Energy productivity: From policy goal to reality

About the Energy Productivity Project

The well-established link between economic growth and energy usage presents a conundrum for policymakers that can be resolved by focusing on energy productivity to promote greater societal welfare. Energy productivity focuses attention on how energy resources can be put to their best use, augmenting scarce energy resources, and how energy efficiency can lift economic growth. The goal of this research project is to provide a deeper understanding on energy productivity. This understanding will enable policymakers to make consistent comparisons of energy productivity between countries and develop better energy policy targets. The program is global, but also focuses particularly on China and the Arab world. It investigates how energy productivity has changed, what have been the drivers, and how policies might be best designed to maximize the economic welfare extracted from the energy system. In line with KAPSARC’s overall objectives, this research project seeks to provide insights to policymakers that can be used to inform energy and environmental policies at both a national and an international level.