Resource use capping - the solution for the rebound effect arising from resource efficiency

Budapest, Hungary –A recent data developed by Breakthrough Institute and UK Energy Research Centre draw attention to the rebound effect of energy efficiency. This phenomenon finally leads to 10-34% less net resource use savings due to decreased prices and thus stimulated consumption and economic growth. In order to tackle this contradiction, dedicated NGOs and institutions from all around Europe established a resource cap coalition in order to advocate for the limitation of resource use in debates related to resource efficiency.


Dangers of resource efficiency – the issue of the rebound effect or the so-called Jevons paradox

The so-called rebound effect[1] occurs when some of the savings from energy efficiency are cancelled out by changes in people's behaviour. On a consumer level it can be direct (turning up the heating in a newly insulated house) or indirect (spending the money saved on bills on a flight to Spain). And on a macro-economic level, improved efficiency is usually believed to lead to lower prices and more demand.

An article issued in the Guardian[2] collected views of scientists and scientific findings on the rebound effect. Data warn of phenomenon where some of the savings from energy efficiency are cancelled out by increases in other carbon-intensive behavior. Besides, scientists and scientific reports quoted in the Guardian article, up till now many studies have examined the Jevons paradox, but the scientific base on it is still limited.

The idea of Jevons’ paradox was created by William Stanley Jevons in 1865. Jevons’ paradox was noticed in the study” Raw material and the global economy: Oversights and distortions in industrial ecology”[3]. It found that the world economy as a whole showed significant improvements in resource efficiency recently but on the other hand the total resource consumption of the global economy continually increased.

The chapter “Energy Consumption in Transitional economies: Jevons’ paradox for Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary and Poland” analyses energy data from the Energy Information Administration and proves that Jevons’ Paradox exists in these countries at a macro level[4]. Main findings of the chapter includes that Jevons’ Paradox may be in existence in Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary and Poland at the macro-level despite the fact that energy consumption and energy intensity have decreased for each of the countries from 1990-2003. Besides, it showed that policies promoting energy efficiency would likely not reduce energy consumption in these countries. Finally it concluded that the urbanization of the population and the liberation of the economic markets are the reasons why Jevons’ Paradox may exist.
The study “Jevons’ Paradox and the myth of technological liberation” indicates that natural resource consumption is constantly growing in the past 200 years despite more efficient technology improvements. It all leads to environmental destruction and causes social and economic problems[5].

The article “Macroscopic rebound effects as argument for economic degrowth” states that economic growth is seen more often as an opportunity rather than a problem[6]. The author is calling to absolute reduction of material, energy and land use and economic degrowth of industrial countries.

Proper measure to tackle the rebound effect – setting limits of resource use
All of the scientific evidence shows that it is high time to develop and implement additional measures in order to avoid the harmful consequences of the rebound effect. Therefore, on the initiative of CEEweb for Biodiversity, dedicated NGOs and institutions from all around Europe established a Resource Cap Coalition (RCC) in order to advocate for the limitation of resource use.
Due to limitation, natural resources would become scarce globally, which would have several positive social consequences besides environmental ones. Limiting resource use also means limiting the use of energy, which would put a pressure on transport and use of chemicals and thus intensive agricultural practices. This inevitably results in the “glocalisation” of the economy, where production and consumption is based much more on local resources. Consequently, people would start consume locally produced goods leading also to a greater appreciation for the true cost of our daily lives. It benefits local economies and poor, marginalised areas, which are now under great pressure within the globalised economy for their natural resources. Furthermore, limiting natural resources also increases the competitiveness of human labour, as labour intensive, but material and energy poor products and services become relatively cheaper on the market. This has a positive impact on employment, while also spur innovation for higher resource efficiency and recycling. Moreover, limiting the total environmental pressure and by that stopping further environmental degradation ensures the maintenance of ecosystem services, which is the basis of local livelihood.


Limiting natural resource use can however be only effective in case of applying holistic approach. Existing measures have failed to tackle the problems also because sectoral responses are given to seemingly disconnected issues, and their effects are often contradictory in the end[7]. In our opinion holistic solutions are needed, which focus on the ultimate causes of today environmental and socio-economic problems. Therefore, the RCC brings together various organizations, which share experience, speak with common voice and take more holistic approach. This enables the RCC to influence more effectively all the ongoing processes both at European and global levels.
RCC strongly believes that in order to tackle overuse of resources, strict regulations should be put in place and indicators should be developed to measure their success. The goal of the RCC is that by 2012 all decision makers realize that capping resource use is essential and by 2014 relevant measures are taken.

[1] http://www.ukerc.ac.uk/support/tiki-index.php?page=ReboundEffect
[2] http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/blog/2011/feb/22/rebound-effect-climate-change
[3] Raw material and the global economy: Oversights and distortions in industrial ecology, Bunker, S.G. Society and Natural Resources 9,419-429, 2006
[4] Energy Consumption in Transitional economies: Jevons paradox for Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary and Poland, John M. PoIimeni, Raluca I. Polimeni, Romanian Journal of Economic Forecasting, 3/2007
[5]. "Jevons' Paradox and the Myth of Technological Liberation," Polimeni, John M. and Raluca Iorgulescu Polimeni Ecological Complexity, Vol. 3, Number 4, Pages 344-353, 2006.
[6] Macroscopic rebound effects as argument for economic de growth, Schneider Francois, Ecological Sustainability and Social Equity, Paris, 2008
[7] Case of biofuels in South-America: due to biofuel related investments local poor population had to leave their home and previous profession

Conservation recommendations to the Hungarian Presidency

January 27, 2011, Budapest – CEEweb for Biodiversity organized a workshop to provide cooperation forum to the civil society and to create common messages in terms of conservation. On the event, the representative of the Rural Ministry also took part besides various NGOs from all over Hungary. The international event, where NGO co-workers from the previous EU presidency’s host countries also participated, provided opportunities to the Hungarian civil society to get to know the work and tasks of the organizations and to use this knowledge for the Hungarian lobby activities.

The Rural Development Ministry’s representative, Ditta Greguss said ’We find it important that the EU Post 2010 Biodiversity Strategy should be accepted during the Hungarian Presidency in June during the Environmental Council’s meeting.’

Many Hungarian NGOs participated actively in the workshop. During the presentations, the Spanish and the Belgian experience were showed along with the preparation works of the Polish Presidency from the conservation perspective.

’Conservation NGOs have a very specific position in contrast to the decision-makers. Organizations do not need to represent lobby and party interests, therefore, their conscience is clear. They could suggest the most adequate solutions to save biodiversity that is the key to the existence of the residents. Thus, the presidency should listen to them’ stated Péter Lenkei, Clean Air Action Group.

The plenary topics covered the financing of Natura 2000, Green infrastructure and the Resource Efficiency Flagship Initiative. Related to these subjects, the NGOs formed common opinions to be represented to the decision-makers, which were demonstrated in various points at the end of the day. The messages will be finalized this week and send around one more time to provide the opportunity for further comments.

’The success of the presidency is largely depending on the sufficient civil cooperation. Therefore, the today kicked-off process should be further strengthened and should be expanded to international level’ said Veronika Kiss, CEEweb, the programme coordinator of the project.

Further information can be found here>>

Természetvédelmi javaslatok születtek a soros magyar kormány részére

Civil egyeztetés zajlott a magyar EU elnökség természetvédelmi vonatkozású
kérdéseiben január 27-én, Budapesten. Az eseményen a civil oldal mellett a
kormányzati is képviseltette magát. A nemzetközi esemény lehetőséget
biztosított a hazai természetvédelmi szervezetek számára, hogy
megismerhessék a korábbi elnökségek alatt zajló civil munkát, s azt
hasznosítsák saját érdekérvényesítési munkájukban a fél év folyamán.

Az alkalmon a döntéshozói oldalról a VM vett részt. "Fontosnak
tartjuk, hogy az EU 2010 utáni Biodiverzitás Stratégiának elfogadására még
az elnökség alatt, a júniusi Környezetvédelmi Tanács ülésén sor kerüljön." fogalmazott Greguss Ditta a VM munkatársa.

A civil részről az országos felhívásnak köszönhetően, több megye
szervezete is aktívan részt vett az egyeztető munkában. Az előadásokon
megismerhettük a spanyol és belga tapasztalatokat, és rálátást
nyerhettünk, hogy a lengyel természetvédelmi oldal miként készül saját
elnökségére.

"A természetvédő civil szervezetek különleges helyzetben vannak az EU
döntéshozóival szemben. Nem nehezednek rájuk a lobbi- és pártérdekek, így
tiszta lelkiismerettel, tiszta fejjel a legmegfelelőbb megoldásokat
javasolják a biológiai sokféleség fenntartása érdekében mely az itt élő
lakosság fennmaradásának is záloga. A mindenkori elnökségnek ezért érdemes
rájuk hallgatni." fogalmazott Lenkei Péter, a Levegő Munkacsoport
részéről.

A plenáris ülések kiemelt témái a Natura 2000-es területek finanszírozása, a Zöld
infrastruktúra és a hatékony nyersanyag felhasználás voltak. Az egyes
területekről közös véleményt formáltak a civilek, melyeket pontokba
foglalva ismertettek a nap végén. A közös gondolkodás és műhelymunka
eredménye egy szakmai kérdéseket és javaslatokat összegző dokumentum a
magyar kormány részére, melyet elnöksége alatt sikerrel hasznosíthat. Az
anyag végső egyeztetési köre a héten zárul, s február első napjaiban hozza
nyilvánosságra a CEEweb.

"Az EU elnökségek sikere nagymértékben a kellő civil összefogásban
rejlik! Ennek tükrében a ma elindított folyamatot 2011 első felében
mindenképp erősíteni és a későbbiekben nemzetközi szintre szeretnénk
kiterjeszteni." mondta a nap sikerességéről Kiss Veronika, a
CEEweb program koordinátora.

A dokumentumot e hét elején küldjük el a sajtó képviselői számára.

További információ itt>>

Cooperation among nature conservation NGOs in the light of the Hungarian EU Presidency

CEEweb for biodiversity organizes a workshop on the Spanish and Belgian presidency's experience and the advantages of civil cooperation for Hungarian NGOs. During the workshop, the conservation priorities of 2011, the civil lobby options and the upcoming steps of the Polish presidency will be discussed.

Time: 2011 January 27
Location: Sziddhárta Központ (Budapest, VI. Andrássy út 98)
Agenda
9:00-9:30 Introduction to the work of the EU Presidencies and the added value of civic contribution - Ditta Greguss, Borbála Baktay, Ministry of Rural Development
9:30-10:00 The successes and failures of the Spanish EU Presidency in NGO view - Annelies Broekman, Ecologistas en Acción
10:00-10:30 The successes and failures of the Belgian EU Presidency in NGO view - Sarolta Tripolszky, European Environmental Bureau
10:30-11:00 Opportunities in civic cooperation in the light of the Hungarian and the Polish EU Presidencies - Pawel Pawlacyk, Naturalist Club Poland
11:00-11:15 Coffee break
11:15-12:30 Nature conservation priorities of the EU for 2011 and opportunities for NGO influence - CEEweb
· Invasive Alien Species
· Green Infrastructure
· Financing Natura2000
12:30-13:30 Lunch
13:30-15:30 Development of NGO messages in small working groups
· Invasive Alien Species
· Green Infrastructure
· Resource Efficiency
· Financing Natura2000
15:30-15:45 Coffee break
15:45-17:00 Finalizing NGO messages in the plenary and discussing ways and means of advocating for them

The workshop is funded by the National Civil Fund.

Further information can be found here>>

Természetvédelmi civil összefogás a magyar EU elnökség fényében - Műhelymunka, január 27

Január 27-én a CEEweb "Természetvédelmi civil összefogás a magyar EU elnökség fényében" címmel műhelymunkát szervez, amely során spanyol és belga civil szervezetek osztják meg az elnökségek tanulságait, sikereit valamint a nemzetközi civil összefogás előnyeit. A tapasztalatokra alapozva közösen megvitatjuk a 2011-es főbb természetvédelmi prioritásokat, a civil befolyásolás lehetőségeit, valamint a következő lépéseket a magyar után soron következő lengyel EU elnökség fényében.

Időpont: 2011. január 27. Helyszín: Sziddhárta Központ (Budapest, VI. Andrássy út 98)

Program
9:00-9:30 Bevezetés az EU elnökségek munkájába és a civil közreműködés hozzáadott értéke - Greguss Ditta / Baktay Borbála, Vidékfejlesztési Minisztérium Biodiverzitás és Génmegőrzési Osztály

9:30-10:00 A spanyol EU elnökség sikerei és tanulságai civil szemmel - Annelies Broekman, Ecologistas en Acción

10:00-10:30 A belga EU elnökség sikerei és tanulságai civil szemmel - Tripolszky Sarolta, European Environmental Bureau

10:30-11:00 A civil összefogásban rejlő lehetőségek a magyar és az azt követő lengyel EU elnökség fényében - Pawel Pawlacyk, Naturalist Club Poland

11:00-11:15 Kávészünet

11:15-12:30 Az EU 2011-es természetvédelmi prioritásainak bemutatása és a civil hozzájárulás lehetőségei – CEEweb a Biológiai Sokféleségért § Natura2000 finanszírozása § Zöld infrastruktúra § Nyersanyag-hatékonyság § Egyéb témák

12:30-13:30 Ebéd

13:30-15:30 Civil üzenetek kidolgozása a természetvédelmi prioritásokról kis csoportokban § Inváziós idegen fajok § Natura2000 finanszírozása § Zöld infrastruktúra § Nyersanyag-hatékonyság § Egyéb témák

15:30-15:45 Kávészünet

15:45-17:00
A civil üzenetek véglegesítése plenárison, azok érvényesítési módjainak megvitatása

A programot a Nemzeti Civil Alap támogatja

További információ itt>>

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

We would like to inform you that the CEEweb office is closed between 24.12.2010 and 04.01.2011.

We wish you Happy Holidays!

See you in 2011!

We look at the same direction but do we see the same?

– conference in the name of common solution for the social and environmental problems -

Budapest, HUNGARY– 2010 the international year of biological diversity and the European year for combating poverty and social exclusion, whilst in the first part of 2011 Hungary will host the European Presidency. In this light, the CEEweb for Biodiversity international umbrella organization initiated a common coalition with social organizations to fight social and environmental problems.

The project finalizing conference, ’We look at the same direction but do we see the same?’ took place yesterday to depict the results of the project and other eco-social initiatives, and to look for further cooperation opportunities both among the NGO and thedecision-makers sectors.

2010 – environmental and social problems in the spotlight, 2011 – all eyes on Hungary

Why 2010 is important for us? The UN’s International Year of Biodiversity attempts to achieve that the biological diversity would receive more attention than ever. With this year, the international organization would like to emphasise that the conservation of our nature is for our own sake since the natural resources and the services of the ecosystem provide us for instance, with clean air and water, stable climate and pollination, which are the bases for our social well-being and our economy. Therefore, it is the today’s generation task to conserve biodiversity for the future’s generation, who can thus use them as well as we do – or even better.

2010 is also the European year to combat poverty and social exclusion. To reach these targets various subprograms exist to aid political decisions, social awareness and opinion forming as well as the active participation of people living in poverty.

Above this, in 2010 the Lisbon Strategy’s successor, the EU2020 Strategy was born, which however does not seem to learn from the mistakes of the previous one: it majorly focuses on the economy, economical growth and the recovery from the financial crisis. As a result of it, the strategy does not dedicate sufficient attention to the conservation of biodiversity and natural resources and the reduction of social inequalities.

How can a 10-year-strategy, which determines the main stream of the EU, can be fulfilled without taking into serious consideration the inequality in natural resource use and the management of environmental problems?

In the first part of 2011, Hungary will host the EU presidency. Due to this, the Hungarian NGO sector can lobby for the more emphasised consideration of the ecosocial problems, which may lead to the solution of the above mentioned problem.

Poverty and environmental problems – Common causes, common solutions?

CEEweb for Biodiversity, using the potential of 2010, initiated a unique, common project with social organizations, which aims for the creation of a common strategy to solve both environmental and social problems. CEEweb and its partners would like to influence decision-makers to put more attention on these problems and interrelations.

The ecological (climate change, pollution, loss of biodiversity) and the social problems (unemployment, economic crisis, poverty, depopulation of the countryside) mean gradually enhancing difficulties for the decision-makers and for the whole society. In order to truly tackle them and find their real solutions, not only the cure for the symptoms, a complex and holistic approach should be applied. Consequently, it is important to reveal the various, only seemingly certain sector concerned systems of the multiple problems and their drivers, and to jointly work out solutions. To aid this process, the structure of the finalizing conference of the project

Common Causes, Common Solutions was created in such ways to draw attention on the already achieved outcomes, to put highlight on the importance of common work among green and social NGOs and to demonstrate the already existing and successful projects.

The actual final product of the project, the ‘We look at the same direction but do we see the same?’ eco-social brochure was presented in the conference. The study analyses the so-called ‘holy cows’, (e.g. the limits without growth, jobs vs. environment, restrictions of accessing natural resources that prevent any kind of alterations in the system), and emphasises the importance of a paradigm change and real solutions instead of the end of pipe ones.

This was followed by a panel discussion of decision-makers from various backgrounds, which only further strengthened the importance of eco-social initiatives. ‘There is indeed a crisis, which affects both the social and the environmental sector’ said Dr. Erzsebet Gergely, the Head of the Strategic Department in the Ministry of Rural Development. ‘The solution can only be realized if both sides take steps and we work out a new value system. The wasting and bad management of our resources not only can effect the financial world – in 2010, we already lived up our fair share of natural resources by August, thus, for 4 months we basically ask for a loan from the next generation’.

The afternoon session was based on the Hungarian Climate Bill (that has been promised to be revised by the parliament in the second part of 2011) and its social aspect, whilst the following 8 examples were about successful (or less successful) eco-social examples. The projects demonstrated the importance of local trade, sustainable energy use and self-supplying systems. Besides the successes, many presenters emphasised that current legislation and the recent value system are the main obstacles on the way.

The conference was closed in such hope that the green and social NGOs can continue their cooperation, which further supports and disseminates eco-social initiatives on a Hungarian, and also, on international platforms (www.okoszocforum.hu; www.ceeweb.org).

The ultimate aim of CEEweb is that the final outcomes of the project and the emphasised cooperation should get more attention during the Hungarian Presidency, which can aid the creation of such strategies that address the drivers behind the complex problem matrix.