Are rebound effects are the reason energy use has continued to rise?

Rebound effects are part of the reason that energy use is still growing, even as the economy gets more and more efficient. True, economic growth drives up energy use, even as we get more efficient. But those two terms – economic growth, and energy efficiency – are related, and rebound effects describe the relationship between the two. Part of the reason the economy continues to grow is because below-cost energy efficiency improvements grow the supply of energy services and increase the productivity of the economy – we get more economic activity and income and welfare out of the same amount of energy – and productivity improvements are a key driver of economic growth. Some economists argue that the supply of energy services is a key enabling force in economic growth: think about the impact of electric motors, industrial lasers, computing, automation, and all of the other ways in which we use energy to greatly improve the productivity of our economy.35 Efficiently expanding the supply of energy services may thus be one of the principal factors determining the rate of economic growth in rich and poor nations alike. That said, there are definitely other factors driving economic growth, including improvements in the productivity of other inputs to the economy, such as labor, capital, and other materials.