Consumers in wealthier, developed nations need to accept energy use restrictions to achieve international climate change targets successfully. The challenge lies in finding the fairest and most equitable approach for governments to curtail energy consumption, known as energy demand reduction.
CAP AT 20 PER CENT
Led by Professor Milena Büchs of the University of Leeds, the research team analyzed various scenarios to identify a potential solution. One option proposed is capping the energy use of the top 20% of consumers, while allowing those with low energy consumption and poverty-level incomes to increase their usage, thus enhancing their quality of life.
The energy use cap is determined by sorting energy consumption values into 100 percentiles. Under the energy demand reduction scheme, the highest energy users would have their consumption restricted to the value at the 80th percentile. For instance, in the modelled scenario, the cap would be set at 170.2 Giga Joules (GJ) per person per year, compared to the mean energy use of 196.8 GJ per person per year for the top 20% of consumers.
THE FINDINGS
Using data from 27 European states, the researchers projected the effectiveness of this energy demand reduction strategy. The findings indicated that it could cut greenhouse gas emissions by 11.4% from domestic energy sources, 16.8% from transport, and 9.7% from total energy consumption.
To address the needs of the less fortunate, allowing them to increase energy use would result in relatively small reductions in emissions savings (1.2 percentage points for domestic energy, 0.9 for transport, and 1.4 for total energy consumption). It would provide an opportunity for the disadvantaged to meet unmet energy needs, including adequate home heating.
Professor Büchs emphasized the need for public support in implementing energy demand reduction mechanisms. While decarbonisation on the supply side (energy generation and distribution) is crucial, it alone cannot achieve the required emission reductions. Experts from the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimate that energy demand reduction could contribute between 40% and 70% of the necessary emission reductions by 2050.
The study titled “Emissions savings from equitable energy demand reduction”, based on data collected from the 2015 European Household Budget Survey, also involved focus groups to gauge public responses to different policy interventions. Participants recognized the climate emergency and the urgency to address it. Interestingly, regulations limiting “luxury” energy use were perceived as fair and equal, akin to the acceptance of restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic.
By targeting “luxury” energy use, which treats everyone fairly, public opposition to energy demand mechanisms could be softened. This approach, along with equitable policies, can foster urgent climate action and contribute significantly to meeting climate targets.
