How do Swedish industry respond to improved energy efficiency?
- Details
A new thesis from Umeå University studies how energy efficiency and environmental regulation affect the Swedish industrial sector.
Golnaz Amjadi has studied the impacts of energy efficiency improvements in Swedish manufacturing firms using a detailed firm-level datasets for the Swedish manufacturing industry consisting of 14 sectors spanning the period 1997–2008. Her research suggests that manufacturing firms have generally potential to improve energy efficiency, but paradoxically, improved energy efficiency can increase a firm’s energy use.
- Broadly speaking, the main source(s) of energy inefficiency are long run shortcomings mainly related to structural rigidities connected to technology and/or management issues. Manufacturing firms which improve their efficiency in the use of energy, may further respond to such improvement by increasing their energy use, this is called energy rebound effects. The reason is that energy efficiency improvement lowers the price of energy service and that may result in an increased energy consumption. An intuitive and widely used example of energy rebound effect is that if one upgrades to a more fuel-efficient car, then he/she might drive more kilometers since the price of fuel per kilometer for this person is lower after this upgrade. This does not mean that improved efficiency is harmful. Indeed, higher energy efficiency is welfare enhancing. I measured the size of energy rebound effect for manufacturing firms, and found that the size of this effect is generally substantial. However, rebound effect does not totally offset the energy and emission savings expected from efficiency gains. This result help to set realistic energy and climate targets and to design policy mandates that show an awareness of accounts for behavioral responses to energy efficiency improvements, Golnaz Amjadi continues.
Read the article in full at umu.se
Dissertation - Golnaz Amjadi Torshizi
Start: Fri. 27 Nov, 2020 10:00
Essays on energy efficiency, environmental regulation and labor demand in Swedish industry
Golnaz Amjadi Torshizi
CERE & USBEPlace: Zoom
Meeting ID: 685 1833 8277
Passcode: 895961
Physical meeting place for an invited few: Hörsal A, Samhällsvetarhuset
Opponent: Professor Luis Orea, Department of Economics, Oviedo university, Spain