Jaume Freire-González

• PhD
• Research Scientist at Spanish National Research Council

Energy efficiency policies have a special importance within carbon emission reduction policies to mitigate the climate change effects. However, potential reductions of energy consumption and, consequently, its resulting emissions, can be offset through the so called “rebound effect”. The concept of “rebound effect” refers to a set of mechanisms whe...

El efecto rebote se produce cuando un incremento de la eficiencia energética no se traduce en el ahorro energético que se esperaba. Esto es debido a se produce un abaratamiento del coste del servicio energético afectado, que se acaba traduciendo en una mayor demanda de éste, compensando total o parcialmente el ahorro derivado de la mayor eficiencia...

Droughts are a specific type of natural hazard. Economic assessments of drought impacts require a framework capable of accounting for its unique and particular characteristics. Traditional conceptual frameworks used to assess the impacts of natural hazards do not adequately capture all of the factors that contribute to the economic impacts of droug...

This research estimates the direct and indirect rebound effect of energy efficiency in households for the EU-27 countries (the first twenty-seven Member States of the European Union). A hybrid methodology that combines econometric estimates, environmental extended input-output analysis and re-spending models has been developed. Although most of the...

In this article we lay the foundations for a new approach for Jevons Paradox and rebound effects, based on how it is triggered (origin) and how it expands (expansion), and from it, explore the potential of different ways to minimize or offset rebounds from resources productivity and conservation. We conceptualize different key aspects to understand...

The impact of economic crises on an economy's energy consumption, considering its sectorial interactions, remains an unexplored area. For this article, we investigated the structural sectorial relationships in energy terms before, during, and after Catalonia's 2008–2014 financial crisis, using environmentally extended input–output analysis. We used...

The relationship between economic growth and CO2 emissions has been analyzed testing the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis, but traditional econometric methods may be flawed. An alternative method is proposed using segmented-sample regressions and implemented in 164 countries (98.34% of world population) over different periods from 1822 to 201...

Improvements in resources efficiency and resources conservation are less effective at reducing resources use than predicted by engineering calculations due to socio-economic and behavioral responses taken by individuals, firms, institutions and governments. The mechanisms activated by these responses produce the so-called ‘rebound effect’, that is,...

We estimate the direct rebound effect (DRE) for all energy services requiring electricity for their provision in Paraguayan households. Using recent panel data from 2001 to 2017, we estimate the magnitude of the DRE at the province and municipality levels. Because we estimate the DRE through the own-price elasticity of electricity demand, we not on...

We estimate the magnitude of the direct rebound effect (DRE) of households’ electricity consumption in Spain, through an econometric estimation method of panel data. The results indicate a DRE between 26 and 35% in the short run and around 36% in the long run. Moreover, we find a significant influence of other energy sources that appear to be compl...

Rebound effects have been historically studied through narrow framings which may overlook the complexity of sustainability challenges, sometimes leading to badly informed conclusions and policy recommendations. Here we present a critical literature review of rebound effects in the context of sustainability science in order to (1) map existing rebou...

Environmental taxation has been a permanent feature of the policy agenda over the past few decades. It has represented about 2.5 percent of GDP and 6 percent of total taxation in the EU in recent years. In this paper, we study the evolution of total environmental taxation and its two main subcategories, energy and transport taxes, as a percentage o...

Economic theory states that incineration and landfill taxation can effectively diminish the environmental impacts of pollution and resource use by reducing their associated pollutants while stimulating the reuse and recycling of materials, and therefore, fostering a circular economy. The aim of this research is to assess the economic and environmen...

Promoting energy efficiency is generally assumed to be an effective strategy to reduce energy use and tackle climate change. However, an extensive literature has shown that rebound effects reduce its effectiveness and can even be counterproductive. We show how a more complex policy strategy, with coordinated measures, could provide the desired resu...

Environmental policies often underperform due to so-called rebound effects, namely behavioural and systemic responses to technical change leading to additional consumption and environmental damage. While evidence of rebound is abundant, studies generally focus on technical changes that are neither associated with specific technologies nor their pro...

Governments foster voluntary actions within households to mitigate climate change. However, the literature suggests that they may not be as effective as expected due to rebound effects. We use a dynamic economy–energy–environment computable general equilibrium (CGE) model of the Catalan economy to simulate the effect of 75 different actions on GDP...

We review the empirical literature concerning the magnitude of the direct rebound effect in households, focusing on econometric studies, and analyze the theoretical and methodological aspects for the estimation of the direct rebound effect. We then estimate the magnitude of the direct rebound effect of households’ electricity consumption in Spain....

Colombia aims to diversify and decarbonize its energy sector by encouraging the use of non-conventional renewable resources. Policies and/or measures to achieve this will presumably help to achieve national and international environmental goals, yet potential rebound effects may reduce its efficacy by triggering additional demand and environmental...

The irruption of the COVID-19 pandemic has raised concerns on sustainability issues. The pandemic has accelerated the implementation of technologies such as ICT and shifts in mobility behaviour. Such changes have the potential to reduce environmental burdens, but also to trigger large environmental rebound effects. This perspective article reflects...

Gains achieved by conservation interventions such as payments for environmental services (PES) may be lost upon termination of the program, a problem known as permanence. However, there have been few efforts to evaluate the permanence of conservation results. This article examines the permanence of land-use changes induced by a short-term PES progr...

The rebound effect reflects the difference between the expected energy savings from energy efficiency, and the real ones, considering the former is higher than the latter. In some extreme cases, some scholars consider energy use can even increase after an energy efficiency improvement. This is due to agents’ behavioural responses. After almost four...

Governments stimulate efficiency measures to save water resources, particularly in areas with high water stress and those that experience droughts. However, economic theory and some empirical studies tell us that the effects of efficiency improvements of a resource may not lead to a global reduction in the use of that resource. We assess the effect...

An energy transition toward clean energy sources would reduce environmental impacts. One proposal to trigger this energy transition uses economic instruments, particularly environmental taxes. This research studies the potential impact of taxes on electricity on the environment and the economy. Using a dynamic computable general equilibrium model f...

A carbon tax is potentially a policy that can reduce CO2 emissions and mitigate climate risks, at lowest economy-wide costs. We develop a dynamic CGE model for Spain to assess the economic and environmental effects of a carbon tax, and test the double dividend (DD) hypothesis. We simulate the impact of three carbon taxes: €10, €20 and €30 per ton o...

Economic theory states that incineration and landfill taxes can be a good policy to reduce environmental impacts of these activities by reducing their importance and associated pollutants, while stimulating reuse and recycling of materials. In this research we assess the economic and environmental effects of these taxes in Spain with the use of a d...

Mountain ecosystems are considered to be vulnerable to climate change, with potential detrimental effects including the reduction of the snow seasons, the gradual retreat of glaciers, and changes in water storage and availability. One vulnerable sector to climate change is winter tourism, with some resorts likely to experience a significant reducti...

The economic impacts of a drought depend critically on how water is allocated to different users. Choices as to water allocation can often reflect wider economic policy, environmental, and social goals and constraints. This research applies a multi-objective linear programming input-output method to determine a suite of water supply allocations for...

An environmental fiscal reform (EFR) represents a transition of a taxation system toward one based in environmental taxation, rather than on taxation of capital, labor, or consumption. It differs from an environmental tax reform (ETR) in that an EFR also includes a reform of subsidies which counteract environmental policy. This research details dif...

Computable general equilibrium (CGE) modelling is a flexible and open way to model the economic systems that allow practitioners to assess the impacts of different policies or external shocks over an economic system. There is some empirical literature dedicated to test the double dividend hypothesis of an environmental tax reform using CGE models....

Estimating the potential economic impacts of drought is increasingly prominent in policy discussions on resilience to future population and climate changes. We develop a scenario-based analytical framework for estimating the economic impacts of droughts under a range of assumed climate and policy conditions. The scenarios modeled take account of di...

Energy efficiency improvements reduce the costs of energy services, and under some circumstances, increase the available income. This generates an additional increase of consumption of goods and services that need additional energy to be produced, distributed and consumed. This effect is known as the indirect rebound effect in the literature. Howev...

Some progress has been done during the last years on the methods and provision of empirical evidence on the direct and indirect rebound effect. However, these methods are complex, and sometimes require some specific economic knowledge. The development of risk and vulnerability rebound indicators for economies can be a useful tool to help the resear...

When an energy efficiency improvement occurs at the household level, several mechanisms, grouped under the name of the rebound effect, increase the available income and consumption, increasing the total energy consumption of the economic structure. The present research analyses the links between energy efficiency improvements in households, consump...

Public infrastructure has a positive effect on labour productivity and growth. However, different types of infrastructure produce different magnitudes of effects. This article contains an analysis of the stock of hydraulic capital and investments in Catalonia and provides empirical evidence of its effect on productivity and growth. It also compares...

Regression analysis of post-PES changes. (DOCX)

Energy and climate change policies are often strongly based on achieving energy efficiency targets. These policies are supposed to reduce energy consumption and consequently, associated pollutant emissions, but the Jevons paradox may pose a question mark on this assumption. Rebound effects produced by reduction in costs of energy services have not...

This article presents a stepwise, refined and practical analytical framework to model the microeconomic environmental rebound effect (ERE) stemming from cost differences of electric cars in terms of changes in multiple life cycle environmental indicators. The analytical framework is based on marginal consumption analysis and hybrid life cycle asses...

The effectiveness of conservation interventions such as Payments for Environmental Services (PES) is often evaluated—if it is evaluated at all—only at the completion of the intervention. Since gains achieved by the intervention may be lost after it ends, even apparently successful interventions may not result in long-term conservation benefits, a p...

Unsolicited mail (also called junk mail) received by households is a potential source for the application of waste prevention measures. There are insufficient systematic studies on the potential reduction of this kind of waste and on the effects of certain policies for its reduction. The present research presents the results of an assessment of the...

Los cambios que se están produciendo en el clima requieren que las especies y los ecosistemas, pero también la sociedad y la economía, se adapten a las nuevas condiciones. Los cambios producidos y los que se esperan suponen determinados riesgos para las actividades económicas más expuestas, pero también algunas oportunidades. La investigación, cent...

Climate changes that are already occurring require that species and ecosystems, but also society as a whole and the economy adapt to the new conditions. As indicated by climate models, each region of the planet will suffer some sort of changes, which will be specific for each geographical area. These changes imply risks for certain economic activit...

p align="justify">El principal objetivo de la reforma del Impuesto Especial sobre Determinados Medios de Transporte (IEDMT), que entró en vigor en enero de 2008, fue incentivar un progresivo cambio en el parque automovilístico español hacia vehículos menos contaminantes. La presente investigación realiza una estimación, a partir de técnicas economé...

The presence of impurities in biodegradable waste (biowaste) causes problems with the management of waste, among which are additional costs derived from the need to improve pre-treatment of biowaste, loss of treatment capacity and the difficulty selling treated biowaste as compost owing to its low quality. When treated biowaste is used for soil con...

Texto completo disponible en: http://opcions.org/sites/default/files/pdf/InformeCambioGlobalConsumo.pdf El Informe construye un marco de información en torno al consumo y la sostenibilidad en España pasando del diagnóstico a la construcción de escenarios de futuro y a la elaboración de propuestas. Es el resumen del trabajo coordinado entre distin...

Water supply restrictions due to droughts generate significant costs to many economic agents. Although these costs are difficult to assess, this article presents a methodology to quantify, from a general equilibrium perspective, the macroeconomic impact of water supply restrictions through the estimation of aggregate production functions that inclu...

Al mejorar la calidad del agua de abastecimiento urbano se producen vario beneficios económicos en los hogares. Se estiman estos beneficio potenciales en forma de una reducción del gasto en consumo de agua envasada. Para ello, se construye un modelo econométrico que relaciona la cantidad de agua envasada consumida en los hogares con diversos paráme...

This paper reviews the empirical literature concerning the direct rebound effect in households; it briefly analyzes the main theoretical and methodological aspects, and finally estimates the magnitude of direct rebound effect for all energy services using electricity in households of Catalonia (Spain) using econometric techniques. The main results...

La presencia de impurezas en los residuos biodegradables (residuos biológicos) causa problemas con la gestión de residuos, entre los que destacan los costes adicionales derivados de la necesidad de mejorar el tratamiento previo de los residuos biológicos, pérdida de la capacidad de tratamiento y la dificultad para vender los residuos biológicos com...

En este artículo se hace una aproximación al conocimiento del estado actual del compostaje doméstico en Catalunya a partir de datos obtenidos sobre los compostadores y sus responsables, así como respecto de características de los hogares donde se encuentran. Asimismo se desarrolla un modelo teórico –y se contrasta empíricamente a través de técnicas...

Hay una creciente preocupación social por la protección del medio ambiente y las presiones que la actividad económica ejerce sobre este. Los poderes públicos, empujados por esta demanda social, han de impulsar políticas que, sin dejar de considerar el desarrollo económico y la competitividad de las empresas y la economía en su conjunto, incorporen...

Existe una gran controversia sobre los efectos de las políticas ambientales sobre la competitividad de las empresas y sobre las economías nacionales. A pesar de que, en general, hay instrumentos que, a corto plazo, producen costes sobre determinados sectores (los más contaminantes), los efectos a largo plazo sobre el conjunto de la economía son más...

L’efecte rebot és aquell mecanisme a través del qual una millora de l’eficiència energètica no produeix el potencial estalvi d’energia esperat, o inclús pot fer que n’augmenti el consum. Això és degut a que una millora de l’eficiència energètica produeix un abaratiment del cost de proveir el servei energètic, que n’impulsa la demanda. Aquest trebal...