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Overcoming inertia: insights from evolutionary economics into improved energy and climate policies

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  • KEVIN MARECHAL
  • NATHALIE LAZARIC

Abstract

The 'efficiency paradox' has generated controversy and suggests that mainstream economics is not neutral in the way it deals with climate change. An alternative economic framework, evolutionary economics, is used to investigate this crucial issue and offer insights into the development of a complementary framework for designing climate policy and for managing the transition to a low-carbon society. The evolutionary framework allows us to identify the presence of two sources of inertia (i.e. at the individual level through 'habits' and at the level of socio-technical systems) that mutually reinforce each other in a path-dependent manner. To overcome 'carbon lock-in', decision-makers should design measures (e.g. commitment strategies, niche management) that specifically target those change-resisting factors, as they tend to reduce the efficiency of traditional instruments. A series of recommendations for policy-makers is provided.

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  • Kevin Marechal & Nathalie Lazaric, 2010. "Overcoming inertia: insights from evolutionary economics into improved energy and climate policies," Climate Policy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 10(1), pages 103-119, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:tcpoxx:v:10:y:2010:i:1:p:103-119
    DOI: 10.3763/cpol.2008.0601
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    5. Nathalie Lazaric & Jun Jin & Ali Douai & Cécile Ayerbe, 2014. "Role of Users in the Developing Eco-Innovation: Comparative case research in China and France," Post-Print halshs-01070168, HAL.
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    9. Marc-Hubert Depret & Abdelillah Hamdouch, 2012. "Clean Technologies and Perspectives of the Green Economy in Emergent and Developing Countries: Foundations, Opportunities and Constraints," Chapters, in: Blandine Laperche & Nadine Levratto & Dimitri Uzunidis (ed.), Crisis, Innovation and Sustainable Development, chapter 12, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    10. Nathalie Lazaric & Vanessa Oltra, 2012. "Sustainable Consumption in an Evolutionary Framework: How to Foster Behavioural Change?," Chapters, in: Blandine Laperche & Nadine Levratto & Dimitri Uzunidis (ed.), Crisis, Innovation and Sustainable Development, chapter 3, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    11. Nathalie Lazaric & Fabrice Guel & Jean Belin & Vanessa Oltra & Sébastien Lavaud & Ali Douai, 2020. "Determinants of sustainable consumption in France: the importance of social influence and environmental values," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 30(5), pages 1337-1366, November.
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    13. Odenweller, Adrian, 2022. "Climate mitigation under S-shaped energy technology diffusion: Leveraging synergies of optimisation and simulation models," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 178(C).
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