CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES OF ENERGY EFFICIENCY: A LOOK AT BRAZILIAN INDUSTRY

This policy brief by the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) analyzes the relationship between energy efficiency and productive efficiency in Brazilian industry from 2003 to 2015. It finds that while individual firms have improved their resource use, the overall market share of the most efficient firms has declined, hindering aggregate productivity. The report argues that Brazil's energy efficiency policies have historically been reactive and focused on the residential sector, neglecting the industrial sector, which is the largest energy consumer.

• Brazil's energy efficiency policies have been reactive, implemented in response to specific energy shortages rather than long-term planning, and have primarily targeted residential consumption instead of the industrial sector.
• The industrial sector is the primary energy consumer in Brazil, accounting for 33% of total national consumption, with approximately 80% of these firms relying on electric power as their main energy source.
• Between 2003 and 2015, energy and productive efficiencies in Brazilian industrial sectors remained stable because gains in the efficiency of typical firms were offset by a decrease in the market share of the most efficient firms.
• There is a positive relationship between energy efficiency (added value as a share of electricity spending) and productive efficiency (value added by worker) within the Brazilian industry.
• Reallocating productive inputs—specifically capital, labor, and electricity—across firms in the same sector could have generated a total factor productivity gain of 81% in 2015.
• Distortions in capital allocation are a more significant barrier to productivity than electricity allocation; correcting capital distortions would yield a 76% gain, compared to a 15% gain from correcting electricity distortions.

APA

Assunção, J., Schutze, A., & Brolhato, S. (2018). CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES OF ENERGY EFFICIENCY: A LOOK AT BRAZILIAN INDUSTRY. Climate Policy Initiative. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Challenges-and-Opportunities-of-Energy-Efficiency-Look-at-Brazilian-Industry.pdf

Chicago

Assunção, Juliano, Amanda Schutze, and Sara Brolhato. CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES OF ENERGY EFFICIENCY: A LOOK AT BRAZILIAN INDUSTRY. Climate Policy Initiative, 2018. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Challenges-and-Opportunities-of-Energy-Efficiency-Look-at-Brazilian-Industry.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Assunção |first1=Juliano |last2=Schutze |first2=Amanda |last3=Brolhato |first3=Sara |title=CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES OF ENERGY EFFICIENCY: A LOOK AT BRAZILIAN INDUSTRY |publisher=Climate Policy Initiative |date=September 2018 |url=https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Challenges-and-Opportunities-of-Energy-Efficiency-Look-at-Brazilian-Industry.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{assuno2018challenges, author = {Assunção, Juliano and Schutze, Amanda and Brolhato, Sara}, title = {{CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES OF ENERGY EFFICIENCY: A LOOK AT BRAZILIAN INDUSTRY}}, institution = {Climate Policy Initiative}, year = {2018}, month = sep, url = {https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Challenges-and-Opportunities-of-Energy-Efficiency-Look-at-Brazilian-Industry.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }