Energy requirements of consumption: Urban form, climatic and socio-economic factors, rebounds and their policy implications

Abstract

Household consumption requires energy to be used at all stages of the economic process, thereby directly and indirectly leading to environmental impacts across the entire production chain. The levels, structure and determinants of energy requirements of household consumption therefore constitute an important avenue of research. Incorporating the full upstream requirements into the analysis helps to avoid simplistic conclusions which would actually only imply shifts between consumption categories without taking the economy wide effects into account. This paper presents the investigation of the direct and indirect primary energy requirements of Australian households, contrasting urban, suburban and rural consumption patterns as well as inter- and intra-regional levels of inequality in energy requirements. Furthermore the spatial and socio-economic drivers of energy consumption for different categories of energy requirements are identified and quantified. Conclusions regarding the relationships between energy requirements, household characteristics, urban form and urbanization processes are drawn and the respective policy implications are explored.