Network structure analysis based on embodied energy of the Australian economy

Abstract

Energy and economic growth are closely linked and have negative impacts on the environment. Both environmental protection and economic development are significant global focal points of concern. Australian economic growth has slowed but energy consumption has increased. The relationship between economic growth and energy consumption has changed significantly. However, existing methods for accounting energy transfers between industries overlook the role of embodied energy, making them insufficient to fully capture the actual energy usage in both domestic and international trade. This study investigates the structural changes in embodied energy in the Australian economy. The paper integrates sectors as the section nodes for a network and constructs a two-layer network model to analyze energy flows both between and within nodes. The results show that the Australian embodied energy network exhibited significant variations in efficiency and interconnectedness over time, with a trend toward shorter, more interconnected paths from 2015 to 2019, enhancing overall network efficiency. The Australian embodied energy network currently faces significant funding constraints. The findings show that the Australian economic sectors have increased energy consumption in production without contributing to economic growth due to the concentration of resources within the network.