Assessing dynamic energy efficiency in the organization for economic Co-operation and development (OECD) countries and China during COVID-19

Abstract

According to the October 2021 Glasgow Climate Agreement reaffirming the cooling goals of the Paris Agreement and the Glasgow Leaders Declaration on Forests and Land Use, this research applies the Super-D-DDF model to non-oriented variable returns to scale to evaluate the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and China (38 countries in total), collect important production and energy variables from 2016 to 2020, and measure the total efficiency of energy dynamics and its changes during COVID-19. The empirical results are as follows. (1) Comparing energy efficiency from 2016 to 2018 and 2019 to 2020 (during COVID-19), we find that most countries (22 countries) changed from high efficiency to low efficiency, showing a decrease in energy efficiency. (2) The emissions of carbon dioxide in China in 2020 are close to the sum of OECD carbon dioxide emissions, highlighting that the energy policy in China should be adjusted appropriately. (3) From 2016 to 2020, the forest area of various countries has a significant impact on overall energy efficiency performance. In line with the United Nations’ policy goals, countries should adjust forest protection policies to effectively reduce carbon emissions.