It is difficult to control household energy consumption through regulation. From a policy standpoint, it is particularly challenging to identify the factors that influence people’s actions. Moreover, whatever these factors are, they are unlikely to uniformly span multiple cities in the Asian region. In this paper, we conduct a survey of energy-saving behavior to clarify the differences among such factors across five major Asian cities. The results from these surveys in Dalian, Chongqing, Fukuoka, Bangkok, and Ho Chi Minh indicate that global warming consciousness, environmental behavior, and social interaction significantly affect energy-saving behavior. Income and age also had weak positive effects on energy-saving behaviors. Social interaction was strongly linked to energy-saving behaviors, particularly in the rural areas of Dalian and Chongqing. This result indicates that community-based activities impact energy-saving behaviors.
In Asia, energy consumption is rapidly increasing. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), energy consumption in Asia is expected to increase by 54% compared with the average predicted international increase of 20% in 2000–2008 (IEA, 2010). This increase in energy consumption is concurrent with Asian economic development. In the future, total energy consumption in Asia is forecasted to increase by 2.2 times, in parallel with a GDP increase of 3.9 times in 2008–2035 (EIA, 2011). In non-OECD Asian countries, levels of industrial and residential sector energy consumption are projected to increase by 1.9 and 2.2 times, respectively, compared with projected worldwide increases of 1.5 and 1.3 times, respectively (EIA, 2011). For this reason, energy saving and energy efficiency are important for sustainable, stable growth in Asia. In the civil sector, and particularly in the household sector, energy saving has become important because the increase in civil-sector energy consumption is expected to exceed the increase in average energy consumption in Asia. While regulation has been effective in controlling industrial energy consumption, it is more difficult to control household energy consumption through regulatory means because households are run by individuals and, unlike institutions, are not forced to take particular actions. Therefore, a key challenge of current policy efforts is to promote household energy-saving actions and identify the key determinants that influence people’s energy-saving behaviors.
Several surveys about household energy consumption in Asia have been conducted (Wang et al., 2011, Li et al., 2009, Ouyang and Hokao, 2009 and Zhou et al., 2008; Xiaohua and Zhemnin, 2005). These surveys have shown the existence of several factors that affect household energy-saving behaviors. However, Asian countries are not of uniform character, and a wide variety of factors across Asia can influence energy-saving behavior in numerous ways. Policies promoting household energy saving must therefore consider the key factors that influence these behaviors in each designated area.
Asian countries are characterized by sharply differing lifestyles across urban and rural areas (Cai and Jiang, 2008, Hubacek et al., 2007 and Reddy and Balachandra, 2006). In the developing stages, there are significant gaps between the lifestyles of rural and urban areas. In rural areas, traditional lifestyles typically remain stable, whereas urban areas undergo periods of rapid population concentration. This difference between rural and urban is an important factor to consider in determining appropriate policies.
Another important factor in developing countries is the strength of communities that encourage people to respect collective action instead of individual action. Collective society has greater social interaction compared with individualistic society (Faiers et al., 2007 and Lynn and Gelb, 1996). Although civic cooperation is frequently important in developing countries, economic development and modernization ultimately tend to diminish traditional communities (Owen and Videras, 2006).
In this paper, we clarify the key factors affecting energy-saving behavior by comparing data from five major cities in Asia and highlight effective energy-saving behavior policies.
We conducted a survey focusing on energy saving behavior and factors determining energy saving, seeking to clarify the differences across five cities in Asia. We found both common and differing phenomena in the five cities.
The level of energy-saving behavior was nearly the same in the five surveyed cities, although the levels of specific behaviors varied among the cities. Consistent with other research, environmental behavior was associated with energy-saving behavior. Social interaction was also found to have an association with energy saving, except in Bangkok.
A positive relation was found in two cities between global warming consciousness and energy saving, reflecting on various socio-economic situations. Main energy use in households was different for different cities. However, lower recognition of the connection between global warming and main energy use was observed in all cities.
As a social and political dimension, the gap between rural and urban areas is significant. A gap between recognition and community strength was observed, particularly in China.
In Asia, the role of social interactions must be emphasized. People often communicate with neighbors, trust each other, and expect to return to their communities after time away. Taking into account the fact that social interaction is the basis of community, community-based activities may be an effective way to promote energy-saving behaviors in Asian cities.
However, despite several commonalities, the cities still maintain unique features. Policies must therefore take individual city features into account.
Education and community-based programs were emphasized by the survey’s respondents. At the same time, people regarded regulation as necessary; putting such regulation into practice, however, requires further consideration.
