The importance of environmental attitudes in accounting for energy consumption

The take-up of solar photovoltaics (PV) in cities all over the developed world signals a new era of eco-efficiency in energy production, also expected to reduce the impact of energy pricing on supply and demand. Politicians must therefore look for alternative tools to pricing for restraining the demand for energy and generation of greenhouse gas emissions. This paper examines the demand for residential energy consumption focusing on environmental attitudes. The environmental predispositions of households are measured using a set of attitude and intention questions related to key factors in the theory of planned behaviour. This produces a typology consisting of 3 clusters of survey respondents - committed greens, material greens and enviro-sceptics. An analysis of covariance reveals significant differences for the energy consumption of these clusters after taking into account income, household size and dwelling size. These results confirm that energy policy addressing voluntary behavioural change remains an important priority at a time when technological change is allowing steady growth in the supply of renewable energy and sustainable urban design is gradually ensuring greater energy efficiency - but not at a rate likely to halt the increase in global demand for energy, and the associated growth in carbon emissions foreshadowed by the International Energy Agency and the IPCC.