Research Projects

Household energy consumption makes up a substantial portion of California’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, 14 percent in 2002-2004. Voluntary actions as well as residential energy efficiency have been identified by the Assembly Bill 32 Scoping Plan as key components of the State’s strategy to meet a 2020 GHG emissions goal equal to the 1990 baseline. To meet the 2050 goal of 80 percent reductions in GHG emissions, dramatic shifts in the ways residential consumers of goods, energy, and services choose and use technologies will be necessary. Thus, both near-term and longer term GHG emissions targets require substantial behavioral changes. Historically, behavioral change measures have received relatively little support as an energy management strategy, and uncertainty regarding viable scenarios for very low energy consumption in 2050 prevails. The proposed research addresses both of these critical gaps by offering concrete examples of how California households live with relatively little energy, what motivates households to consume less than the norm, and what factors can be leveraged to induce other households to consume less energy. Of particular importance is that the strategies unveiled by this research are practicable within the current constellation of social, technological, and institutional constraints.