By Ed Sperling
South Korea gained the dubious distinction of having the highest energy consumption per dollar of GDP among member countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), far surpassing countries like the United States, Japan and France, according to a published report. http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2924132

What’s more interesting, though is what is not in the OECD report. While South Korea gets the brown award among OECD countries, it’s not that bad. The OECD is comprised of the major economies of Europe, as well as the United States, Canada, Japan and South Korea. A projection of energy usage by OECD countries from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (part of the Department of Energy) shows a flat line for the first 35 years of the century.

Overall energy consumption will increase 49%, however, around the globe. The OECD does not include China, India, Brazil and Vietnam, which are shaping up to be the real guzzlers. The good news is that these also are more price-sensitive economies. Energy consumption costs money, and in developing economies that’s much more important than in more developed economies where being green is often rooted in social consciousness rather than solely on the need to cut costs. http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/ieo/highlights.html

Tags: OECD, South Korea

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