Assessing the progress towards the EU energy efficiency targets using index decomposition analysis

To track the real progress towards the energy efficiency targets, this report examines the drivers behind EU energy consumption trends using index decomposition analysis. Energy consumption trends are driven by several factors beyond energy efficiency improvements, including economic activity, demography, lifestyle changes, weather and other factors. These can all have a profound effect in the aggregate energy use, irrespective of the impact of energy efficiency policies and measures. The separation of energy efficiency impacts from structural and activity changes of the economy as a whole is conducted by applying the widely-used Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index (LMDI) methodology to study the aggregated and sectoral energy consumption changes at EU and MS levels.