Behavioural Changes
What are behavioural changes?
Behavioural changes are actions that energy consumers can take to reduce or eliminate unnecessary or wasteful energy consumption, for example walking, cycling or taking public transportation instead of driving; moderating the use of heating and air conditioning; replacing airplane flights with train journeys where possible; or choosing a more fuel-efficient vehicle.
Why are behavioural changes important?
Behavioural changes to reduce energy consumption can improve wellbeing and public health and contribute to decarbonisation. They can also address equity issues by shrinking the wide gulf between the disproportionately high per-capita energy use in wealthy countries and that in developing economies. Many actions can be taken immediately, often at little or no cost, such as turning down the thermostat or walking instead of driving.
What are the challenges?
Changes in behaviour depend not only on individual choices, but also on systemic factors such as the availability of infrastructure such as bicycle lanes, public transportation or high-speed rail. Effective policy and investment will therefore be essential for behaviour changes to play the role envisioned in the Net Zero Emissions by 2050 Scenario.
Tracking Behavioural Changes
Behavioural changes play an important role in the Net Zero Emissions by 2050 (NZE) Scenario, cutting CO2 emissions and reducing growth in energy demand. Behavioural changes can improve wellbeing and public health and address three main challenges to decarbonisation: existing carbon-intensive assets, hard-to-abate sectors and the need for rapid growth in clean energy supply.
Behavioural changes in the NZE Scenario are active and ongoing changes in energy use by consumers, typically in everyday life, which tackle excessive or wasteful energy consumption. These behavioural changes also address equity issues, shrinking the wide gulf between the disproportionately high per-capita energy use in wealthy countries and that in developing economies.
The availability of infrastructure (such as cycle lanes or high-speed rail) and socio-cultural norms affect the likelihood of consumers changing their energy-related behaviours. Changes are also only likely to happen at the level of individual citizens if governments bring about systemic changes related to mobility and consumer awareness through effective policy. The gradual shifts in lifestyles and opinions needed for these changes will therefore require timely, clear and consistent policy interventions and investment. In the NZE Scenario, around three-quarters of the emissions reductions to 2050 due to behavioural changes could be directly incentivised or mandated by government policies.
Governments have supported or mandated behavioural changes in buildings and on roads
Governments have supported or mandated behavioural changes in buildings and on roads
Across the world, governments are calling on citizens to change their energy-consuming habits to contribute towards net zero emissions goals:
- Different information campaigns have been launched, often via social media and email newsletters, to generate awareness and make suggestions on different ways to reduce energy use in the home. In South Africa, since 2020, the "Use electricity smartly" campaign has made recommendations on how to reduce electricity usage during peak consumption hours. The government of Japan has urged citizens to limit their energy use when possible, and Tokyo residents are encouraged to watch less television. In 2022, many countries including Denmark, Germany, Ireland, and Sweden launched national campaigns that promote measures such as reducing shower times, lowering the thermostat, or adjusting water heating settings.
- The Sobriété Energétique [energy sobriety] programme in France, launched in 2022, introduced a host of behavioural measures, including reducing speed limits to 110 km/h on highways for government employees, stipulating that lighting for businesses, offices and advertisement billboards must be switched off at night, increasing cash incentives for remote working and introducing subsidies for drivers practicing regular carpooling.
- Transport infrastructure investments are also being made to help drive modal shifting. In Brussels, Belgium, a new fleet of 94 electric buses, 90 trams and 43 metro trains will improve public transport services. In China, there are plans to expand the existing high-speed rail network by around one-third by 2025.
- In 2022, Hungary extended the winter school holiday and reduced the autumn holiday in order to save energy.
- In 2020, the Bureau of Energy Efficiency of India mandated that new air conditioning units be sold with a default pre-set temperature of 24 °C.
- In Spain, a four-day working week is being considered by the government following its introduction by an increasing number of companies, in part to reduce energy use. The government of Pakistan has officially shortened the working week, and furthermore is examining a mandatory remote workday on Fridays to conserve energy.
Behavioural changes can quickly reduce CO2 emissions
Behavioural changes can quickly reduce CO2 emissions
Behavioural changes play a significant role in reducing annual CO2 emissions in the NZE Scenario. Their role is critical, in part due to the continued use of carbon-intensive assets. Even as clean technologies expand across markets, some of these assets will remain in use. For example, in the NZE Scenario, around 80% of the cars on roads still have internal combustion engines in 2030. Behavioural measures, including efficient driving and lower speed limits, therefore help to address continued CO2 emissions from road transport.
The extent and pace of behavioural changes in the NZE Scenario is not uniform around the world, and in some places the need for enabling infrastructure as well as gradual shifts in cultural and social practices will delay their adoption.
However, some of the behavioural changes that address emissions from carbon-intensive assets, such as gas boilers, can happen today. Whilst being simple changes, these actions pack a punch – limiting heating to 19-20 °C in buildings would reduce cumulative emissions from fossil fuel boilers by 10% through to 2030.
More action is needed by policy makers to stimulate the adoption of these practices, although government responses to the current energy crisis indicate that progress is being made. For examples of the kinds of measures governments can take to enable behavioural changes, see this IEA commentary on policy interventions for behaviour change.
Growth in activity is inevitable as economies develop and populations increase, but behavioural changes can help to offset these increases
Growth in activity is inevitable as economies develop and populations increase, but behavioural changes can help to offset these increases
Global potential reductions in activity due to behavioural changes in cars, aviation, and heating and cooling in the Net Zero Scenario, 2022-2030
OpenBehavioural changes can help address hard-to-abate sectors, where technological options to reduce emissions are scarce or expensive. This is particularly relevant in aviation due to high activity growth. The unprecedented reduction in flying caused by the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic in 2020 only reduced CO2 emissions to slightly below their 2000 levels, highlighting just how high and how quickly emissions have risen in the past two decades.
Without behavioural changes, aviation activity in 2030 is nearly 20% higher. For car travel and heating and cooling, behavioural changes keep activity levels almost stable in 2030 compared to today.
Behavioural changes that reduce overall demand also play a key role in lessening the burden on new sources of clean energy, including renewables and bioenergy. This is especially relevant in advanced economies where consumption is higher. For example, in the NZE Scenario, in 2030 70% of heating demand reduction takes place in advanced economies.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the resulting energy crisis have increased the salience of behavioural changes
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the resulting energy crisis have increased the salience of behavioural changes
The ongoing energy crisis creates a window of opportunity for crisis response measures. Across the world, governments are calling on citizens to change their energy-consuming habits to contribute to a solution to energy shortages. This can help initiate social learning to prolong welfare-enhancing changes after the crisis has subsided.
Policies such as the ones mentioned above are broadly aligned with the NZE Scenario, where the set point temperature of space cooling is raised to 24-25 °C and heating limited to 19-20 °C, where possible, by 2030. Reducing speed limits to 100 km/h – which is currently only recommended in some countries, such as Austria – must be formalised by 2030 to keep transport on track. Government directives also largely neglect aviation, where shifting regional flights to high-speed rail and reducing demand growth for long-haul flights are key to decarbonising transport in the NZE Scenario.
To reduce emissions long-term these measures must be strengthened and prolonged beyond the immediate crisis. Sustained changes are crucial not only for energy security, but also to reach pressing climate goals.
Recommendations
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Behavioural changes are ultimately enacted by citizens and companies, but facilitated, incentivised or mandated by clear and consistent government policies and investment.
Behavioural changes do happen: from stopping smoking to limiting single-use plastics, experience demonstrates that new habits can be adopted. However, policy makers often hesitate to mandate behavioural changes for fear of public opposition or vested interests. However, public support can follow effective policies, as seen for example in Stockholm, where support for congestion charging grew from 40% to 70% in the five years following its introduction, as the availability of public transport increased.
Similarly, consumer attitudes towards sustainability can motivate the decisions of businesses concerned about public image. The private sector has significant potential to influence behavioural change through self-driven commitments and investment decisions. Ultimately, behavioural changes emerge in different contexts from a complex push-and-pull between governments, private companies, groups and individuals.
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Simply increasing access to clear information about the energy intensity of products or services may facilitate sustainable decision-making. The European Union’s simple and highly visible energy labels on appliances demonstrate this potential. The IEA estimates that in 2019 this policy avoided around 310 Mt CO2, or about 10%, of all energy-related emissions in EU countries. The campaigns currently being deployed in response to the energy crisis are also examples of these programmes.
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Prices can have a huge influence on consumer behaviour. Congestion charges in London, Milan and Singapore encourage commuters to transition to public transport. The impacts are clear: bus use increased by 37% in London within a year. Similarly, a frequent flyer levy could decrease demand for air travel by progressively increasing the cost of flights.
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Modal shift can only happen if reliable alternatives are available: investment in infrastructure – such as cycle lanes and public transport – is therefore vital. Regional investment in high-speed rail provides alternatives to air and car travel. These investments are in progress globally, as China prepares to expand its existing high-speed rail network by around one-third by 2025.
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Some behavioural changes can happen via mandates. Significant recent examples of this are the enacted or proposed bans on short-haul flights in European countries where alternative travel by rail is possible. Reducing speed limits and enforcing them would compel drivers to adopt less fuel-intensive driving habits.
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The rise of teleconferencing during the pandemic showed that much business travel is unnecessary: restricting this practice is a major opportunity for business and public-sector employers to cut emissions. Commitments to limit business travel are already being made by major international companies, including McKinsey & Co., S&P Global and PricewaterhouseCoopers, among others. McKinsey & Co. calculates that 83% of company emissions are due to travel and is targeting a 30% reduction per employee by 2025.
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Businesses that offer products or services of varying energy intensities, such as electricity companies, can promote their more sustainable products. In Switzerland, a study on electricity subscriptions showed that setting a “green” package as the default drove the share of customers using renewable energy from below 5% to over 80%.
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Employers can also reduce emissions from their operations by, for example, encouraging remote working to avoid commuting, which in the European Union accounts for roughly one-quarter of oil used by cars, and participating in programmes that encourage sustainable transport, such as the United Kingdom’s Cycle to Work scheme.
Playing my part
This report is the result of a collaboration between the European Commission and the International Energy Agency to raise European citizens’ awareness of the benefits of energy savings and the importance of putting energy efficiency at the heart of planning and investments.
Lead authors
Daniel Crow
Contributors
Leonie Staas
Natalia Triunfo