Driving factors of non-commercial biomass consumption: a multivariate approach

The rising global energy requirement, which is driven mainly by population and economic growth, plays a critical role in the world's economic and social development. Different levels and patterns of energy use reflect various developmental stages of countries' economies, including biomass as an important element of the global energy framework. This paper provides an assessment of the relative importance of commercial energy and biomass as elements contributing to overall economic activity. Similarities and differences are identified in the structure of energy use among countries by establishing country groupings using cluster techniques and quantifying the patterns with factor analysis. Multi-dimensional clustering of the countries is presented based on the biomass consumption related parameters such as gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, commercial energy consumption per capita, urbanisation and industrialisation levels. After describing major clusters in 1970 and 1995, the characterisation of clusters identified through the factor analysis is summarised to show the relative importance of various factors within the considered structure. Discussions on the structural changes within the selected period conclude the paper.