BAKU, Azerbaijan, Nov.19
By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:
COVID-19 is on track to depress world total primary energy demand (TPED) by 5-6 percent in 2020 and could impact energy demand for years to come, Trend reports with reference to Norwegian Equinor’s outlook.
“If growth reasserts itself at pre-COVID levels from 2021, world TPED will soon be higher than before the pandemic. Regional energy intensities and global energy demand growth therefore must come down faster to put the world on track towards sustainability. Energy use needs to be delinked from economic growth also in the emerging economies. How doable could that be?
Since 1990 the ratio of world primary energy demand growth to world economic growth has averaged about 0.6. Recently it has dropped toward 0.4. Globally, we are still left with a link between energy demand and economic activity, though it is weakening. This is a process known as decoupling. Individual country experiences suggest that the link can be broken further, so that economic growth can continue without associated growth in energy demand. Parts of the world have for more than a decade achieved respectable economic growth at flat or declining energy use levels. Thus North America, Europe and Industrialized Asia Pacific used 2 percent less energy in 2018 than in 2008 to generate 16 percent more GDP.
“Stabilizing or reducing energy demand in the face of continued economic growth will require continued attention to energy efficiency, electrification and significant lifestyle changes. The pool of energy efficiency improvement opportunities that may be realized at low, or even negative costs, is significant in most regions and sectors and keeps replenishing itself as technology improves. Further electrification will help, since electric engines on balance are two to three times more efficient than fossil fuel powered equivalents.
To achieve ambitious emission reduction targets, lifestyle changes will likely have to be a part of the solution,” the company said.
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