Abstract
This study offers an in-depth analysis of the decoupling of economic growth from fossil fuel use in 141 countries over the last 25 years. The study is based on the Tapio decoupling approach, and two methods of measuring fossil fuel use, i.e., domestic material consumption (DMC) and material footprint (MF), are applied. Groups of countries with similar decoupling patterns are identified through the k-medoids method. Next, the relationship between these patterns and the level of countries’ development is examined. The results reveal that using different measures of fossil fuel use yields different processes of decoupling economic growth from fossil fuel use. In particular, when the DMC indicator is considered, relative decoupling is observed in most analysed cases. When the MF indicator is applied, the decoupling states of individual countries change more frequently. Finally, in highly developed countries, absolute decoupling is frequently observed, although only when the DMC indicator is used.
Highlights
Nowadays green growth or “green economy” is one of the most important global concerns.The concept of green growth is currently being promoted by many international institutions and organisations and is being implemented in various national and international policies
This study aims to fill this gap by conducting in-depth analysis of the decoupling of economic growth from fossil fuel use in 141 countries characterised by different levels of development over the last 25 years (1992–2017)
Our results demonstrate significant differences between the decoupling states depending on whether fossil fuel use is measured with domestic material consumption (DMC) or with the material footprint (MF)
Summary
Nowadays green growth or “green economy” is one of the most important global concerns.The concept of green growth is currently being promoted by many international institutions and organisations (e.g., the OECD, the United Nations Environment Program—UNEP, and the World Bank) and is being implemented in various national and international policies (e.g., in the EuropeanUnion). Nowadays green growth or “green economy” is one of the most important global concerns. It is based on the assumption that absolute decoupling of economic growth from resource use or carbon emissions is possible and can take place at a rate that will prevent further climate change and other types of ecological disasters [1]. Comparing the pace of economic growth and the resource use growth indicates different decoupling states. The most desirable one is observed when economic growth is accompanied by a decrease in the use of resources, and is called absolute decoupling. A less favourable situation is observed when the speed of economic growth is positive and faster than the increase in resource use, which is called relative decoupling
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