Jevons Paradox & The Rebound Effect
When efficiency increases, consumption drops, right? Errr… No.. So far, increased efficiency has mostly lead to increased consumption.
This is called Jevons Paradox, discovered by William Stanley Jevons in 1865. He was concerned that improved steam engines would make England run out of coal faster!
Sources
This video wouldn’t be possible without the work of others. Here are the sources I’ve used during my research & script writing:
Petroleum, B. (2019). BP Statistical Review of World Energy Report. BP: London, UK. Retrieved from https://www.bp.com/content/dam/bp/business-sites/en/global/corporate/pdfs/energy-economics/statistical-review/bp-stats-review-2019-full-report.pdf
Jevons paradox. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jevons_paradox
The Coal Question. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Coal_Question
Jevons, W. S. (1866). The Coal Question; An Inquiry Concerning the Progress of the Nation, and the Probable Exhaustion of our Coal-Mines. Fortnightly, 6(34), 505–507. Retrieved from https://archive.org/stream/cu31924030105294?ref=ol#page/n6/mode/2up
World Crude Oil Consumption by Year. indexmundi. Retrieved from https://www.indexmundi.com/energy/
Beunder, A. (2013). De Jevons Paradox: energiebesparende technologie leidt (in een markteconomie) tot méér energieconsumptie. Retrieved from https://economielinks.wordpress.com/2013/11/27/meer-energie-efficientie-meer-energieconsumptie-de-paradox-van-jevons/
EU 2020 target for energy efficiency. (2014). European Commission. Retrieved from https://ec.europa.eu/energy/topics/energy-efficiency/targets-directive-and-rules/eu-targets-energy-efficiency_nl
About ManagEnergy. European Union. Retrieved from https://www.managenergy.eu/ManagEnergyProject
York, R. (2006). Ecological paradoxes: William Stanley Jevons and the paperless office. Human Ecology Review, 143–147. Retrieved from https://www.humanecologyreview.org/pastissues/her132/york.pdf