IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/srt/wpaper/0224.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Green energy transition in Europe: Importance and behaviour of private households

Author

Listed:
  • Jens Horbach

    (Technical University of Applied Sciences Augsburg, School of Business, Friedberger Straße 4, D-86161 Augsburg)

Abstract

The success of a green energy transition is highly dependent on the household sector as one of the most important energy users. Private heating, electricity consumption or private transport are important key levers to reduce households´ energy use and its impacts on cli-mate change. The paper analyses the determinants of energy related attitudes and activities of households based on econometric estimations of European and German survey data. The results show that personal factors such as female gender and a high income are positively correlated to green energy behaviour. Highly qualified persons are more likely to realize green energy related measures. People having difficulties to pay their bills are significantly more likely to use energy friendly public transport, but they have a lower willingness to pay for energy saving measures compared to richer groups.

Suggested Citation

  • Jens Horbach, 2024. "Green energy transition in Europe: Importance and behaviour of private households," SEEDS Working Papers 0224, SEEDS, Sustainability Environmental Economics and Dynamics Studies, revised Feb 2024.
    • Handle: RePEc:srt:wpaper:0224
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sustainability-seeds.org/papers/RePec/srt/wpaper/0224.pdf
    File Function: First version, 2024
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: http://www.sustainability-seeds.org/papers/RePec/srt/wpaper/0224.pdf
    File Function: Revised version, 2024
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Trotta, Gianluca, 2018. "Factors affecting energy-saving behaviours and energy efficiency investments in British households," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 529-539.
    2. Sardianou, E. & Genoudi, P., 2013. "Which factors affect the willingness of consumers to adopt renewable energies?," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 1-4.
    3. Jakučionytė-Skodienė, Miglė & Liobikienė, Genovaitė, 2023. "Changes in energy consumption and CO2 emissions in the Lithuanian household sector caused by environmental awareness and climate change policy," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 180(C).
    4. Ana Ramos & Xavier Labandeira & Andreas Löschel, 2016. "Pro-environmental Households and Energy Efficiency in Spain," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 63(2), pages 367-393, February.
    5. Petrovich, Beatrice & Carattini, Stefano & Wüstenhagen, Rolf, 2021. "The price of risk in residential solar investments," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 180(C).
    6. Lange, Andreas & Schwirplies, Claudia & Ziegler, Andreas, 2017. "On the interrelation between the consumption of impure public goods and the provision of direct donations: Theory and empirical evidence," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 72-88.
    7. Welsch, Heinz, 2021. "How climate-friendly behavior relates to moral identity and identity-protective cognition: Evidence from the European social surveys," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 185(C).
    8. Lévay, Petra Zsuzsa & Vanhille, Josefine & Goedemé, Tim & Verbist, Gerlinde, 2021. "The association between the carbon footprint and the socio-economic characteristics of Belgian households," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 186(C).
    9. Peersman, Gert & Wauters, Joris, 2024. "Heterogeneous household responses to energy price shocks," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 132(C).
    10. Chen, Jiahui & Liao, Hua & Zhang, Tong, 2024. "Empowering women substantially accelerates the household clean energy transition in China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 187(C).
    11. Cayla, Jean-Michel & Maizi, Nadia & Marchand, Christophe, 2011. "The role of income in energy consumption behaviour: Evidence from French households data," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(12), pages 7874-7883.
    12. Carolin Pommeranz & Bertram I. Steininger, 2021. "What Drives the Premium for Energy-Efficient Apartments – Green Awareness or Purchasing Power?," The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Springer, vol. 62(2), pages 220-241, February.
    13. Ziegler, Andreas, 2020. "Heterogeneous preferences and the individual change to alternative electricity contracts," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    14. Antunes, Micaela & Teotónio, Carla & Quintal, Carlota & Martins, Rita, 2023. "Energy affordability across and within 26 European countries: Insights into the prevalence and depth of problems using microeconomic data," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 127(PA).
    15. Liobikienė, Genovaitė & Mandravickaitė, Justina & Bernatonienė, Jurga, 2016. "Theory of planned behavior approach to understand the green purchasing behavior in the EU: A cross-cultural study," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 38-46.
    16. Videras, Julio & Owen, Ann L. & Conover, Emily & Wu, Stephen, 2012. "The influence of social relationships on pro-environment behaviors," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 63(1), pages 35-50.
    17. Claudia Aravena & Andrés Riquelme & Eleanor Denny, 2016. "Money, Comfort or Environment? Priorities and Determinants of Energy Efficiency Investments in Irish Households," Journal of Consumer Policy, Springer, vol. 39(2), pages 159-186, June.
    18. Schleich, Joachim, 2019. "Energy efficient technology adoption in low-income households in the European Union – What is the evidence?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 196-206.
    19. Hunt Allcott & Todd Rogers, 2014. "The Short-Run and Long-Run Effects of Behavioral Interventions: Experimental Evidence from Energy Conservation," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 104(10), pages 3003-3037, October.
    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. Henningsen, Geraldine & Wiese, Catharina, 2019. "Do Household Characteristics Really Matter? A Meta-Analysis on the Determinants of Households’ Energy-Efficiency Investments," MPRA Paper 101701, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    2. Schleich, Joachim & Faure, Corinne & Meissner, Thomas, 2021. "Adoption of retrofit measures among homeowners in EU countries: The effects of access to capital and debt aversion," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 149(C).
    3. Canepa, Alessandra & Chersoni, Giulia & Fontana, Magda, 2023. "The role of environmental and financial motivations in the adoption of energy-saving technologies: Evidence from European Union data," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 1-14.
    4. Schleich, Joachim & Gassmann, Xavier & Meissner, Thomas & Faure, Corinne, 2023. "Making the factors underlying the implicit discount rate tangible," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 177(C).
    5. Groh, Elke D. & Ziegler, Andreas, 2022. "On the relevance of values, norms, and economic preferences for electricity consumption," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 192(C).
    6. Faure, Corinne & Schleich, Joachim, 2020. "Poor energy ratings when appliances convey?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 139(C).
    7. Toshi H. Arimura & Elke D. Groh & Miwa Nakai & Andreas Ziegler, 2022. "The causal effect of private and organizational climate-related identity on climate protection activities: Evidence from a framed field experiment in Japan," MAGKS Papers on Economics 202229, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Faculty of Business Administration and Economics, Department of Economics (Volkswirtschaftliche Abteilung).
    8. Jakučionytė-Skodienė, Miglė & Liobikienė, Genovaitė, 2023. "Changes in energy consumption and CO2 emissions in the Lithuanian household sector caused by environmental awareness and climate change policy," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 180(C).
    9. Daniel Engler & Gunnar Gutsche & Amantia Simixhiu & Andreas Ziegler, 2022. "Social norms and individual climate protection activities: A framed field experiment for Germany," MAGKS Papers on Economics 202230, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Faculty of Business Administration and Economics, Department of Economics (Volkswirtschaftliche Abteilung).
    10. Ángeles Longarela-Ares & Anxo Calvo-Silvosa & José-Benito Pérez-López, 2020. "The Influence of Economic Barriers and Drivers on Energy Efficiency Investments in Maritime Shipping, from the Perspective of the Principal-Agent Problem," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(19), pages 1-42, September.
    11. Du, Hua & Han, Qi & de Vries, Bauke & Sun, Jun, 2024. "Community solar PV adoption in residential apartment buildings: A case study on influencing factors and incentive measures in Wuhan," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 354(PA).
    12. 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.
    13. Petrov, Ivan & Ryan, Lisa, 2021. "The landlord-tenant problem and energy efficiency in the residential rental market," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).
    14. Uzziah Mutumbi & Gladman Thondhlana & Sheunesu Ruwanza, 2022. "Co-Designed Interventions Yield Significant Electricity Savings among Low-Income Households in Makhanda South Africa," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-17, March.
    15. Horbach, Jens, 2023. "Determinants of climate change perception and behaviour of European households," Ruhr Economic Papers 1034, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.
    16. Chersoni, Giulia & DellaValle, Nives & Fontana, Magda, 2022. "Modelling thermal insulation investment choice in the EU via a behaviourally informed agent-based model," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 163(C).
    17. Lanlan Li & Huayang Ming & Ranran Yang & Xuan Luo, 2020. "The Impact of Policy Factors and Users’ Awareness on Electricity-Saving Behaviors: From the Perspective of Habits and Investment," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(12), pages 1-23, June.
    18. Blankenberg, Ann-Kathrin & Alhusen, Harm, 2019. "On the determinants of pro-environmental behavior: A literature review and guide for the empirical economist," University of Göttingen Working Papers in Economics 350, University of Goettingen, Department of Economics, revised 2019.
    19. Ortega-Izquierdo, Margarita & Paredes-Salvador, Andrés & Montoya-Rasero, Carlos, 2019. "Analysis of the decision making factors for heating and cooling systems in Spanish households," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 100(C), pages 175-185.
    20. Welsch, Heinz, 2022. "Do social norms trump rational choice in voluntary climate change mitigation? Multi-country evidence of social tipping points," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 200(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Green energy behaviour; climate change; European data; multivariate probit model;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C25 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Discrete Regression and Qualitative Choice Models; Discrete Regressors; Proportions; Probabilities
    • D12 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis
    • D91 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making
    • Q41 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - Demand and Supply; Prices
    • Q54 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Climate; Natural Disasters and their Management; Global Warming

    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:srt:wpaper:0224. 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: Alessandro Palma (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.sustainability-seeds.org .

    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.