Article
Induced Energy-Saving Efficiency Improvements Amplify Effectiveness of Climate Change Mitigation
Joule
(2019)
Abstract
Induced energy-saving efficiency improvements strongly influence energy use
and climate change. This mechanism has previously been studied by bottomup
methods in models, but the effect is debatable because of lack of empirical
data needed to calibrate model parameters. We provide a top-down calibration
of the relation between historical rates of various efficiency changes and
energy’s share of costs. To do this, we develop a modification of Solow’s model
of economic productivity. We find that a 1% rise in energy cost share increases
energy-use efficiency by about 1.2% in the following 20 years, a higher gain
compared to previous bottom-up estimates. When we incorporate this relationship
into an integrated assessment model, we find that carbon prices save up to
30% more energy by 2120, relative to model configurations without the
inducing mechanism. A carbon tax induces energy-saving efficiency improvements
and could therefore be a more effective mitigation tool than previously
recognized.
Disciplines
Publication Date
Summer August 22, 2019
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joule.2019.07.024
Citation Information
Rong Wang, Harry D. Saunders, Juan Moreno-Cruz and Ken Caldeira. "Induced Energy-Saving Efficiency Improvements Amplify Effectiveness of Climate Change Mitigation" Joule (2019) Available at: http://works.bepress.com/harry_saunders/45/