Towards a more interdisciplinary political framework to steer down the EU residential energy consumption

Godé, Lukas Jack Reiner

4. Term

Urban, Energy and Environmental Planning, Master

2019

83

EU’s høje energiforbrug lægger pres på de planetære grænser – de miljømæssige grænser for et sikkert råderum – herunder klimaet. Det er vigtigt at udvikle lavemissions-energikilder, men de kan også komme i konflikt med andre miljømæssige grænser og kan derfor ikke alene understøtte et fortsat meget højt energiforbrug. Derfor bør vi styrke indsatser, der reducerer selve efterspørgslen efter energi. Boligsektoren er en af de største slutforbrugere i EU, og dette speciale undersøger, hvordan en mere tværfaglig politisk ramme kan nedbringe husholdningers energiforbrug. Først gennemgås EU’s nuværende politik for styring af energi i husholdninger og holdes op imod nyere kritik i forskningslitteraturen. EU’s tilgang bygger i høj grad på to spor: 1) tekniske effektivitetsforbedringer og 2) adfærds- og incitamentspolitikker, der får borgere til at købe mere energieffektive apparater og ændre vaner. Specialet argumenterer for, at effektivitet bør indlejres i en besparelses- og tilstrækkelighedsramme (at klare sig med mindre), hvis nettoforbruget faktisk skal ned. En tilgang baseret på sociale praksisser kan desuden adressere de strukturelle socio-materielle forhold – som boligtyper, teknologi og normer – der i høj grad former individers adfærd. Dernæst udvikles en forklarende model af energiforbrug i boliger for at vurdere, hvor meget forbruget kan reduceres ved at fremme co-housing/bofællesskaber. Udgangspunktet er, at faldende husholdningsstørrelser driver energiefterspørgslen, fordi færre personer deler de samme ressourcer. Modellen bekræfter, at husholdningsstørrelse har en betydelig effekt på energiforbruget pr. person i EU. I et svensk eksempel viser modellen, at hvis den gennemsnitlige husholdningsstørrelse kom tilbage på niveauet fra 1991 – f.eks. via flere bofællesskaber – kunne det nationale energiforbrug i boliger reduceres med op til 9%. Afslutningsvis peger indsigter fra et semistruktureret interview på, at refleksive styringsprocesser – hvor myndigheder og aktører eksperimenterer, lærer og forankrer løsninger sammen – er velegnede til at igangsætte dybe ændringer i sociale praksisser, som fx udviklingen i husholdningsstørrelser. Samlet set peger specialet på, at en kombination af effektivitet, tilstrækkelighed og sociale praksis-tilgange, understøttet af adaptive styringsformer, kan levere mere holdbare reduktioner i energiforbruget i boliger og samtidig understøtte trivsel.

The European Union’s high energy use puts pressure on planetary boundaries—the ecological limits within which humanity can safely operate—including the climate. Developing low‑emission energy sources is essential, but these options can also run up against other environmental limits and cannot, on their own, sustain today’s very high levels of energy use. This makes it important to strengthen demand‑side efforts that reduce how much energy people use. Because homes are one of the largest end‑use sectors in the EU, this thesis explores how a more interdisciplinary policy framework could lower household energy demand. First, it reviews the EU’s current policies for managing residential energy use and compares them with recent critiques in the scientific literature. The EU’s approach largely rests on two pillars: (1) improving technical efficiency and (2) using behavior‑focused instruments and incentives to encourage people to buy efficient appliances and change habits. The thesis argues that efficiency should be embedded in a conservation and sufficiency frame—doing the same or better with less—if net consumption is to fall. A social‑practice approach can also tackle the structural socio‑material arrangements—such as housing types, technologies, and norms—that strongly shape individual behavior. Next, the thesis develops an explanatory model of residential energy consumption to assess how much demand could drop by expanding co‑housing, where people share living spaces and resources. The starting point is that declining household size drives demand, because fewer people share the same appliances and heated spaces. The model confirms that household size has a significant effect on per‑capita residential energy use in the EU. In a Swedish example, the model suggests that returning the average household size to its 1991 level—potentially through more co‑housing options—could reduce national residential energy consumption by up to 9%. Finally, insights from a semi‑structured interview indicate that reflexive governance—policy processes that foster joint experimentation, learning, and institutionalization—can help initiate deep changes in social practices, such as trends in household composition. Overall, the thesis points to a combination of efficiency, sufficiency, and social‑practice approaches, supported by adaptive governance, as a way to achieve deeper, more sustainable cuts in home energy use while maintaining well‑being.

[This abstract was generated with the help of AI]

social practice ; sufficiency ; energy ; cross-section ; household ; consumption ; conservation ; efficiency ; co-housing ; Sweden ; EU ; governance ; transition ; socio-technical ; social metabolism

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