Energy Transition and Energy Intensity in Europe over 200 Years

The paper examines energy consumption in Sweden, Holland, Italy and Spain over 200 years, including both traditional and modern energy carriers. The article is based on totally new series of energy consumption including traditional carriers along with modern sources. Our main purposes are a closer examination of the process of the energy transition in Europe and a revison of the prevailing idea of there being an inverted U-curve (or Environmental Kuznets Curve –EKC-) in the very long run. Changes in energy consumption are decomposed into effects from population growth, economic growth and energy intensity. The results on energy intensity challenge previous suggestions by most scholars. An inverted U curve does not exist whenever we include traditional sources of energy in our analysis.

[1]  Carles Sudriá.  Un factor determinante: la energía , 1987 .

[2]  J. L. Zanden,et al.  DUTCH GNP AND ITS COMPONENTS, 1800-1913 , 2000 .

[3]  P. Ehrlich,et al.  Ecoscience: Population, Resources, Environment , 1977 .

[4]  J. L. Zanden.  Werd de Gouden Eeuw uit turf geboren?: over het energieverbruik in de Republiek in de zeventiende en achtiende eeuw , 1997 .

[5]  Arnulf Grubler,et al.  Transitions in Energy Use , 2004 .

[6]  Robert U. Ayres,et al.  Accounting for growth: the role of physical work , 2005 .

[7]  Astrid Kander,et al.  The energy-capital relation—Sweden 1870–2000 , 2007 .

[8]  M. Lindmark,et al.  Energy consumption, pollutant emissions and growth in the long run: Sweden through 200 years , 2004 .

[9]  Paul R. Ehrlich,et al.  Termination of Pregnancy bill , 1966 .

[10]  Robert U. Ayres,et al.  Exergy, power and work in the US economy, 1900–1998 , 2003 .

[11]  Amulya K. N. Reddy,et al.  Energy for the Developing World , 1990 .

[12]  B Commoner,et al.  The environmental cost of economic growth. , 1972, Chemistry in Britain.

[13]  G. Federico.  L’agricoltura italiana: successo o fallimento? , 2003 .

[14]  Arnulf Grubler,et al.  Technology and global change , 1998 .

[15]  Astrid Kander,et al.  Baumol's disease and dematerialization of the economy , 2005 .

[16]  R. Howarth.  ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND ECONOMIC GROWTH , 1997 .

[17]  J. Sachs,et al.  Is the Environmental Kuznets Curve Driven by Structural Change? What Extended Time Series May Imply for Developing Countries , 2000 .

[18]  Carles Sudrià.  Carlo Bardini, Senza carbone nell'età del vapore. Gli inizi dell'industrializzazione italiana , 1998 .

[19]  Astrid Kander,et al.  Economic growth, energy consumption and CO2 emissions in Sweden 1800-2000. , 2002 .