Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Figure 2.5 Long-term historical evolution of the energy intensity of industrialized
countries
Although admittedly a very rough indicator, energy intensity has some attractive
features: while E and GDP per capita vary by more than one order of magnitude
between developing and developed countries, energy intensity does not change by
more than a factor of 2. This is due in part to the fact that the energy systems of in-
dustrialized and developing countries in the “modern” sector of the economy have
common characteristics.
Particularly after the oil crisis of the 1970s, industrialized countries successfully
reduced their consumption of fossil fuels through improvements in the efficiency
