Energy Efficiency Improvements in Asia: Macroeconomic Impacts

We examine various macroeconomic impacts of improving energy efficiency in the People’s Republic of China, India, Indonesia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, and Thailand from 2010 to 2050. Energy efficiency policies would have a positive impact on private consumption, government expenditures, and investment and would lead to a significant increase in trade within Asia while reducing trade outside. Adopting them would shift employment from energy and mining to manufacturing and services. There will be a significant decrease in energy intensity in all countries under the high growth scenario which implies that sustained growth depends on efficient energy use. Without measures to improve efficiency, emissions would increase significantly in most countries. In the People’s Republic of China, policies should emphasize reducing primary energy demand and emissions while minimizing the negative impacts on the economy. For India and Indonesia, policies should emphasize reducing primary energy demand and emissions while promoting economic growth. In Japan and Thailand, improvements in energy productivity could promote economic growth significantly and should be the policy focus. Best practice technologies in the Republic of Korea could significantly reduce primary energy requirements and emissions. They would also be most beneficial for Malaysia.