The effect of energy efficiency on Swedish carbon dioxide emissions 1993-2004

• Observed decoupling of emissions from output on the aggregate may not only occur due to increased efficiency on sectoral level, but also in case the sectoral composition signi cantly changes from emissions intensive industries towards others, by relocation of emission intensive sectors to foreign countries, by substitution to cleaner types of energy, or by a contraction of the whole economy - all without changes in effciencies. In this paper, we undertake a decomposition analysis using the logarithmic-mean Divisia Index method (LMDI) to investigate the overall change in CO2 emissions from 1993-2004 in the Swedish business and industry sectors, and to identify the most important factors explaining this change. We find that only four sectors (agriculture; pulp and paper; basic metal; land transportation), out of the eight sectors that each contribute with more than 5% of total CO2 emissions, contributed to a decrease in CO2 emissions through increased energy efficiency. Even more striking is the result that on the aggregate level for the whole economy and summarizing over the whole period 1993-2004, a slightly positive effect of energy effciency on CO2 emissions can be identified, while changes in relative size, i.e. overall structural change, and substitution to cleaner fuels have been more important regarding reductions in aggregate emissions.

Subject headings

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Ekonomi och näringsliv -- Nationalekonomi (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Economics and Business -- Economics (hsv//eng)

Keyword

carbon emissions

energy efficiency

decomposition

Publication and Content Type

vet (subject category)

rap (subject category)