The 'efficiency strategy' confronted with the rebound effect. Is a change of regime possible?

The existing studies on the phenomena known as 'rebound effect' and Jevons Paradox question the effectiveness, in environmental terms, of the measures based on efficiency improvements. On the one hand, they show that efficiency improvements are not as effective as expected, while on the other hand they, in some cases, support the hypothesis that efficiency improvements can be counterproductive in the long run. The goal of this article is to show that these issues are of interest also outside of energy economics. Instead, we will analyze them from the point of view of sociology of expectations and of sociology of technology, till getting close to the studies on social movements, ecologically oriented action, environmental policies, perverse effects and systemic consequences. By adopting a vocabulary borrowed from Actor-Network Theory, the first part of this study will be devoted to retracing the process of formation of the coalition acting the action program of the 'efficiency strategy'. We will then turn to analyze the threats to the integrity of the coalition, as well as the strategies adopted to preserve it. We conclude with a discussion on the difficulties that the attempts at creating an alternative, or opposite, action program might encounter.