Title: Energy intensities in OECD countries: an historical analysis

Authors: Lee Schipper, Stephen Meyers, Richard Howarth

Addresses: Energy Analysis Program, Energy and Environment Division, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, 1 Cyclotron Road, Building 90/4000, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA. ' Energy Analysis Program, Energy and Environment Division, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, 1 Cyclotron Road, Building 90/4000, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA. ' Energy Analysis Program, Energy and Environment Division, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, 1 Cyclotron Road, Building 90/4000, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA

Abstract: We discuss the evolution of energy intensities between the early 1970s and the late 1980s in nine DECD countries. Our analysis relies on detailed national-level data that we compiled over the past decade rather than published data from international sources it focuses on key sectors or subsectors in each country: manufacturing, transportation (automobile, air, and freight trucking), residential (space heating and other end uses), and the service sector. Intensity changes varied among the sectors and countries, but common trends are visible in many cases. In most cases, the intensity decline slowed or ceased in the mid-1980s. We discuss the causes for the changes observed in each area, showing how energy-price changes were but one of many factors that played a role. Weighting the changes in intensities by 1973 energy use patterns, we find that the aggregate energy intensity index fell by 14-19 per cent between 1973 and 1988 in the US, Japan, and West Germany.

Keywords: energy consumption; energy efficiency; energy intensity; OECD countries.

DOI: 10.1504/IJGEI.1993.063634

International Journal of Global Energy Issues, 1993 Vol.5 No.2/3/4, pp.76-89

Published online: 17 Jul 2014 *

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