<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><div style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;" class="">Nature Energy March 2020</div><div style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 17px;" class=""><br class=""></div><div style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;" class=""><span style="font-kerning: none;" class=""><b class="">Large inequality in international and intranational energy footprints between income groups and across consumption categories </b></span></div><p style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;" class="">Yannick Oswald <span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; vertical-align: 4px;" class="">✉</span>, Anne Owen and Julia K. Steinberger </p><p style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;" class=""><span style="font-kerning: none;" class=""><b class="">Abstract</b></span></p><div style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;" class=""><span style="font-kerning: none;" class="">Inequality in energy consumption, both direct and indirect, affects the distribution of benefits that result from energy use. Detailed measures of this inequality are required to ensure an equitable and just energy transition. Here we calculate final energy footprints; that is, the energy embodied in goods and services across income classes in 86 countries, both highly industrialized and developing. We analyse the energy intensity of goods and services used by different income groups, as well as their income elasticity of demand. We find that inequality in the distribution of energy footprints varies across different goods and services. Energy-intensive goods tend to be more elastic, leading to higher energy footprints of high-income individuals. Our results consequently expose large inequality in international energy footprints: </span><span style="font-kerning: none; background-color: rgb(255, 251, 0);" class="">the consumption share of the bottom half of the population is less than 20% of final energy footprints, which in turn is less than what the top 5% consume. </span></div><div style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;" class=""><br class=""></div><div style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;" class=""><span style="font-kerning: none;" class=""><b class="">Introductory paragraphs</b></span></div><div style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;" class=""><span style="font-kerning: none;" class=""><b class=""><br class=""></b></span></div><div style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;" class=""><span style="font-kerning: none; background-color: rgb(255, 251, 0);" class="">Income and wealth inequality have been increasing in most major economies since the 1980s.</span><span style="font-kerning: none;" class=""> The top 1% of global income earners benefit the most from economic growth, having increased their income share substantially from 15% to more than 20%</span><span style="vertical-align: 4px; font-kerning: none; color: rgb(58, 105, 158);" class="">1</span><span style="font-kerning: none;" class="">. Oxfam added</span><span style="vertical-align: 4px; font-kerning: none; color: rgb(58, 105, 158);" class="">2 </span><span style="font-kerning: none;" class="">that in 2017 “2% of all wealth created went to the top 1%”. Inequality is now recognized as a decisive force of our time and has been linked to issues that range from the environmental performance of nations to domestic terrorism</span><span style="vertical-align: 4px; font-kerning: none; color: rgb(58, 105, 158);" class="">3</span><span style="vertical-align: 4px; font-kerning: none;" class="">,</span><span style="vertical-align: 4px; font-kerning: none; color: rgb(58, 105, 158);" class="">4</span><span style="font-kerning: none;" class="">. Climate change is likewise high on the global agenda and so is energy’s role in decar- bonizing the economy</span><span style="vertical-align: 4px; font-kerning: none; color: rgb(58, 105, 158);" class="">5</span><span style="vertical-align: 4px; font-kerning: none;" class="">,</span><span style="vertical-align: 4px; font-kerning: none; color: rgb(58, 105, 158);" class="">6</span><span style="font-kerning: none;" class="">. Numerous studies have shown that eco- nomic inequality translates to inequality in energy consumption as well as emissions</span><span style="vertical-align: 4px; font-kerning: none; color: rgb(58, 105, 158);" class="">7</span><span style="vertical-align: 4px; font-kerning: none;" class="">–</span><span style="vertical-align: 4px; font-kerning: none; color: rgb(58, 105, 158);" class="">9</span><span style="font-kerning: none;" class="">. This is largely because </span><span style="font-kerning: none; background-color: rgb(255, 251, 0);" class="">people with different purchasing power make use of different goods and services</span><span style="vertical-align: 4px; font-kerning: none; color: rgb(58, 105, 158);" class="">10</span><span style="font-kerning: none;" class="">, which are sustained by different energy quantities and carriers. </span></div><div style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 17px;" class=""><span style="font-kerning: none;" class=""></span><br class=""></div><div style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;" class=""><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); -webkit-font-kerning: none;" class="">Most studies that consider energy footprints and inequality focus on single countries. International and consumption-granular com- parisons remain restricted to carbon inequality instead of energy</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); vertical-align: 4px; -webkit-font-kerning: none; color: rgb(58, 105, 158);" class="">3</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); vertical-align: 4px; -webkit-font-kerning: none;" class="">,</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); vertical-align: 4px; -webkit-font-kerning: none; color: rgb(58, 105, 158);" class="">9</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); -webkit-font-kerning: none;" class="">. Moreover, in energy transition research, the production and supply side have been the dominant focus. </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 251, 0); -webkit-font-kerning: none;" class="">The demand side has received much less attention and, </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); -webkit-font-kerning: none;" class="">when it is considered, it is usually from a technological perspective</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); vertical-align: 4px; -webkit-font-kerning: none; color: rgb(58, 105, 158);" class="">11</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); vertical-align: 4px; -webkit-font-kerning: none;" class="">,</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); vertical-align: 4px; -webkit-font-kerning: none; color: rgb(58, 105, 158);" class="">12</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); -webkit-font-kerning: none;" class="">. Recent scenario work demonstrates that r<span style="background-color: rgb(255, 251, 0);" class="">eorganizing and reducing energy demand </span>can ease the shift to a low-carbon energy system</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); vertical-align: 4px; -webkit-font-kerning: none; color: rgb(58, 105, 158);" class="">13 </span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;" class=""><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class="">but it is largely projected to happen through techno-economic means. A starting point for change can be to understand how </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 251, 0);" class="">people’s everyday practices c</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class="">onstitute the foundations for the energy system. </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 251, 0);" class="">What do people need energy for? And how much?</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class=""> Shove and Walker</span></span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); vertical-align: 4px; -webkit-font-kerning: none; color: rgb(58, 105, 158);" class="">14 </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); -webkit-font-kerning: none;" class="">argue that different social practices entail different patterns of energy consumption</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); vertical-align: 4px; -webkit-font-kerning: none; color: rgb(58, 105, 158);" class="">14</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); -webkit-font-kerning: none;" class="">.</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 251, 0); -webkit-font-kerning: none;" class=""> Whatever a person does in their life affects the energy footprint left behind. </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); -webkit-font-kerning: none;" class="">Going to work by internal-combustion-engine car instead of electric bicycle reinforces distinct supply chains building their products on distinct amounts of energy and fuels; oil in the first case, electricity in the latter. </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 251, 0); -webkit-font-kerning: none;" class="">Consequently, energy system design is not just an engineering issue but a social one too</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 251, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;" class="">. </span></div><p style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class=""><span style="font-size: 12px;" class="">==============</span></p><div class="">
<div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Verdana; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration: none;"><font size="1" class="">=————————————————————------===-------------------------------------------------=<br class=""><br class="">“Full of recent references and statistics, Harvesting the Biosphere adds to the growing chorus of warnings about the current trajectory of human activity on a finite planet, of which climate change is only one dimension. <br class=""><br class="">“One can quibble with some assumptions or tweak Smil’s calculations, but the bottom line will not change, only the time it may take humanity to reach a crisis point.”<br class=""><br class="">Stephen Running. “Approaching the Limits” Science 15 March 2013.<br class=""><br class="">Book review. Harvesting the Biosphere: What we have taken from Nature. by Vaclav Smil . MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, 2012. 315 pp. $29, £19.95. ISBN 9780262018562.<br class=""><br class="">=————————————-----------------------===—----------------------------—————————=<br class=""><br class="">“Man … is alone, abandoned on earth in the midst of his infinite responsibilities, without help, with no other aim than the one he sets himself, with no other destiny than the one he forges for himself on this earth.”<br class=""><br class="">Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980)</font><br class=""><br class=""></div>
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