Global energy intensity slightly improved in 2022 (-1.2%) but remains below the 2010-2019 average (-1.9%/year) and insufficient to meet the 2°C pathway.

Global energy intensity (total energy consumption per unit of GDP) declined by 1.2% in 2022, i.e., faster than in 2021, but slower than its historical trend (-1.9%/year between 2010 and 2019). This remains insufficient compared with the over 3.5%/year decrease required to achieve the 2°C scenario. In 2022, global energy consumption increased at a slower rate than the global GDP (+2.1% and around +3%, respectively) but energy intensity levels and trends differ widely across world regions, reflecting differences in economic structure and energy efficiency achievements. There was a sharp reduction in the energy intensity in OECD countries (-3.1% in 2022, above the -2.2%/year trend between 2010 and 2019). This was mainly due to a 7.6% drop in Europe (including -7.8% in the EU) because of a 4% decrease in energy consumption and a nearly 4% economic growth in Europe. Europe’s energy intensity is now 42% lower than the global average. As well, energy intensity contracted in Australia (-2.8%), in Japan and South Korea (around -2% each) and remained stable in the United States (-0.3%) and Canada (+0.4%). Outside the OECD, there were almost no change in energy intensity in 2022. It remained stable in China (+0.1%, 30% above the global average) and in Asia as a whole, as in Africa (-0.7%, despite a 6.4% drop in South Africa, where energy consumption fell by 4.5%). It slightly increased in India (+0.5%, still 9% below the global average), in Russia (+1.7%, 95% above the global average), but declined in Latin America (-1%, including -0.4% in Brazil and -0.7% each in Mexico and Argentina), and in the Middle East (-2.2%).