Energy Reports (Nov 2023)
The implications of energy literacy on energy savings behavior: A model of contingent effects of energy value and attitude
Abstract
Sustainable energy production and consumption is essential to the realization of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Climate Agreement. According to the International Energy Agency, presently around 755 million people worldwide do not have access to electricity. Understanding the energy literacy and consumption behavior are of substantial importance for providing effective energy education and energy efficiency. This paper aims to develop a baseline model to explain the relationship between energy literacy (EL), attitude towards energy, personal energy value, and energy savings behavior (ESB) with a perspective from a Lower Middle-Income Country by integrating Value Belief Norm theory and Theory of Planned Behavior. The positivists’ research paradigm, and quantitative approach guided this paper. Survey based questionnaire has been used to solicit data from 250 professional workers in Ghana with a focus on Hydro-Electricity Power. Our hypotheses have been tested using a Variance Based Structural Equation Modeling and SMART-PLS version 3.3.3. Our indicative results have showed that energy literacy positively affect energy saving behavior. Moreover, attitude towards energy and personal energy value have significantly mediated the relationships between EL and ESB. These results have implications on energy consumption behavior theories and practices in Ghana and the rest of Sub-Saharan African Countries. The newly developed ESB model could be used to explain the drivers of energy savings behavior in lower income economies where such knowledge remains largely unexplored. These results stimulate the need to encourage sustainable energy production and consumption, and re-enforce existing legislature in order to attain the Sustainable Development Goal Seven.
