報告書番号

Y08046

タイトル（和文）

省エネルギー政策理論のレビュー －省エネルギーの「ギャップ」と「バリア」－

タイトル（英文）

A Review on Theories of Energy Efficiency Policy

概要 （図表や脚注は「報告書全文」に掲載しております）

地球温暖化の進行をゆるめるためのCO2大幅削減にむけ、省エネルギーは最も優先すべき対策の一つである。経済的に妥当な費用で実施できる省エネルギー対策が多いとの報告があるにもかかわらず、それらの多くが何らかの理由によって実施されないままとなっている。こうした省エネルギーの障壁（省エネルギーバリア）の理解は、政府による省エネルギー政策の正当性を議論する上で重要な理論的基盤を与える。本稿では、経済性があるとされる省エネルギー対策が実施されない理由、およびこれらの対策の実施を促す政策のあり方について、先行研究のレビューを通じて理論的基盤を整理する。

概要 （英文）

Improving energy-efficiency is a critical key to achieve "deep cuts" of CO2 emissions. Although literatures indicate large potential for energy-efficiency improvements, a number of apparently cost-effective projects have not been put in place due to various barriers. Understanding these barriers theoretically gives important grounds for discussions about rationale for public policies to fill the "energy-efficiency gap". This report overviews various studies to discuss why organizations, namely households and private companies, overlook opportunities to improve energy-efficiency, why people impose over-stringent investment criteria for energy conservation projects, and how and to what extent the governments should intervene in the market. Energy efficiency barriers are categorized into two types: market failures and non-market failures. While a large number of barriers, such as imperfect information, adverse selection, moral hazard and split incentives, have roots in market failures, there also are non-market failure barriers, such as risk, access to capital, transaction costs, opportunity costs, and bounded rationality. From a standpoint of respecting the market principle, government intervention should be limited to the case where the market failures are verified. However, government intervention may be justified if it is cost-effective; more specifically, benefits of energy efficiency are expected bigger than intervention costs. Examples of those barriers are: risk, access to capital, some types of transaction costs (search costs and procedural costs), inertia and bounded rationality in decision making. Three basic types of policy actions against these barriers can be considered: i) providing information, ii) offering economic incentives and iii) leading energy-saving behavior through normative incentives.

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