Rationale Justification for indicator selection Energy-intensity is expressed as the ratio between gross inland energy consumption and GDP. Historically, economic growth led to higher energy consumption, thus increasing the pressure exerted by energy production and consumption on the environment. This indicator identifies to what extent there is decoupling between energy consumption and economic growth. Relative decoupling occurs when energy consumption grows, albeit more slowly than the economy (i.e. GDP). Absolute decoupling occurs when energy consumption is stable or falls while GDP grows. Absolute decoupling is likely to alleviate the environmental pressures from energy production and consumption. Environmental context Decoupling energy consumption from economic growth can help the simultaneous achievement of economic and environmental goals. The decoupling may result from reducing the demand for energy services (e.g. heating, lighting and passenger or freight transport) by using energy in a more efficient way (thereby using less energy per unit of economic output) or a combination of the two. From an environmental point of view, overall impacts depend on the total amount of energy consumption, and the fuels and technology used to generate the energy. Scientific references European Commission/Europe 2020 Strategy

Indicator definition Energy intensity is the ratio between gross inland energy consumption (GIEC) and gross domestic product (GDP), calculated for a calendar year. GIEC is calculated as the sum of the gross inland consumption of the five sources of energy: solid fuels, oil, gas, nuclear and renewable sources. To monitor trends, GDP is in constant prices to avoid the impact of inflation, with a base year of 2010. From 2019, GIEC in this report includes ambient heat used for heat pumps, which was not included in the previous reports. Units Gross inland energy consumption is measured in 1 000 tonnes of oil equivalent (ktoe), while GDP is expressed in millions of euros at 2010 market prices. To make comparisons of trends across countries more meaningful, the indicator is presented as an index. For country comparisons, two additional columns are included in the table in Figure 2 to show the current energy intensity in GDP in purchasing power standards for the latest available year, and also the energy intensity in terms of consumption per capita.

Key policy question

Has there been absolute decoupling of economic growth from energy consumption in Europe?

Methodology Methodology for indicator calculation Technical information Geographical coverage:

The EEA member countries. These are the 28 European Union Member States plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway , Switzerland and Turkey . Iceland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland are not covered or are only partly covered in this indicator due to lack of data for recent years. Methodology and frequency of data collection:

Data collected annually. Eurostat definitions and concepts for energy statistics http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Energy. Note that Eurostat changed their energy balances in 2019. This changed the energy consumption values compared with previous years. More information on these changes can be found in the Energy Balance Guide 2019 of Eurostat. Methodology of data manipulation:

Energy intensity is defined as gross inland energy consumption ( GIEC) divided by GDP at constant 2010 prices (i.e. to illustrate trends in economic energy intensity) and measures how much energy is required to generate one unit of GDP. Its variation over time reflects the influence of various factors, which include energy efficiency improvements, but also changes in the nature of the economic activity (the 'economic structure') or in the structure of the energy mix, changes in lifestyle (more appliances, higher indoor temperature in dwellings, more cars), climatic factors such as colder winters, etc.



The coding (used in the Eurostat database and specific components of the indicator) is: - Numerator: GIC Gross inland consumption (of energy).

- Denominator: B1G GDP in millions of euros, chain-linked volumes, reference year 2010 (GDP in purchasing power standards is used for cross-country comparisons of energy intensity in a particular year; dataset-identifier: B1GM).

Average annual rate of growth calculated using: [(last year/base year) ^ (1/number of years) –1]*100



To compare the situation among countries and make a more realistic comparison, the energy intensity needs to be corrected to take into account differences in the general price levels. For that purpose, GDP has been expressed in purchasing power standards (PPS). This is particularly true for eastern European Member States where the average price level is lower than in the EU-15 countries: after adjustment, the energy intensities of these countries are almost twice as low, on average, as the values measured with exchange rates and are more in line with other EU countries. Methodology for gap filling GDP is taken from the European Commission’s AMECO database. Data from the early 1990s are not available for some EU Member States. The EU-28 estimate for the 1990-1992 period (growth rates 1991-1993) has been made by gap-filling these Member States using available GDP figures from the World Bank database. Gap-filling was carried out for the following counties and years: 1990-1992 for Croatia, Estonia and Slovakia; 1990-1991 for Latvia and Lithuania; 1990 for Bulgaria. In addition, 1990 GDP for Germany has been estimated on the basis of the 1991 growth rate in West Germany. Methodology references No methodology references available.

Uncertainties Methodology uncertainty The intensity of energy consumption is relative to changes in real GDP. Cross-country comparisons of energy intensity based on real GDP are relevant for trends but not for comparing energy intensity levels in specific years and specific countries. This is why the indicator is expressed as an index. In order to compare the energy intensity between countries for a specific year, two additional columns are included that show energy intensity in purchasing power standards (PPS) and energy intensity per capita. PPS are currency conversion rates that convert to a common currency and equalise the purchasing power of different currencies. They are an optimal unit for benchmarking country performance in a particular year. Energy intensity should therefore always be put in the broader context of the actual fuel mix used to generate the energy. Data sets uncertainty Strengths and weaknesses (at data level) Data have been compiled by Eurostat through the annual joint questionnaires, which are shared by Eurostat and the International Energy Agency, following a well-established and harmonised methodology. Methodological information on the annual joint questionnaires and data compilation can be found in Eurostat's web page for metadata on energy statistics, http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Energy GDP is the central aggregate of national accounts. Some GDP-figures have been estimated using the procedure described above (Methodology for gap filling). Methodological information related to GDP can be found on Eurostat’s website. Rationale uncertainty No uncertainty has been identified

Further work

Short term work

Work specified here requires to be completed within 1 year from now.

Long term work

Work specified here will require more than 1 year (from now) to be completed.

General metadata

Responsibility and ownership EEA Contact Info Mihai Florin Tomescu Ownership European Environment Agency (EEA)

Identification Indicator code CSI 028 ENER 017 Specification Link: total-primary-energy-intensity-4 Version id: 5 Primary theme: Energy

Frequency of updates Updates are scheduled once per year