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Title:
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Energy demand, life style changes and technology development
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Author(s):
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Published by:
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Publication date:
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ECN
Policy Studies
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1-8-1995
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ECN report number:
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Document type:
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ECN-RX--95-042
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Conference Paper
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Number of pages:
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Full text:
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89
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Download PDF
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Presented at: The World Energy Council 16th congress 'Energy for our common world', Tokyo, Japan, 8-13 oktober 1995.
Abstract:
The objective of this study is to highlight the potential impact of lifestyle changes and technology development on energy demand development. In particular, the importance and meaning of these concepts for the analysis and perception of future energy demand developments is explained. It is not yet possible to quantify different assumptions about life style changes and technological development in a comprehensive way and to develop consistent global scenarios illustrating essential characteristics of the approach. The focus is on a qualitative overview of its potential relevance for policy makers in the global energy community backed up by a number of national case studies. Given the vague scientific status and poor empirical record of this topic on the borderline of economics, sociology, psychology and engineering, it seemed important to clarify why it is an important issue to consider when developing scenarios for the long term global future such as the WEC-scenarios. Some general references on the topic of energy demand, life style changes and technology development are listed. Part A of this report deals with conceptual issues and policy relevance overviews. It demonstrates why concepts of life style and technology development are crucial to understand long-run demand developments and what contributions such concepts can make to answer crucial questions of energy and environmental policy. Part B includes a number of case studies for specific nations, both industrialized
(USA, Netherlands) and industrializing (Brazil, India), demonstrating the
widely diverging aspects of life style and technology development, that are
relevant at different stages of development and from different national
perspectives. The first part of the report reflects the work in this area
going on at the Netherlands Energy Research Foundation, which sponsored the
present Work Group, while the second part of the report contains
contributions from various members of the Work Group. 26 figs., 32 tabs., 60
refs.
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