Jevons paradox

Source: Wikipedia

Jevons paradox, so called for his discoverer, William Stanley Jevons, estates that as technological improvements increase the efficiency with which a resource is used, the total consumption of that resource may increase, rather than decrease. More specifically Jevons paradox implies that the introduction of technologies with greater energy efficiency may finally cause the overall energy consumption to rise.

In his 1865 book “The Coal Question”, Jevons observed that England's consumption of coal soared after James Watt introduced his coal-fired steam engine, which greatly improved the efficiency of Thomas Newcomen's earlier design. Watt's innovations made coal a more cost effective power source, leading to the increased use of the steam engine in a wide range of industries. This in turn increased total coal consumption, even when the amount of coal required for any particular application fell

Jevons’ observation is not a logic paradox. However it is yet considered as a paradox as it opposes common intuition that the improvement in efficiency would allow people to use fewer quantities of a resource.