IEA - Energy Use in the New Millenium

‘Since 1990 the rate of improvement in energy efficiency has been about half of what it was in previous decades.’ 

This is one of the main findings of the most recent report published by the IEA, International Energy Agency.

Are our action plans and our projects not working?  Are they working but not delivering?

Economic growth in IEA countries has increased personal wealth and created new opportunities for individuals. People travel more, have more and larger cars, more comfortable homes and a larger number of appliances. But this did not arrive without a “cost”. For example, the electricity use in appliances grew by some 48% and the demand for energy services increased by 26% between 1990 and 2004, despite energy savings of 17% from improvements in energy efficiency.

In fact, energy efficiency improvements averaged 0.9% between 1990 and 2004 (leading to 14% energy savings in 2004 = 370 Mtoe), but this value is much lower than the one in the previous decades; between 1973 and 1990 energy efficiency improvements averaged 2% per year. If this earlier rate had been sustained, there would have been almost no energy consumption increase in the IEA, instead of the 14% raise observed between 1990 and 2004.

This increase on energy consumption fed directly into CO2 emissions which also rose by 14%. Currently, a typical IEA citizen is responsible for five tonnes of CO2 emissions per year due to his travelling and energy consumption at home. Industrial and commercial activities generate an additional six tonnes per person per year.

The report reveals many insights that should reshape our approach to energy efficiency highlighting two of them: