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(1 - 6 of 6)
How to deal with the rebound effect? A policy-oriented approach
Font Vivanco, D.; Kemp, R.; Voet, E. van der 2016
How to deal with the rebound effect? A policy-oriented approach
Article / Letter to editor
open access
Policy makers and environmental agencies have echoed concerns brought forward by academics about the need to address the rebound effect for achieving absolute energy and environmental decoupling.... Show more

Policy makers and environmental agencies have echoed concerns brought forward by academics about the need to address the rebound effect for achieving absolute energy and environmental decoupling. However, such concerns have generally not been translated into tangible policy action. The reasons behind this inaction are not fully understood, and much remains unknown about the status of the rebound effect issue on the policy agenda and policy pathways available. Such knowledge gaps may hamper the development of effective policies to address this issue. In this paper, we examine the extent to and ways in which the rebound effect is considered in policy documents and analyse thirteen specific policy pathways for rebound mitigation. The effectiveness of the pathways is scrutinised and conclusions are offered to mitigate rebound effects. The main policy conclusions of the paper are that an appropriate policy design and policy mix are key to avoiding undesired outcomes, such as the creation of additional rebound effects and environmental trade-offs. From the discussion, economy-wide cap-and-trade systems as well as energy and carbon taxes, when designed appropriately, emerge as the most effective policies in setting a ceiling for emissions and addressing energy use across the economy.

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The foundations of the environmental rebound effect and its contribution towards a general framework
Font Vivanco, D.; McDowall, W.; Freire-González, J.; Kemp, R.; Voet, E. van der 2016
The foundations of the environmental rebound effect and its contribution towards a general framework
Article / Letter to editor
open access
2016-11-02T00:00:00Z
The relativity of eco-innovation
Font Vivanco, D.; Kemp, R.; Voet, E. van der 2015
The relativity of eco-innovation: environmental rebound effects from past transport innovations in Europe
Article / Letter to editor
open access
2016-02-16T00:00:00Z
The term eco-innovation has been coined to label those innovations expected to reduce the life cycle environmental burdens resulting from their use. Claims of environmental superiority are usually... Show moreThe term eco-innovation has been coined to label those innovations expected to reduce the life cycle environmental burdens resulting from their use. Claims of environmental superiority are usually supported by technology-oriented analyses, such as product-level life cycle assessment. However, the environmental superiority of an innovation depends not only on its technical characteristics but also on technology-demand interactions. In this article, such interactions are incorporated through the concept of the environmental rebound effect. Using the Dynamic IPAT-Life cycle assessment with Environmental Rebound effect or DILER model, environmental superiority claims of seven alleged transport eco-innovations were evaluated by comparing alternative macro-level scenarios (with and without innovation) for Europe. The results support the claims of environmental superiority of only three out of seven studied innovations. That is, a majority of innovations actually induced increases in various environmental pressures. Such increases can be attributed mostly to the influence of generally noteworthy environmental rebound effects. The magnitude of the rebound effect is found to be highly correlated with two variables: the total change in effective income resulting from the use of the innovation and the difference between the environmental pressures per monetary unit of the studied innovations and that of the rest of consumption. The article contributes to the literature by (a) applying a comprehensive approach to the rebound effect and its relationship with the eco-innovation concept, (b) by calculating original rebound estimates of specific transport innovations and assessing these in absolute terms, as well as by (c) obtaining novel insights into the drivers behind the rebound effect. The counterintuitive results of this study also invite to re-assess the use of technology-oriented tools for guiding environmental policy. Other policy implications of this study relate to the relevance of transport cost differences, the targeted promotion of actual eco-innovations and its combination with broader policies as well as the achievement of higher quality mobility. Show less
The remarkable environmental rebound effect of electric cars
Font Vivanco, D.; Freire-González, J.; Kemp, R.; Voet, E. van der 2014
The remarkable environmental rebound effect of electric cars: a microeconomic approach
Article / Letter to editor
open access
This article presents a stepwise, refined, and practical analytical framework to model the microeconomic environmental rebound effect (ERE) stemming from cost differences of electric cars in terms... Show moreThis article presents a stepwise, refined, and practical analytical framework to model the microeconomic environmental rebound effect (ERE) stemming from cost differences of electric cars in terms of changes in multiple life cycle environmental indicators. The analytical framework is based on marginal consumption analysis and hybrid life cycle assessment (LCA). The article makes a novel contribution through a reinterpretation of the traditional rebound effect and methodological refinements. It also provides novel empirical results about the ERE for plug-in hybrid electric (PHE), full-battery electric (FBE), and hydrogen fuel cell (HFC) cars for Europe. The ERE is found to have a remarkable impact on product-level environmental scores. For the PHE car, the ERE causes a marginal increase in demand and environmental pressures due to a small decrease in the cost of using this technology. For FBE and HFC cars, the high capital costs cause a noteworthy decrease in environmental pressures for some indicators (negative rebound effect). The results corroborate the concern over the high influence of cost differences for environmental assessment, and they prompt sustainable consumption policies to consider markets and prices as tools rather than as an immutable background. Show less
The rebound effect through industrial ecology’s eyes
Font Vivanco, D.; Voet, E. van der; Kemp, R. 2014
The rebound effect through industrial ecology’s eyes: a review of LCA-based studies
Article / Letter to editor
open access
2015-03-17T00:00:00Z
Purpose Industrial ecology academics have embraced with great interest the rebound effect principle operationalised within energy economics. By pursuing more comprehensive assessments, they applied... Show morePurpose Industrial ecology academics have embraced with great interest the rebound effect principle operationalised within energy economics. By pursuing more comprehensive assessments, they applied tools such as life cycle assessment (LCA) to appraise the environmental consequences of the rebound effect. As a result, the mainstream rebound mechanism was broadened and a diversity of (sometimes inconsistent) definitions and approaches unveiled. To depict the state of play, a comprehensive literature review is needed. Methods A literature review has been carried out by targeting scientific documents relevant for the integration of the rebound effect into LCA-based studies. The search was conducted using two approaches: (1) via online catalogues using a defined search criterion and (2) via cross-citation analysis from the documents identified through the first approach. Results and discussion By analysing a total of 42 works yielded during our review, it was possible to bring together the various advantages of the life cycle perspective, as well as to identify the main inconsistencies and uninformed claims present in literature. Concretely, three main advantages have been identified and are discussed: (1) the representation of the rebound effect as a multi-dimensional, life cycle estimate, (2) the improvement of the technology explicitness and (3) the broadening of the consumption and production factors leading to the rebound effect. Also, inconsistencies on the definition and classification of the rebound effect have been found among studies. Conclusions The review contributes a number of valuable insights to understand how the rebound effect has been treated within the industrial ecology and LCA fields. For instance, the conceptual and methodological refinements introduced by these fields represent a step forward from traditional viewpoints, making the study of the rebound effect more comprehensive and meaningful for environmental assessment and policy making. However, the broadened scope of this new approach unveiled some conceptual inconsistencies, which calls for a common framework. This framework would help the LCA community to consistently integrate the rebound effect as well as to create a common language with other disciplines, favouring learning and co-evolution. We believe that our findings can serve as a starting point in order to delineate such a common framework. Show less
Using LCA-based decomposition analysis to study the multidimensional contribution of technological innovation to environmental pressures
Font Vivanco, D.; Kemp, R.; Voet, E. van der; Heijungs, R. 2014
Using LCA-based decomposition analysis to study the multidimensional contribution of technological innovation to environmental pressures
Article / Letter to editor
open access
2014-10-25T00:00:00Z
This article presents a general framework for macroenvironmental assessment, combining life cycle assessment (LCA) with the IPAT equation, and explores its combination with decomposition analysis... Show moreThis article presents a general framework for macroenvironmental assessment, combining life cycle assessment (LCA) with the IPAT equation, and explores its combination with decomposition analysis to assess the multidimensional contribution of technological innovation to environmental pressures. This approach is illustrated with a case study in which carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) air emissions from diesel passenger cars in Europe during the period 1990-2005 are first decomposed using index decomposition analysis into technology, consumption activity, and population growth effects. By a second decomposition, the contribution of a specific innovation (diesel engine) is calculated on the basis of the technology and consumption activity effects, through a technological comparison with a relevant alternative and the calculation of the rebound effect, respectively. The empirical analysis for diesel passenger cars highlights the discrepancies between the micro (LCA) and macro (IPAT-LCA) analytical approaches. Thus, whereas diesel engines present a relatively less-pollutant environmental product profile than their gasoline counterparts, total CO2 and NOx emissions would have increased partly as a consequence of their introduction, mainly driven by the increase in travel demand caused by the induced direct price rebound effect from fuel savings and fuel price differences. The counterintuitive result shows the need for such an analysis. Show less