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- Mundaca, Luis, et al.
(författare)
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Behavioural economics for energy and climate change policies and the transition to a sustainable energy use — A Scandinavian perspective
- 2019. - 1st
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Ingår i: Energy and Behaviour : Towards a Low Carbon Future - Towards a Low Carbon Future. - 9780128185674 ; , s. 45-87
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Bokkapitel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Scandinavian region has been at the forefront of energy and environmental policies for decades. While significant effort has been devoted to the supply side and development of technology markets, our study questions the extent to which policy efforts have effectively and explicitly addressed behavioural factors affecting the adoption and the use of low-carbon energy technologies at the individual and household level. Building upon behavioural economics, we explore behavioural factors and the role of economic and noneconomic aspects affecting energy use and decarbonisation activities in the region. Overall, we argue that greater attention needs to be given to behavioural issues in policy design, implementation, and evaluation. At the same time, behavioural interventions are unlikely to be a panacea that can steer sustainable energy use by itself, and both price and nonprice interventions are required. We conclude that a more stringent, integrated behavioural and technological policymaking approach is needed.
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| 3. |
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| 4. |
- Sonnenschein, Jonas
(författare)
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Conditions for the Cost Effective Combination of Emissions Trading and Renewable Energy Support Policies
- 2016
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Ingår i: Energy Procedia. - : Elsevier BV. - 1876-6102. ; 88, s. 133-138
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This paper makes a case for using cost effectiveness (as opposed to efficiency) as key criterion when designing support policies for electricity generation from renewable energy sources in coexistence with an emissions trading scheme. Using the EU ETS and the German feed-in tariff system as examples, arguments against a stand-alone ETS are presented and necessary conditions for cost-effective support to RES-E in a deep decarbonization context are synthesized.
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| 5. |
- Sonnenschein, Jonas, et al.
(författare)
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Decarbonization under Green Growth Strategies? The case of South Korea
- 2016
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Ingår i: Journal of Cleaner Production. - : Elsevier BV. - 0959-6526. ; 123, s. 180-193
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The win-win opportunities connected to green growth are appealing to academics and policy makers alike, but empirical evaluations about the effectiveness of green growth policies are still scattered. Taking South Korea as case study, which set up a highly ambitious green growth program in 2009, our research casts light on the extent to which the Korean Green Growth Strategy has been effective in decarbonizing the economy. Our methodology combines decomposition analysis and econometrics with a review of energy and climate policies, including related structural changes. On the short term (2008-2012), most of the drivers displayed an enhancing effect on CO2 emissions from fuel combustion, with GDP per capita being the strongest driver. From a historical perspective (1971-2012), findings reveal that important drivers, such as energy and CO2 intensity even worsened their effects during the first years under the Green Growth Strategy. Regression statistics revealed that GDP per capita was in fact the driver with the most explanatory power for CO2 emissions, followed by energy intensity. The Korean policy mix of modest government support to low-carbon energy technologies and a lack of complementary pricing policies did not deliver the targeted emissions reduction, at least in the short-term. Despite recent policy developments, i.e. the introduction of a renewable portfolio standard in 2012 and an emissions trading system in 2015, several key policy challenges for decarbonization remain.
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| 6. |
- Sonnenschein, Jonas, et al.
(författare)
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Designing air ticket taxes for climate change mitigation: insights from a Swedish valuation study
- 2019
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Ingår i: Climate Policy. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1469-3062 .- 1752-7457. ; 19:5, s. 651-663
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Research on air travellers’ willingness to pay (WTP) for climate change mitigation has focussed on voluntary emissions offsetting so far. This approach overlooks policy relevant knowledge as it does not consider that people may value public goods higher if they are certain that others also contribute. To account for potential differences, this study investigates Swedish adults’ WTP for a mandatory air ticket surcharge both for short- and long-distance flights. Additionally, policy relevant factors influencing WTP for air travel emissions reductions were investigated. The results suggest that mean WTP is higher in the low-cost setting associated with short-distance flights (495 SEK/ tCO2; 50 EUR/ tCO2) than for long-distance flights (295 SEK/ tCO2; 30 EUR/t CO2). The respondents were more likely to be willing to pay the air ticket tax if they were not frequent flyers, if they were women, had a left political view, if they had a sense of responsibility for their emissions and if they preferred earmarking revenues from the tax for climate change mitigation and sustainable transport projects. Key policy insights A mandatory air ticket tax is a viable policy option that might receive majority support among the population. While a carbon-based air ticket tax promises to be an effective tool to generate revenues, its potential steering effect appears to be lower for low cost contexts (short-distance flights) than for high cost contexts (long-distance flights). Policy consistency regarding the tax base and its revenue use may increase public acceptability of (higher) air ticket taxes. Earmarking revenues is clearly preferred to tax recycling or general budget use. Insights about the personal drivers behind WTP for emissions reductions from air travel can help to inform targeting and segmentation of policy interventions.
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| 7. |
- Sonnenschein, Jonas
(författare)
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Green growth and rapid decarbonisation? : Assessing policy objectives, instrument choice and behavioural mechanisms
- 2019
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- After the 2008/2009 global financial crisis, significant policy and scientific attention has been given to ‘green growth’, which aims at the concurrent achievement of economic growth and GHG emissions reductions via de-coupling. Despite ambitious aims, there is a lack of empirical knowledge about the effects and the potential of green growth climate mitigation policies.This thesis aims at providing new policy-relevant understanding of how green growth climate mitigation policies can contribute towards rapid decarbonisation. The specific policies assessed in this thesis include green fiscal stimulus in the Republic of Korea, public financing for the development of low-carbon energy technologies in the Nordic countries, carbon pricing and minimum energy performance standards for electric appliances in the UK, and carbon pricing mechanisms for personal transport in Sweden with a focus on air ticket taxes. Methodologically, the thesis presents policy assessments that deploy a variety of mainly quantitative research methods. The analysis goes beyond short-term cost-effectiveness and takes into consideration a more behaviourally realistic model of decision-making in response to economic policy instruments.It is found that green growth climate policies have not yet driven the short-to mid-term decarbonisation needed to reach the targets of the Paris Agreement. This is explained by the strong economic growth objectives of green growth climate policies, by insufficient policy-stringency, and by the disregard of behavioural mechanisms (potentially) affecting policy outcomes. Regulatory policies may offer an effective alternative to economic incentives (carbon pricing in particular) in order to achieve a mitigation effect that is consistent with the targets of the Paris Agreement. Careful framing and targeting of carbon pricing can, however, increase its emissions reduction potential, and several behavioural factors are identified that may increase its policy acceptance and effectiveness. These findings confirm that a more integrated policy assessment approach is needed to support the design and implementation of green growth climate mitigation policies.The thesis underlines several policy implications. It shows thatthe simultaneous achievement of both economic and climate objectives is difficult in practice, particularly when policies are not stringent enough. Whereas innovations in low-carbon energy technologies are critical for decarbonisation, behavioural aspectsconcerning the adoption of LCET and sustainable energy use are equally important. Well-designed carbon pricing, both explicit and implicit, should be an important element of the green growth climate policy mix.
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| 8. |
- Sonnenschein, Jonas, et al.
(författare)
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Is one carbon price enough? Assessing the effects of payment vehicle choice on willingness to pay in Sweden
- 2019
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Ingår i: Energy Research and Social Science. - : Elsevier BV. - 2214-6296. ; 52, s. 30-40
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Existing knowledge suggests that people's willingness to pay (WTP) for climate change mitigation depends not only on personal characteristics but also on the payment vehicle (PV) that is used to elicit WTP. The aim of this research is to investigate policy-relevant differences in WTP between different PVs to support the design of carbon pricing mechanisms. The novelty of this contingent valuation study is the randomized use of four different PVs for the same sample (n = 500), in order to isolate effects of PV choice from effects driven by differences in study context and sampling. The results show that mean WTP differs between PVs. At about EUR 55 per tonne CO 2 it is highest for a climate surcharge on short distance flights, followed by the climate surcharge on long distance flights (EUR 36), the climate surcharge on fuels (EUR 32) and voluntary offsetting (EUR 14). Statistical tests show that for almost all pairs of PVs the differential effect of PV choice is significant. Moreover, the results illustrate that WTP means are sensitive to changes in the assumed carbon intensity of the respective energy-consuming activities (in particular for air travel). In all, the differential effects of PV choice suggest that a uniform carbon price is inadequate and prioritisation and differentiation are needed in policymaking.
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| 9. |
- Sonnenschein, Jonas, et al.
(författare)
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Minimum energy performance standards for the 1.5 °C target: an effective complement to carbon pricing
- 2019
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Ingår i: Energy Efficiency. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1570-646X .- 1570-6478. ; 12:2, s. 387-402
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Radical energy efficiency improvements are needed to keep global warming within 1.5 °C until the end of the century. Minimum energy performance standards (MEPS) are a widely applied policy instrument to improve the energy efficiency of appliances and reduce CO2 emissions, but they are criticized as redundant if an overarching carbon pricing scheme is in place. In order to better understand how MEPS could play a more effective role in reaching the 1.5 °C target, life cycle costs (LCC) for four home appliances were modelled considering a cost for emitting CO2. First, a significant social cost of carbon was introduced in a LCC optimisation model and it was found that a modest tightening of MEPS is sufficient to account for the climate externality. Second, more stringent MEPS were modelled and it was found that the switching prices needed to incentivize a shift up one or two efficiency classes were far higher than current carbon prices. These results have several implications for climate policy towards the 1.5 °C target. MEPS can easily internalize the climate externality and have the advantage over carbon pricing that policy makers can be certain that consumers actually move to more efficient appliances. While stringent MEPS do not appear to be economically efficient on the short-run, they are likely cost-effective in long-run 1.5 °C-consistent scenarios.
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| 10. |
- Sonnenschein, Jonas
(författare)
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Rapid decarbonisation of cities by addressing behavioural failures? A critical review of policy interventions
- 2016
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- While many of the interventions to reduce carbon emissions target market failures, little attention is given to behavioural failures. This study investigates to what degree cities, which have taken a central role in global decarbonisation efforts, already incorporate findings from behavioural economics in their policy interventions. The ‘traditional taxonomy’ for policy intervention, represented among others in the work of the IPCC, is taken as a benchmark for assessing city’s decarbonisation interventions in the areas of building energy efficiency and transportation. Based on an extensive literature review and empirical data of urban climate networks, the study finds that market failures in adopting low-carbon technologies largely dominate the framing of policy interventions. Based on few examples of non-traditional interventions addressing behavioural failures, an alternative taxonomy to frame decarbonisation policy is discussed.
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