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ID:
171390
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Summary/Abstract |
Addressing the threat of global climate change will require large-scale transformation of our energy systems. Scholars are increasingly calling for a more systemic approach to studying energy transitions—one that incorporates human dimensions such as behaviors, attitudes, perceptions, and preferences. Drawing on an exploratory representative study (n = 379 surveys) conducted in the Pogány-havas microregion of eastern Transylvania, Romania, we employ Stephenson et al.’s Energy Cultures Framework to describe and discuss the social and material energy system of the region. We highlight the interactions between norms, energy practices and material culture, as well as external influences that are shaping the energy system. We discuss attitudes towards energy conservation and acceptability of community renewable energy schemes. Based on our findings, we define the dominant energy culture of the region and highlight elements of the system that are either reinforcing the status quo or shaping a more sustainable energy culture. We discuss implications for increasing the efficiency of the energy system of this region and factors that could inform energy policies and sustainability interventions. We conclude by situating our research within a larger narrative of rural energy transitions and discuss the value of a systems approach when undertaking energy systems research.
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2 |
ID:
126594
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Publication |
2013.
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Summary/Abstract |
The primary focus of this research is to explore the effect of pro-environmental behaviour on CO2 emissions in relation to heating, electricity and transport activities in the residential sector. Changing such behaviour has considerable potential for conserving energy and is an important target of environmental policies which are designed to decrease energy consumption. It is hypothesized that people who consciously act in a pro-environmental way do not necessarily have lower CO2 emissions more than those who do not undertake environmental activities. Data about residential energy use is based on a survey carried out in Hungary in 2010 with a sample of 1012 people. Latent cluster analysis (LCA) was conducted based on data about the reported pro-environmental behavior in the survey and four clusters were identified. Relevant sociostructural and structural factors were also inverstigated.
Results of the data analysis show that no significant difference is found between the impacts of environmentally aware and environmentally unaware consumers, i.e. both 'Brown' and 'Supergreen' consumers consume approximately the same amount of energy and produce approximately the same amount of carbon emissions because the motivation-driven activities of 'Supergreens' are offset by structural factors.
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3 |
ID:
171404
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Summary/Abstract |
This paper reports evidence from a field experiment investigating households’ electricity saving behavior. We motivated households’ efforts to save electricity via pro-environmental incentives that did not affect people’s monetary utility but targeted their environmental preferences. The results show that such pro-environmental incentives can be effective, especially when framed as potential losses to the environment. Our loss-framed pro-environmental incentive led households to save 5% on their monthly electricity consumption compared to a control group.
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