Energy Saving May Kill: Evidence from the Fukushima Nuclear Accident

72 Pages Posted: 23 Sep 2019 Last revised: 19 Apr 2022

See all articles by Guojun He

Guojun He

The University of Hong Kong

Takanao Tanaka

UC Berkeley Agricultural and Resource Economics

Date Written: April 15, 2022

Abstract

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, particularly during extremely hot days. The impact is primarily driven by people using less air conditioning, as encouraged by the government. 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.

Keywords: Electricity Saving, Climate Change Adaptation, Fukushima Accident, Extreme Weather

JEL Classification: Q48, Q54, O12, I1

Suggested Citation

He, Guojun and Tanaka, Takanao, Energy Saving May Kill: Evidence from the Fukushima Nuclear Accident (April 15, 2022). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3451021 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3451021

Guojun He (Contact Author)

The University of Hong Kong ( email )

Pokfulam Road
Hong Kong, Pokfulam HK
China

Takanao Tanaka

UC Berkeley Agricultural and Resource Economics ( email )

Berkeley, CA 94720
United States

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