Public Acceptance of Consumer Energy Conservation Strategies

Investigated 6 alternative strategies for promoting energy conservation: financial incentives, community programs, efficiency standards, land-use changes, consumption limits, and price increases. Results from the questionnaire data of 949 Ss indicate that public acceptance of these strategies varied widely, from 83% for financial incentives to 9% for price increases. The single best predictor of acceptance of these strategies was preference for a soft rather than hard energy policy path. The 2nd best predictor was perceived seriousness of the energy problem. Seven predictor variables are used to construct a general path model for a combined strategies index, which explains 20% of the variance on that index. In general, Americans can be described as supporting a diverse set of strategies for encouraging consumer energy conservation. (10 ref)