Unravelling the intricate relationship between economic development and energy consumption
this book proposes an innovative framework for the empirical investigation of the link between
the economy and natural resources. It proposes a novel set of indicators to shed light on those
aspects of the economic process and development that determine their requirements in terms of
natural resources. Employing updated databases this book presents tables and diagrams to
compare the conventional and the new estimates of the linkage between energy and economic
development (Energy Intensity) throughout the world over the last 100 years. Whereas estimates
based on the established framework for evaluating the link between energy resources and the
economy indicate a strong decoupling trend the new indicators follow substantially different
paths which suggest a strong coupling between economic growth and energy use. These differences
-which call into question the prevailing opinion of decoupling- are fundamental for the
prospects of sustainability. This book provides a valuable resource for economists energy and
environmental analysts natural resource managers and policy makers. It is also intended for
students of ecological economics sustainability studies natural resource and energy
economics.
