IEA: slowing energy efficiency growth drags down the global economy

Recently, the International Energy Agency (IEA) released the 2019 energy efficiency report, saying that in 2018, the global energy intensity increased by 1.2% compared with 2017, far below the target of 3%, and the growth rate dropped for three consecutive years, the lowest level in the past decade. IEA points out that energy intensity refers to the energy consumption per unit output value of a country or region, sector or industry within a certain period of time. It is closely linked with energy efficiency, an important indicator reflecting the transformation of the global energy system, and one of the keys to improving the environmental problems caused by energy consumption. The slow growth of energy intensity means that the growth of global energy efficiency slows down. This will not only affect the achievement of global climate goals, but also directly affect global economic output. For a long time, improving energy efficiency has been considered the cheapest and easiest way to solve the climate problem, according to the website of renewables economy. But some energy related groups are more resistant to this, worried about improving energy efficiency, which is to encourage consumers to reduce energy use, and corporate profits will be reduced. However, the opposite is true.

According to Fatih Birol, director of IEA, energy efficiency refers to the production of the same amount of services or useful output with less energy, which is a question of how much economic benefits per unit of energy are brought. The higher the energy efficiency is, the higher the economic output value will be. Fatih Birol pointed out that between 2017 and 2018, 1.2% energy intensity growth brought us $1.6 trillion of economic growth to the world. If the target of 3% is reached, global economic output will increase by another US $2.6 trillion, which is close to the scale of the whole French economy in 2018. According to Fatih Birol, energy efficiency is affected by energy price, industrial structure, technological progress, society and other factors. It is reported that in the last few years, the increase of global primary energy use has become the "culprit" for the slowdown of energy efficiency growth. IEA's report also pointed out that in 2018, the share of energy intensive industries in industrial production in the United States and other countries was bullish. At the same time, due to climate change, lower winter temperature and high temperature in summer increased the time and frequency of users using heating and cooling facilities. Strong and urgent power demand forced coal and other primary energy to become "hot goods".

In the whole of 2018, the global coal power generation increased by 2.5% compared with 2017. At the same time, the report believes that the global industrial structure has become the key to "hinder" the improvement of energy efficiency. "In terms of industry, since 2013, reducing the share of energy intensive industries has been the direction of global efforts. But judging from the current data, change cannot be described as "success." "For example, in the automotive industry, sales of new and efficient automotive products have slowed down, and consumers are more inclined to buy large vehicles," the report said. In the construction industry, due to the continuous improvement of the per capita residential area, the equipment ownership and utilization rate are also growing rapidly. " Fatih Birol said that if the industrial structure is not improved, it will inhibit the development of efficient energy technology and reduce the demand for efficient energy, which will undoubtedly further affect the improvement of energy utilization efficiency. He stressed that energy efficiency has great potential in promoting economic growth and improving climate, and countries around the world need to pay more attention to it, which requires not only the actions of enterprises, but also the support of governments.