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Summary
Indicators of Energy Efficiency:
An International Comparison
The United States has long been accused of being energy inefficient based on a comparison of energy
intensities among the industrialized countries. Energy intensity is commonly measured by computing the
ratio of energy use per unit of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). This is not a true measure of efficiency,
however, because it does not account foi differences in the standard of living, differences in population
densities, or other factors. After corrections are made to account for these factors, the United States often
appears to be as efficient or more efficient than many of the other industrialized countries. In this analysis
the industrialized economies considered are the Group of Seven (G7): the United States, Canada, Japan,
France, Italy, West Germany, and the United Kingdom. Examination of'the more detailed data which underlie
the aggregate energy/GDP ratio concludes that:
The United States energy/GDP ratio has declined an average of 2 percent per year since 1970, as
much or more than in the other G-7 countries.
While the United States uses more energy per unit of output in the industrial sector than most
other G-7 countries, this is due in part to the development of large, very energy intensive,
petrochemical, chemical, and primary metals industries. These industries were developed to
exploit large, indigenous energy supplies. Energy intensity does not necessarily equate to energy
efficiency .
Despite a population five to ten times less densely concentrated than in many of the other G-7
countries, and distances that frequently make mass transit systems impractical, transportation
energy use as a share of total energy use is only about 5 to 10 percentage points higher than that
in the other G-7 countries.
* Even though gasoline prices in the United States are less than half of those in many of the other
G-7 countries and United States emission and auto safety standards are much more demanding,
new car fuel economy in the United States is now equal to that in all the other G-7 countries.
After adjusting for differences in climate and household siue (houses are larger in the United
States than in most other G-7 countries), residential heating efficiency in the United States
exceeds that of many of the other G-7 countries.- R n, -
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Indicators of energy efficiency: An international comparison, report, July 1, 1990; United States. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1113351/m1/3/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.