engleski

Demographic Determinants of Energy Consumption in EU Countries; Is energy consumption dependent on demographic processes?

It is a fact that EU countries are facing an unprecedented demographic future. The combination of very low fertility in the long term and the continued increase in life expectancy will inevitably lead to population ageing and population shrinking. However, several questions lead us to the decoupling thesis: (i) Is economic growth in developed countries happening despite demographic decline? ; (ii) What is the impact of demographic processes on economic growth and energy consumption?, and (iii) How much pressure do demographic processes place on energy consumption? The paper examines these research questions to investigate the potential correlation between individual components of demographic trends and energy consumption in general. It is essential to keep in mind that demographic changes can affect not only macro variables, such as aggregate consumption, but also their composition. The European Union Member States differ in the direction, size, intensity and structure of demographic processes. Given the different demographic trends among EU countries, different magnitudes of their impact on energy consumption can be expected. The data and research show that the impact of certain demographic processes on energy consumption cannot be ignored, and that demographic changes are affecting the level and structure of energy consumption. A common EU country process is the process of population ageing. All projections indicate the growing impact of an ageing population, which will create additional obstacles to reduce future energy consumption. The dominant demographic processes in the EU are driving the increase in energy consumption and thus making it more difficult to decouple economic growth from environmental impacts.

demography, energy consumption, population ageing, European Union

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