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

The document analyzes energy efficiency (EE) and productive efficiency in 106 Brazilian industrial sectors. It finds that while the efficiency of typical firms improved between 2003 and 2015, the market share of the most efficient firms declined. The analysis suggests that resource reallocation—particularly correcting capital distortions—could significantly increase total factor productivity, far exceeding the gains from energy efficiency improvements alone. It argues that Brazil's EE policies have historically been reactive and focused on residential use, neglecting the industrial sector, which is the largest energy consumer.

• Brazil's energy efficiency policies have historically been reactive, implemented in response to energy shortages rather than long-term planning, and have primarily targeted residential consumption.
• The industrial sector is Brazil's largest energy consumer, accounting for 33% of total national consumption, with approximately 80% of industrial firms relying on electric power as their primary energy source.
• Between 2003 and 2015, energy and productive efficiencies for the 'typical firm' grew, indicating better internal resource use; however, the Allocation Quality Indicators (AQIs) fell, meaning less efficient firms increased their market share.
• There is a positive relationship between energy efficiency and productive efficiency in Brazilian industry, meaning challenges in energy efficiency are linked to broader sectoral productivity issues.
• Reallocating capital, labor, and electricity across firms in the same sector could have generated an 81% gain in total factor productivity in 2015.
• Correcting distortions in capital allocation offers significantly higher potential productivity gains (76%) compared to correcting distortions in electricity allocation (15%).

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} }