Comprehensive economy-wide energy efficiency and emissions accounting systems for tracking national progress

Energy efficiency accounting systems (EEAS) have been widely used to track progress in economy-wide energy efficiency. In the literature, there is general agreement on the approach for handling energy consumption in end-use sectors. However, this is not the case for the energy sector which captures losses arising from energy transformation, transmission and distribution. The energy sector constitutes between 25 and 40% of total primary consumption in most countries. How it is handled in an EEAS greatly affects quantification of progress in economy-wide energy efficiency and its accompanying policy implications. This study systematically compares the various approaches used to incorporate energy losses from the power sector in an EEAS and discusses interpretation and implications of the results in the context of different energy systems. A new approach, which quantifies the contribution of changes in the share of renewable energy and separates transmission and distribution losses in the power sector, is recommended and illustrated through a case study of Canada. The approach can also accommodate energy systems with electricity trade. Extensions from an EEAS to an energy-related emissions accounting system (EMAS) are also presented in light of the increasing interest in emissions accounting and climate mitigation.