Abstract
Efforts to achieve an energy transition often neglect to account for the levelling of benefits realizable with higher levels of energy use, despite knowledge of a saturation effect and recognition of increasing harms of use. This research examines energy sufficiency as a maximum quantity of energy associated with improvements in human well-being to inform a recalibration of energy targets among high-energy societies. A systematic review of recent research was performed to identify the point at which increasing levels of energy use no longer correlate with meaningful increases in well-being. For selected studies (n = 18), energy sufficiency values range from 60–221 gigajoules per capita per year with a mean of 132 gigajoules per capita per year for associated measures of well-being. The review finds agreement in a pattern of saturation and provides a range of values for energy sufficiency maximums, suggesting that a relatively modest amount and a diverse quality of energy is needed to support high levels of human well-being. Beyond the conventional emphasis on energy efficiency and renewable energy, energy sufficiency therefore offers a necessary and complementary approach for supporting just and ecological energy transitions.
Highlights
At what level does increasing energy use no longer relate to improvements in human well-being, effectively shifting from enough energy to too much? While climate change and other environmental injustices compel dramatic and rapid reductions in the use of fossil fuels, these efforts typically center on improving energy efficiency and replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy systems including wind, solar, and hydroelectric power
In response to the well-known effect of saturation, the paper aims to identify and compare the range of values of energy sufficiency maximums as the level of per capita energy use beyond which there is little to no associated increase in quality of life
The results are presented here first for the retrieved energy sufficiency values across the studies, followed by qualifications accounting for differences, and reporting on factors that might explain saturation, and implications for future energy use
Summary
A Need for Maximum Energy TargetsAt what level does increasing energy use no longer relate to improvements in human well-being, effectively shifting from enough energy to too much? While climate change and other environmental injustices compel dramatic and rapid reductions in the use of fossil fuels, these efforts typically center on improving energy efficiency and replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy systems including wind, solar, and hydroelectric power. Much of the focus on energy transitions projects current demand into the future, accounting for changes in efficiency and technology, yet failing to question the underlying need for this demand in terms of human well-being [1,2,3]. This narrow framing is problematic when accounting for extreme inequalities in levels of energy use worldwide and the unavoidable ecological harm associated with energy use of any form. Energy sufficiency relates to both maximums and minimums, recognizing
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