Energy indicators framework and climate change policy implications

Abstract

Climate change related emissions have emerged as one of the adverse effects of unsustainable energy use, which poses the challenge of ensuring energy sustainability while accounting for climate change mitigation. In this paper, using the Energy Indicators for Sustainable Development framework, an assessment of GHG emissions trends along with national and international pledges for a set of developed (Portugal and United Kingdom) and developing countries (China and Brazil) is presented, contributing for an insightful comparison of countries that share a common cause, irrespective of their developmental stage. The preliminary results show that UK and China need to focus on the improvement of the renewable nature of their energy mix, whereas Portugal and Brazil need to focus more on measures that contribute to improve the efficient use of energy. Hence, environmental and energy intensity indicators together have allowed to emphasize aspects that would otherwise separately pass unnoticed.