energy - greening household behaviour 2014

8/10/2019 ENERGY - Greening Household Behaviour 2014

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BETTER POLICIES FOR BETTER

POLICY HIGHLIGHTS

Towardsgreener

households

Energy


2/4 OECDTOWARDS GREENER HOUSEHOLDS: ENERGY

Households represent a large and growing share of energy use in OECD countries. Forexample, the residential sector consumesabout one-third of all the electricity and heatgenerated. Total energy production across OECDcountries is still dominated by fossil fuels;energy derived from renewable sources makesup only a small percentage of the total. Any

comprehensive policy package that attemptsto change the way we generate and use energymust therefore be based on an understanding ofwhat drives household energy use.

Questions asked to households included theirenergy use and sources; how they are meteredand billed; what they do to save energy; andhow much more they would be willing to payfor renewable energy. The responses werecross-analysed with a wide range of attitudinaland socio-economic data for the respondenthouseholds. Respondents report spending aboutEUR 962 a year on electricity on average, and

average daily consumption across the countriessurveyed is 17 kWh. While the average householdspends about 3.5% of their budget on electricity,low-income households spend a larger share.Electricity demand is only slightly reduced byprice increases, which means that higher pricescould undermine the welfare of low-incomehouseholds. Those who live in houses tend tospend more than those who live in apartments.Spending on electricity increases with householdincome, and higher-income households tend to doless to save energy.

Substantial room for improvement in solar panel installation

Energy and the environment

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Own home

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FACTFILE

60% of respondents would be willing topay extra for electricity from renewable sources. Yet 45%

of those who would be willing to pay more for renewable

energy do not have this option. Only between 2% and

10% of households have solar panels, except in Australia

and Israel, where investment is much higher (see graph

above).

50% of respondents would be interestedin smart metering but have not been offered the optionby their service provider, especially in Spain, Israel and

Chile.

40% of respondents occasionally ornever completely turn off their stand-by appliances:

households can do more to save energy at home. Women

and homeowners are the most likely to undertake energy-

saving activities.

25% of respondents claim to take energy

costs into account when buying or renting a new home.Countries where respondents report that they take energy

costs into account more often (Canada, Sweden and Korea)

have all introduced energy labels for buildings.

Analysing attitudes to energy use

Personal behaviour and choices in daily life, from whatwe eat to how we get to work or heat our homes, have asignificant and growing effect on the environment. Butwhy are some households greener than others? And whatfactors motivate green household choices?

Answering these questions is vital for helping governmentsdesign and target policies that promote greener behaviour.The OECDs Environmental Policy and Individual BehaviourChange (EPIC) survey is designed to do just that. Drawingon observations from over 12 000 respondents in 11 OECDcountries (Australia, Canada, Chile, France, Israel, Japan,Korea, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland), thislarge-scale household survey conducted in 2011 exploreswhat drives household environmental behaviour and howpolicies may affect household decisions. It focuses on fiveareas in which households have significant environmentalimpact: energy, food, transport, waste and water.

This policy highlights points decision makers towardsways to design well-targeted and effective policies to greenhousehold energy use.

Note:The reported percentages concern households living in houses.


3/4 OECDTOWARDS GREENER HOUSEHOLDS: ENERGY

POLICYHIGHLIGHTS

What determines green

behaviour?

Price. The price of energy-efficient equipment isa key factor influencing respondents purchasesin all countries.

Confidence. One of the main motivations forthose not willing to pay to switch to renewable

energy seems to be lack of confidence thatelectricity could be entirely produced fromrenewable sources.

Information. Five countries Australia, Canada,Israel, Sweden and Switzerland have relativelyhigh rates of respondents indicating that theydont know if services such as smart meteringare provided.

Awareness. Environmentally-concernedhouseholds are more likely to save energy andinvest in energy efficient appliances.

Ownership status. Owner-occupiers are muchmore likely to own energy-efficient devices thantenants: they are estimated to be 15% morelikely than a tenant to have invested in energy-efficient windows, and 19% more likely to haveinvested in thermal insulation.

Key issues for policy makers

Take measures to increase consumer trust in service

providers capacity to actually shift generation torenewable sources.

Target public grants for energy efficient and renewableenergy on the most needy groups, such as low-incomehouseholds and tenants.

Complement incentive-based measures withinformation and education targeted at the mostsceptical groups.

Increase awareness of energy conservation in housepurchases and rentals.

Ensure that policies which may increase prices such asinvesting in green energy production are accompaniedby measures to ensure that poorer households are notmade worse off.

Why some people dont want to pay more for

renewable energy

Attitudes matter

The OECDs Environmental Policy and Individual Behaviour

Change (EPIC) surveys explore peoples attitudes to a

wide range of issues and their influence on environmental

behaviour. Their findings are important for helping

governments encourage greener behaviour by households.

For example, did you know that

Since the global financial crisis, more people now feel

that environmental issues should mainly be dealt with

by future generations?

Women are more likely to be environmentallymotivated than men?

There is an overall willingness to be green and to pay

more for environmentally-friendly choices?

Trust in government is a more powerful factor than

levels of university education in predicting whether

people believe climate change is man-made?

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Don't think I should have to pay extra Don't trust it will actually affect energy mix

Would pay extra if I had more money Already enough renewables in the energy mix

Don't believe there are environmental benefits Not interested in renewable energy


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BETTER POLICIES FOR BETTER LIVES

For more information:

www.oecd.org/

www.oecd.org/env/consumption-innovation/

greening-household-behaviour-2014.htm

Photos: Artisticco/Shutterstock.com

This work is published on the responsibility of the Secretary-General of

the OECD. The opinions expressed and arguments employed herein

do not necessarily reflect the official views of the Organisation or of the

governments of its member countries. This document and any map

included herein are without prejudice to the status of or sovereignty over

any territory, to the delimitation of international frontiers and boundaries

and to the name of any territory, city or area.

December 2014

OECD (2014), Greening HouseholdBehaviour: Overview from the 2011

Survey, Revised Edition,OECD Studies

on Environmental Policy and Household

Behaviour, OECD Publishing, Paris,

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/978926

4181373-en.

ALSO IN THIS POLICY HIGHLIGHTS SERIES:

Towards greener households: food

Towards greener households: transport

Towards greener households: waste

Towards greener households: water
http://www.oecd.org/http://www.oecd.org/env/consumption-innovation/greening-household-behaviour-2014.htmhttp://www.oecd.org/env/consumption-innovation/greening-household-behaviour-2014.htmhttp://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264181373-enhttp://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264181373-enhttp://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264181373-enhttp://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264181373-enhttp://www.oecd.org/env/consumption-innovation/greening-household-behaviour-2014.htmhttp://www.oecd.org/env/consumption-innovation/greening-household-behaviour-2014.htmhttp://www.oecd.org/

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