficiency policy

Rosenow

Kern

Rogge

2017

Energy Research & Social Science

141

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A B S T R A C TTo meet global climate goals an energy transition is needed. However, energy transitions are complex and longterm processes and require a variety of public policy interventions to steer their direction and speed to achieve global climate change mitigation targets. One area where policy support is required is energy efficiency, which offers a high potential for carbon savings. It is widely acknowledged that energy efficiency improvements will need to be faster and deeper than is currently the case and this requires policy instrument mixes to support both those energy efficiency measures that are simple and cost-effective as well as more complex and costly technologies. In other words, policy mixes need to be well-targeted and comprehensive. In this paper, we address the issue of comprehensiveness in terms of technology-specificity and the level of complexity and costliness of energy efficiency measures. We use an existing dataset produced as part of a pan-European effort to understand instrument mixes in 14 EU Member States in the area of energy efficiency. Based on the empirical analysis and our segmentation of instrument types and their role in the overall mix, we illustrate the need for using a comprehensive instrument mix rather than single instruments.

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“…Consumers and consumption are commonly framed as part of the problem. Consumption is energy (and material) intensive and expands in lockstep with income (Sorrell 2015). Consumers are addicted and profligate (Costanza et al 2017).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The potential contribution of disruptive low-carbon innovations to 1.5 °C climate mitigation

et al. 2018

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This paper investigates the potential for consumer-facing innovations to contribute emission reductions for limiting warming to 1.5°C. First, we show that global integrated assessment models which characterise transformation pathways consistent with 1.5°C mitigation are limited in their ability to analyse the emergence of novelty in energy end-use. Second, we introduce concepts of disruptive innovation which can be usefully applied to the challenge of 1.5°C mitigation. Disruptive low-carbon innovations offer novel value propositions to consumers and can transform markets for energy-related goods and services while reducing emissions. Third, we identify 99 potentially disruptive low-carbon innovations relating to mobility, food, buildings and cities, and energy supply and distribution. Examples at the fringes of current markets include car clubs, mobility-as-a-service, prefabricated highefficiency retrofits, internet of things, and urban farming. Each of these offers an alternative to mainstream consumer practices. Fourth, we assess the potential emission reductions from subsets of these disruptive low-carbon innovations using two methods: a survey eliciting experts' perceptions and a quantitative scalingup of evidence from early-adopting niches to matched segments of the UK population. We conclude that disruptive low-carbon innovations which appeal to consumers can help efforts to limit warming to 1.5°C.

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Reducing energy demand: A review of issues, challenges and approaches

Cited by 622 publications

References 56 publications

The roles of users in shaping transitions to new energy systems

The roles of users in shaping transitions to new energy systems

The need for comprehensive and well targeted instrument mixes to stimulate energy transitions: The case of energy efficiency policy

The potential contribution of disruptive low-carbon innovations to 1.5 °C climate mitigation

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