CIBC: Harper's Intensity Targets Won't Cut GHGs

That's because of a perverse "rebound effect" noticed by energy economist Daniel Khazzoom following the OPEC oil shocks, which postulates that the greater the efficiency with which a natural resource is used, the greater the demand for its usage. For instance, the paper notes, following the advent of the James Watt steam engine, coal consumption dropped briefly but increased tenfold between 1830 and 1860. And the breakthrough fuel-saving Bessemer process for steel production led to a surge in steel production and consequent increase in the usage of fuel. A modern day example is governments' attempt to promote and even compel greater energy efficiency in the transportation and residential sectors, efforts that have worked in realizing efficiency gains 50 per cent faster than the pace in the rest of the economy. Perhaps predictably, energy usage in these sectors has risen faster than in the rest of the economy and carbon dioxide emissions have increased by 40 per cent, twice the rate of the rest of the economy. "In short, energy usage has risen fastest where energy efficiency gains have been the greatest," the paper says. "American drivers consumed all the gains in fuel efficiency by driving more and driving larger vehicles. But the story does not end there. Improvements in fuel economy have allowed more people to drive cars," with the number of cars on the road in the U.S. outstripping population gains. . . . "The moment you put a price on carbon, people will use less of it," said Tal. http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20071128/ghg_intensity_071128/20071128?hub=SciTech [Proofreader’s note: this article was edited for spelling and typos on November 29, 2007]

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