G-7 countries on the way to sustainable energy systems?

This study is a comparative analysis of energy production and CO>SUB align=right>>SMALL>2>/SMALL>>/SUB> emission flows in the G-7 countries in the years 1960-1999. The comparative analyses are based on the complete decomposition methodology. The authors provide an analysis of dynamic changes of energy and CO>SUB align=right>>SMALL>2>/SMALL>>/SUB> emission flows in the G7-economies. The comparative analyses reveal that: (1) activity effects of the different G-7 countries were quite similar. The largest increase in the activity effect has been in the US economy, due to its large size. (2) Structural effects varied considerably indicating differences in economic activities in the analysed countries. (3) Intensity effects on energy use and CO>SUB align=right>>SMALL>2>/SMALL>>/SUB> emissions revealed large differences between the countries. The energy intensity effects have decreased after 1970 in all the G-7 countries except France. All the G-7 countries have showed decreasing CO>SUB align=right>>SMALL>2>/SMALL>>/SUB> emission intensities after the year 1970.