Saturday, June 18, 2011

Energy saving in Swedish households. The (relative) importance of environmental attitudes

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301421511004460
Abstract: The objectives for energy saving in the housing sector set by recent Swedish energy and climate policies are quite demanding. This article uses nation-wide Swedish survey data from 2004 to 2007 to explore the potential for achieving those targets. Earlier findings that socio-economic characteristics such as age, housing type and income are strongly linked to higher propensities to save on heating and hot water usage are confirmed by ordered logistic regression models. However, general environmental attitudes are also found to play a crucial role. When assessing the relative importance of socio-economic factors and environmental attitudes, the effect on energy saving is generally greater for the former than the latter. In addition, important interaction effects are identified. In relative terms, the effect of environmental attitudes is clearly stronger among households in apartment blocks than among those in detached housing, and stronger among households with higher income than among those with lower income. We end by discussing the implications for the selection and targeting of policy measures to tap the energy savings potential in the population.

Highlights
► We use Swedish survey data to analyse the determinants of household energy saving.
► Housing type plays a crucial role for individuals’ propensity to save energy.
► Environmental attitudes are clearly more important in high-income households.
► Environmental attitudes are clearly more important for people in apartment blocks.

by Johan Martinsson, Lennart J. Lundqvist and Aksel Sundström; all of the Department of Political Science, University of Gothenburg, P.O. Box 711, SE 405 30 Göteborg, Sweden; Tel.: +46 317865148; fax: +46 317864599.
Energy Policy via Elsevier Science Direct www.ScienceDirect.com
Article in Press, Corrected Proof; Available online 17 June 2011.
Keywords: Household energy saving; Socio-economic characteristics; Environmental attitudes

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