What is energy intensity and why is it vital to our net-zero goals?
We need to talk about energy intensity.
The progress of our global journey to net-zero emissions is unfolding in the news every day, detailing breakthrough inventions, promising decarbonizing technologies, new renewable energy projects and laws and policies that facilitate the energy transition.
But energy intensity, which is a key component of measuring our pathway to net zero, is a lesser-known concept – and one that Roberto Bocca, head of energy at the World Economic Forum, believes the world should know more about.
“Here’s the problem,” Bocca explains. “We are on a decarbonization journey that must run alongside huge population growth and the near-doubling of our global GDP between now and 2050.
“So we’re trying to answer a basic question: how can we reduce the amount of energy we use while continuing to support both our population and our economic growth? And the answer lies in looking at how we can alter energy demand, not just the supply.”
Here’s why energy intensity matters and why reducing it is vital in reaching goal 7 of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).
Energy intensity has been falling for years, but must accelerate in order to achieve climate goals. Image: UN
What is energy intensity and why is it so important?
Energy intensity is a measure of economic reliance on energy consumption. The higher the intensity, the more inefficient the process of producing a product or service is.
Measuring energy intensity or energy efficiency helps us understand how we use energy. Bocca explains that being efficient with energy means we need less of it, so we don’t need to create as many supply projects on our path to net-zero emissions, a view echoed by Fatih Birol, Executive Director of the International Energy Agency, who says energy efficiency is the world’s “first fuel”, and the main route to net zero after supply-side measures.
Calculating the energy intensity of a country can help monitor changes in energy efficiency over time and help organizations set targets and policies. It can also allow for comparative analysis across different sectors, which can help identify best practices and areas for improvement.
“By understanding and then reducing energy intensity, less energy is needed to achieve the same level of economic output, which can lower emissions,” Bocca says.
The good news is that energy intensity is already falling. However, we have to accelerate the decline even further – intensity will need to drop by 3.2% per year to be on track to reach the UN’s SDG targets from an annual average fall of 1.9% in 2010-2019.
Energy intensity will need to drop by 3.2% per year to be on track to reach the UN’s SDG targets. Image: IEA
Why do we measure energy intensity?
Almost every time we produce energy, we are using up non-renewable resources and generating greenhouse gases (GHG). Even wind turbines – which produce renewable energy – still use up non-renewable resources, be that the steel and other materials required to make them, the land that they occupy, or the infrastructure required to transport them.
Increasing energy efficiency is important, but by only measuring a turbine’s efficiency at the point of consumption, we are not measuring the energy used to extract, produce, transport and dispose of the components used to make a turbine.
“By considering energy intensity instead, you can identify opportunities to reduce emissions throughout the entire lifecycle, including supply-chain optimizations and circular economy approaches. This is one of the main opportunities that the World Economic Forum is focusing on now,” Bocca says.
But reducing energy intensity is not the same as reducing people’s access to energy – this is not the solution, explains Bocca, and would serve little purpose longer term.
“Emerging economies want to grow, and energy demand is going to increase in those economies. Instead of worrying about energy demand, we should focus instead on using energy efficiently.”
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How to reduce energy intensity
Reducing energy intensity requires multiple initiatives to work holistically, but many are already in place; the next step is rolling out and scaling up.
And knowledge sharing is going to be a central component of rapid progress, Bocca says.
“It’s quicker and cheaper to share best practices than to have multiple organizations in the same sector doing the same work to reach the same goal. Governments, businesses and communities alike can collaborate and help each other reach energy efficiency goals. And the Forum is involved in this too – we’ve helped set up an initiative for industrial clusters that allows companies to collaboratively shape their strategies and share lessons learned.
There are 17 industrial clusters across four continents that are part of the Net Zero Industrial Clusters initiative at the moment. The aim is to connect 100 industrial clusters globally to reduce 1.6 billion metric tonnes of CO2 emissions, retain and create 18 million jobs and contribute $2.5 trillion to global GDP, while transitioning to net zero.
Source: World Economic forum