Rebound effects, sometimes called indirect or second order effects, are the unintended consequences that can arise when sustainability measures lead to changes in environmental impact, often due to altered costs. Rebound effects can include direct economic rebound, when the price of a product decreases due to, for example, improved energy efficiency, freeing up money that may then be used to buy more of the same product—potentially increasing consumption. An example of this is driving longer distances when fuel consumption and its associated costs decrease.
There are also indirect economic rebound, when the change in price leads to spending more on another type of goods. For example, buying second-hand items is often cheaper than buying new, so the overall environmental impact depends on how households use the money that is saved. It could also be choosing sustainable products, like buying organic food, is more expensive. Then, the environmental impact depends on what the household spend less money on to compensate. Thus, environmental impact may increase or decrease depending on whether the money saved is spent on something more or less environmentally impactful or if the household refrains from consuming something more or less environmentally impactful.
Read more:
Second-order Environmental Effects (In Swedish)
About author:
Åsa Svenfelt
Associate Professor, Centre for Municipality Studies, CKS, Linköping University
I am a lecturer in Urban Planning and a docent in sustainable development and future studies. I research long-term planning for sustainable consumption and just transition to sustainable societies. In my research, I often use participatory future studies as a tool, both to visualize and analyze paths towards sustainable futures and to manage uncertainties in long-term urban planning. Within Mistra Sustainable Consumption, I lead the project “Testing new practices and measures in businesses and households” and the project “Framing futures for deep transformation” in collaboration with Karin Bradley.
