IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/tse/wpaper/29950.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

The complex relationship between households’ climate change concerns and their water and energy mitigation behaviour

Author

Listed:
  • Nauges, Céline
  • Wheeler, Sarah Ann

Abstract

Climate change will require commitment by all levels of the community, but there is still uncertainty surrounding the best way to influence individual mitigation behaviour. This study analyses household survey data on water and energy climate change mitigation behaviour from eleven OECD countries in 2011, and provides new evidence of a form of maladaptation, namely a complex rebound relationship between climate change attitudes and mitigation behaviour. First, results confirm other studies that climate change concerns and economic incentives (in terms of electricity and water charges) positively influence mitigation behaviour. Second, we find that the more costly, in terms of time and/or money, are the mitigation actions of a household, the more likely undertaking such actions directly lessens respondents’ climate change concerns. This negative rebound effect is more likely to occur in ‘environmentally-motivated’ households, who are more likely to have stated they believe human actions can help mitigate climate change. Conversely, economic incentives in driving energy and water pro-environmental behaviour work better in non-environmentallymotivated households. This highlights that a portfolio of policies is needed to drive mitigation behaviour.

Suggested Citation

  • Nauges, Céline & Wheeler, Sarah Ann, 2015. "The complex relationship between households’ climate change concerns and their water and energy mitigation behaviour," TSE Working Papers 15-611, Toulouse School of Economics (TSE), revised Jul 2016.
  • Handle: RePEc:tse:wpaper:29950
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.tse-fr.eu/sites/default/files/TSE/documents/doc/wp/2016/wp_611_2.pdf
    File Function: Full text
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Thøgersen, John & Noblet, Caroline, 2012. "Does green consumerism increase the acceptance of wind power?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 854-862.
    2. van der Linden, Sander, 2014. "On the relationship between personal experience, affect and risk perception: the case of climate change," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 57689, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    3. Grafton, R. Quentin & Kompas, Tom & To, Hang & Ward, Michael B., 2009. "Residential Water Consumption: A Cross Country Analysis," Research Reports 94823, Australian National University, Environmental Economics Research Hub.
    4. Ajzen, Icek, 1991. "The theory of planned behavior," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 50(2), pages 179-211, December.
    5. Christophe Bontemps & Céline Nauges, 2016. "The Impact of Perceptions in Averting-decision Models: An Application of the Special Regressor Method to Drinking Water Choices," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 98(1), pages 297-313.
    6. Kenneth A. Baerenklau & Kurt A. Schwabe & Ariel Dinar, 2014. "The Residential Water Demand Effect of Increasing Block Rate Water Budgets," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 90(4), pages 683-699.
    7. Matthew J. Hornsey & Emily A. Harris & Paul G. Bain & Kelly S. Fielding, 2016. "Meta-analyses of the determinants and outcomes of belief in climate change," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 6(6), pages 622-626, June.
    8. Ohler, Adrienne M. & Billger, Sherrilyn M., 2014. "Does environmental concern change the tragedy of the commons? Factors affecting energy saving behaviors and electricity usage," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 1-12.
    9. Lisa Zaval & Elizabeth A. Keenan & Eric J. Johnson & Elke U. Weber, 2014. "How warm days increase belief in global warming," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 4(2), pages 143-147, February.
    10. Jeffrey M. Wooldridge, 2015. "Control Function Methods in Applied Econometrics," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 50(2), pages 420-445.
    11. Jeffrey M Wooldridge, 2010. "Econometric Analysis of Cross Section and Panel Data," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 2, volume 1, number 0262232588, December.
    12. Cornelissen, Gert & Pandelaere, Mario & Warlop, Luk & Dewitte, Siegfried, 2008. "Positive cueing: Promoting sustainable consumer behavior by cueing common environmental behaviors as environmental," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 25(1), pages 46-55.
    13. Grafton, R. Quentin & Kompas, Tom & To, Hang & Ward, Michael B., 2009. "Residential Water Consumption: A Cross Country Analysis," Research Reports 94823, Australian National University, Environmental Economics Research Hub.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. María Ángeles García-Valiñas & Sara Suárez-Fernández, 2022. "Are Economic Tools Useful to Manage Residential Water Demand? A Review of Old Issues and Emerging Topics," Post-Print hal-04067487, HAL.
    2. Chad M. Baum & Christian Gross, 2017. "Sustainability policy as if people mattered: developing a framework for environmentally significant behavioral change," Journal of Bioeconomics, Springer, vol. 19(1), pages 53-95, April.
    3. Liu, Ariane & Giurco, Damien & Mukheibir, Pierre, 2015. "Motivating metrics for household water-use feedback," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 103(C), pages 29-46.
    4. Andrew G. Meyer, 2022. "Do economic conditions affect climate change beliefs and support for climate action? Evidence from the US in the wake of the Great Recession," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 60(1), pages 64-86, January.
    5. Milan Ščasný & Šarlota Smutná, 2021. "Estimation of price and income elasticity of residential water demand in the Czech Republic over three decades," Journal of Consumer Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 55(2), pages 580-608, June.
    6. Jaime Torres, Mónica M. & Carlsson, Fredrik, 2018. "Direct and spillover effects of a social information campaign on residential water-savings," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 222-243.
    7. Bethany Cooper, 2017. "What drives compliance? An application of the theory of planned behaviour to urban water restrictions using structural equation modelling," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 49(14), pages 1426-1439, March.
    8. Masserini Lucio & Romano Giulia & Corsini Lorenzo, 2018. "Investigating Attitudes towards Water Savings, Price Increases, and Willingness to Pay among Italian University Students," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 32(12), pages 4123-4138, September.
    9. Claudia Arias & Carlos A. Trujillo, 2020. "Perceived Consumer Effectiveness as A Trigger of Behavioral Spillover Effects: A path towards Recycling," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-17, May.
    10. Marta Suárez-Varela & Roberto Martínez-Espiñeira, 2018. "A proposal for the analysis of price escalation within water tariffs: The impact of the Water Framework Directive in Spain," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 36(4), pages 726-749, June.
    11. Dreher, Axel & Fuchs, Andreas & Langlotz, Sarah, 2019. "The effects of foreign aid on refugee flows," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 127-147.
    12. Jie Gao & Dick Ettema & Marco Helbich & Carlijn B. M. Kamphuis, 2019. "Travel mode attitudes, urban context, and demographics: do they interact differently for bicycle commuting and cycling for other purposes?," Transportation, Springer, vol. 46(6), pages 2441-2463, December.
    13. Kaitlin T Raimi & Paul C Stern & Alexander Maki, 2017. "The Promise and Limitations of Using Analogies to Improve Decision-Relevant Understanding of Climate Change," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(1), pages 1-20, January.
    14. Arnd Kölling & Claus Schnabel, 2022. "Owners, external managers and industrial relations in German establishments," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 60(2), pages 424-443, June.
    15. Phu Nguyen-Van & Anne Stenger & Tuyen Tiet, 2021. "Social incentive factors in interventions promoting sustainable behaviors: A meta-analysis," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(12), pages 1-27, December.
    16. Fujimoto, Takefumi & Suzuki, Aya, 2021. "Do Fertilizer and Seed Subsidies Strengthen Farmers' Market Participation? the Impact of Tanzania NAIVS on Farmers' Purchase of Agricultural Inputs and Their Maize-Selling Activities," 2021 Conference, August 17-31, 2021, Virtual 315044, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    17. Nshakira-Rukundo, Emmanuel & Mussa, Essa Chanie & Gerber, Nicolas & von Braun, Joachim, 2020. "Impact of voluntary community-based health insurance on child stunting: Evidence from rural Uganda," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 245(C).
    18. Ana Tur-Prats, 2017. "Unemployment and intimate-partner violence: A gender-identity approach," Economics Working Papers 1564, Department of Economics and Business, Universitat Pompeu Fabra.
    19. Shahzad, Muhammad Faisal & Abdulai, Awudu, 2020. "Adaptation to extreme weather conditions and farm performance in rural Pakistan," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 180(C).
    20. Djiby Racine Thiam & Ariel Dinar & Hebert Ntuli, 2021. "Promotion of residential water conservation measures in South Africa: the role of water-saving equipment," Environmental Economics and Policy Studies, Springer;Society for Environmental Economics and Policy Studies - SEEPS, vol. 23(1), pages 173-210, January.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    economic incentives; rebound effect; mitigation behaviour; climate change attitudes;
    All these keywords.

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:tse:wpaper:29950. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: the person in charge (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/tsetofr.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.