Energy Saving May Kill: Evidence from the Fukushima Nuclear Accident

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: He, Guojun; Tanaka, Takanao
• 署名单位: University of Hong Kong; University of California System; University of California Berkeley
• 刊物名称: AMERICAN ECONOMIC JOURNAL-APPLIED ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 1945-7782
• DOI: 10.1257/app.20200505
• 发表日期: 2023
• 页码: 377-414
• 关键词: climate-change; electricity conservation; temperature; mortality; demand; weather; electrification; incentives; exposure; respond

摘要

Following the Fukushima nuclear accident, Japan gradually shut down all its nuclear power plants, causing a countrywide power shortage. In response the government launched large-scale energy-saving campaigns to reduce electricity consumption. Exploiting the electricity-saving targets across regions and over time, we show that the campaigns significantly increased mortality, par-ticularly during extremely hot days. The impact is primarily driven by people using less air conditioning, as encouraged by the govern-ment. Nonpecuniary incentives can explain most of the reduction in electricity consumption. Our findings suggest there exists a trade-off between climate change mitigation and climate change adaptation. (JEL I12, L94, L98, Q48, Q54, Q58)