Tele-connecting renewable energy availability from production to consumption via multi-national supply chains

Abstract

Renewable energy transition is recognized as an irreplaceable strategy under low-carbon transition, which has gradually drawn due attention worldwide. Through combining the gravity center and the Lorentz curve, this study conducts a comparative assessment to depict gravity center trajectories across countries/regions and renewable energy inequality within income groups, providing a new perspective to clarify renewable energy transition worldwide. From the results, renewable energy availability experienced a rapid growth over time, and the gravity center of renewable energy availability shifted slightly towards the northeast. Through tele-connecting renewable energy availability via multi-national supply chains, renewable energy exchanges greatly expanded between 2000 and 2019, with Canada-USA, China-USA, Paraguay-Argentina, Mexico-USA, China-India, and China-Japan identified as intensive trade partners. In consideration of inequality levels, an obvious decrease in Gini coefficients could be witnessed, however, the Gini coefficients of renewable energy inequalities worldwide remained high. When compared, the upper-middle-income countries had the lowest Gini coefficients and gradually surpassed high-income countries as the most equitable group. By unveiling the trajectory and inequality of renewable energy availability from both production- and consumption-based perspectives, some rational and feasible strategies would be practical in consideration of economic growth and regional disparity to promote sustainable and equitable renewable energy transition worldwide.