Rebound effects and the design of policy instruments

Important results from the project

Despite major efforts in the environmental field in the form of technological innovations, economic instruments and environmental management the world´s total environmental impact and greenhouse gas emissions are increasing leading to transgression of several planetary boundaries. An important explanation for this is the occurrence of rebound effects, where the positive effect of a measure or policy instrument is counteracted by secondary effects. Redirecting this development is a necessary step towards achieving established environmental goals and a sustainable society.

Expected long term effects

A broad group of actors active in the field of transport were invited to participate in the study. The group consisted of both researchers, government experts, municipal officials and representatives of relevant stakeholder networks in the field of transport. In three workshops, the research questions were explored based on five concrete case studies from the transport area where a measure (or more) is introduced to achieve a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. The cases included a green tax switching, increased share of electric cars, aviation tax and increased working from home.

Approach and implementation

Mapping rebound effects should be a natural part of the evaluating the effectiveness of a policy To detect and avoid rebound effects and to assess the effectiveness of a policy a system perspective is needed When designing measures, broad system-wide strategies or specific measures addressing particularly emission-intensive activities tend to be most effective The choice of measures should take into account when in time emission reductions occur Measures that lock in difficult-to-change structures that hinder sufficiently far-reaching changes should not be implemented

External links

Mer info om projektet, policy brief och slutrapport finns på denna hemsida.