A new paper by researchers studying Exergy Economics discusses the benefits of so-called ‘societal exergy accounting’ in understanding the relationship between energy and economic growth.
Exergy is “available energy”, or the capacity of energy to do physical work. It is a measure of the quality as well as the quantity of energy.
The article, which includes Jack Miller and Paul Brockway among its authors, explains that by understanding the flow of exergy through society, we can gain insight into the efficiency of energy use, how to improve it and how it is tied to economic growth.
The focus of this paper is a review of different methodologies used in societal exergy accounting in order to try to highlight and ultimately to overcome inconsistencies between different approaches. Find out more about exergy and the Exergy Economics project at CIED.
Read the full paper.
