Energy-Efficient Production Technologies Open up Opportunities for more Climate Protection

In the period between 1995 and 2007, energy efficiency, i.e. a more economical use of resources producing emissions, was improved by 18 per cent globally. This is an important contribution to climate protection. In some countries, including large economies like the United States and Japan, energy efficiency improvements are in particular the result of a shift towards less energy-intensive production sectors. However, in most countries, including Germany, China, Canada, France and India, improvements in technology were a major factor in this positive development. According to a current study carried out by the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) in Mannheim, increasing energy efficiency is a key element of climate protection policy.

In this study ZEW researchers compared the development of energy efficiency in 40 countries and 34 sectors between 1995 and 2007 using the World Input Output Database (WIOD, see details at the bottom of the press release).This method allowed them to determine the major factors for energy efficiency improvement and to examine which economic sectors and countries contributed most to this development. The study provides conclusions for climate policy to promote global energy efficiency improvements in a more effective way.

According to the findings of the ZEW study, there is potential for further improvements in energy efficiency in the coming years, especially in the sectors of industry, construction and energy. The countries with particular potential for improvements are China, India and Brazil. The findings of the study are optimistic regarding the global development of energy efficiency because the favourable effect of technology improvements can be transferred toother countries. Since the relevant technologies are already available, improvements could even be implemented at relatively low cost. This finding is of huge importance against the background of an expected increase of energy consumption in non-OECD countries by 84 per cent until 2035.

The ZEW study also shows a high heterogeneity concerning energy efficiency within the same sectors across the various countries examined. At the same time, the study shows that divergences between the individual sectors within one country are small. This finding suggests that conditions within a country have a vast influence on the development of energy efficiency.

Information on the World Input Output Database (WIOD)

The World Input Output Database (WIOD) covers the period between 1995 and 2009, and contains data on 35 economic sectors from the areas of agriculture, industry, and services. WIOD consists of a number of input-output tables and incorporates satellite accounts with socioeconomic and environmental data.WIOD contains data on 40 countries (the 27 EU Member States and 13 other major economies, including China and the United States) that represented approximately 85 per cent of global GDP in 2009.

The database was developed within the 7th Framework Programme of the European Union (EU) and has been accessible since May 2012.The database was a joint project of eleven European universities and research institutes, including the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW).

For further information please contact

Dr. Sebastian Voigt, Phone +49(0)621/1235-219, E-mail voigt@zew.de

Dr. Michael Schymura, Phone +49(0)621/1235-202, E-mail schymura@zew.de