Powering Sustainable Growth: Investigating Energy Efficiency in Chilean Industry through Decomposition Analysis

Abstract: This research aims to study the energy efficiency of the Chilean industry sector using decomposition analysis methods to understand energy intensity decoupling from economic output. The study focuses on the industry sector, the biggest energy consumer, and utilises a dataset that specifies subindustries' energy consumption and economic contribution to GDP. The results suggest that, for the subset analysed, industry was in decoupling during the 2015-2020 period, with some sectors contributing highly to this decoupling, while others showed no signs of detaching their economic output from their energy intensity. The findings present a different conclusion than previous research, indicating a positive trend towards decoupling, although further research is required to validate these results. This highlights the potential for targeted policy interventions and private sector investments in energy efficiency to drive sustainable economic growth in Chile.