Large and persistent effects of green energy defaults in the household and business sectors

Ulf Liebe (), Jennifer Gewinner and Andreas Diekmann
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Ulf Liebe: University of Warwick
Jennifer Gewinner: ETH Zurich

Nature Human Behaviour, 2021, vol. 5, issue 5, 576-585

Abstract: Abstract Non-monetary incentives that encourage pro-environmental behaviour can contribute to combating climate change. Here, we investigated the effect of green energy defaults in the household and business sectors. In two large-scale field studies in Switzerland of over 200,000 households and 8,000 enterprises, we found that presenting renewable energy to existing customers as the standard option led to around 80% of the household and business sector customers staying with the green default, and the effects were largely stable over a time span of at least four years. Electricity consumption had only a weak effect on default acceptance. Our data do not indicate moral licensing: accepting the green default did not lead to a disproportionate increase in electricity consumption. Compared with men, women in both the household and business sectors were slightly more likely to accept the green default. Overall, non-monetary incentives can be highly effective in both the household and business sectors.

Date: 2021
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DOI: 10.1038/s41562-021-01070-3

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