Abstract
Given that global energy use today is still dominated by fossil fuels, there is an urgent need to rapidly reduce its use in order to avert serious climate change. However, the alternatives to fossil fuels—renewable and nuclear energy—are more expensive, and have so far done little to displace fossil fuels. Accordingly, reducing energy use must play an important part in both averting climate change and avoiding the depletion of high energy return easily recoverable fossil fuel reserves. This paper examined both the potential and barriers to the adoption of energy reduction measures, with particular attention to domestic energy and passenger transport. The main finding was that energy efficiency approaches alone are unlikely to deliver anywhere near the energy reductions needed in the limited time available. Instead, most energy reductions will have to come from energy conservation, involving less use of energy-using devices, including private vehicles. Achieving such reductions will require changes in lifestyles, especially for residents of OECD nations.
Highlights
Climate researchers sometimes conceptualise the global warming problem by means of the ‘carbon budget’
The carbon budget refers to the gigatonnes of carbon (GtC) in the form of carbon dioxide (CO2 ) that can be safely released into the atmosphere before seriously disruptive climate change occurs
Whereas energy use in passenger transport is confined to devices, all of which provide a similar task, domestic energy use covers a multiplicity of tasks, including space heating and cooling, water heating, refrigeration, cleaning of clothes, dishes and rooms, lighting, and operating domestic appliances like TV sets and computers
Summary
Climate researchers sometimes conceptualise the global warming problem by means of the ‘carbon budget’ (or ‘carbon pie’). Using fewer energy using devices will mean less embodied energy, and this may give rise to increased efficiency; reducing the number of private cars, for example, may lead to an increase in car occupancy rates. While energy embodied in devices can be significant, and need reduction, this reduction can either be brought about by conservation measures or as a direct consequence of improved energy efficiency This is the case for the sectors that are the focus of this paper: personal road transport and domestic energy use. The overall aim was to examine both the prospects for, and barriers to, deep reductions in both energy sectors and the corresponding GHG emissions These sectors were selected because households are directly responsible for energy use in residences and passenger transport energy, especially from private road vehicles.
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