“The paradox underlying the rebound effect is that, due to secondary effects, improvements in resource efficiency provide smaller reductions in the consumption of energy and/or material resources than are expected—or even an overall net increase in resource use. The rebound effect has played a role in economic growth and industrialization, yet it remains a problem for the task of reducing negative environmental impacts. Four types of rebound effect are considered: economy-wide effects, transformational effects, frontier effects, and international rebound effects” (Freeman, 2018).

The Unintended Consequences of CE and Sustainability Transitions