Title: Road transport energy consumption in the G7 and BRICS: 1973-2010

Authors: Yi-Xuan Gao; Hua Liao; Paul J. Burke; Yi-Ming Wei

Addresses: School of Management and Economics, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China; Centre for Energy and Environmental Policy Research, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China ' School of Management and Economics, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China; Centre for Energy and Environmental Policy Research, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China ' Arndt-Corden Department of Economics, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia ' School of Management and Economics, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China; Centre for Energy and Environmental Policy Research, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China

Abstract: Road transport will account for a large share of developing countries' future energy demand. This paper reviews the trends in road transport energy consumption in 12 countries (Group of Seven (G7) and BRICS) over the period 1973-2010. We report several stylised facts: road transport energy use and its share in total energy use have been rising; there were large differences in road transport energy use per capita across countries, resulting from differences in country size, resource endowments, fuel prices and other factors; oil accounts for around 95% of road transport energy in the selected countries except Brazil; oil will likely be the dominant road transport energy source in most countries for some years to come but not in the long run; and the use of alternative road transport energy sources is increasing.

Keywords: road transport; energy consumption; historical data; G7 countries; BRICS countries; developing countries; energy demand.

DOI: 10.1504/IJGEI.2015.070260

International Journal of Global Energy Issues, 2015 Vol.38 No.4/5/6, pp.342 - 356

Received: 18 Jun 2014
Accepted: 27 Sep 2014

Published online: 01 Jul 2015 *

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