Towards a sustainable energy scenario? A worldwide analysis

María A. González-Álvarez, Antonio Montañés and Lorena Olmos ()

Energy Economics, 2020, vol. 87, issue C

Abstract: This paper studies the worldwide evolution of energy intensity for a large sample of countries during the period 1990–2015, differentiating between non-renewable, non-clean and total energy intensity. This division allows us to establish more precise policy recommendations which, along with the use of the Phillips and Sul (2009) methodology, provides the novelty of the analysis. Our results refute recent evidence favouring the hypothesis of global convergence for all types of energy intensity. Grouping countries either by regions or by income level, the evidence against this hypothesis remains overwhelming, with very few exceptions. Nonetheless, we can observe the presence of several convergence clubs, whose creation strongly depends on energy prices as well as on external energetic dependency. In any event, results relating to the different types of energy intensity are varied, suggesting that previous policy recommendations aimed at tackling climate change based on total energy intensity analyses are questionable.

Keywords: Energy intensity; Convergence; Clubs; Phillips-Sul; Sustainability (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C22 O47 Q4 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:eneeco:v:87:y:2020:i:c:s0140988320300773

DOI: 10.1016/j.eneco.2020.104738

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