Energy Efficiency Policies around the World: Review and Evaluation

2.1 Introduction

This chapter reviews recent energy efficiency trends by world region based on a set of homogeneous energy efficiency indicators covering the period 1980-2006, with a greater focus on the last sixteen years (1990-2006). All indicators include biomass, as many OECD countries are now promoting the use of biomass to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases and as biomass is still a dominant source of energy in many developing countries.

The data used for the calculation of the energy efficiency indicators were taken from ENERDATA world energy database . This database relies on harmonised data from international organisations (International Energy Agency/IEA, EUROSTAT, World Bank, Asian Development Bank, IMF), from industry associations (Cedigaz for gas, IISI for steel, IRF for transport, for instance), as well as from national energy ministries and utilities. It provides a consistent coverage of the world energy consumption, split by main regions, and is kept up-to-date to take into account the most recent trends. Some of the more detailed indicators were taken for European Union (EU) countries from the ODYSSEE database .

The indicator trends are presented for seven world regions.  Because of its size and diversity, Asia is split into four sub-regions and a few major countries:

• Europe (EU, Albania, Bosnia, Croatia, Iceland, Macedonia, Norway, Serbia, Switzerland, and Turkey)
• CIS 
• North America  (USA, Canada) 
• Latin America
• Asia:
  • China
  • India
  • Asia and Pacific OECD (Japan, Korea, Australia, New Zealand)
  • Other Asia (ASEAN, other South Asia) 
• Africa
• Middle East

This chapter begins with a presentation of the indicators at the level of the whole economy and at the level of economic sectors. Then a comparison of energy efficiency trends across the various world regions is presented: first, the overall energy efficiency trends, and then the trends by sector (industry, transport, households, and services).

Particular attention is given to the relationship between energy efficiency achievements (as assessed from the indicators) on the one hand and economic development (in particular the role of structural changes in the economy) and energy efficiency policies on the other hand.