Are high energy prices harming Europe’s competitiveness?

The analysis finds that the EU manufacturing sector maintained competitive Real Unit Energy Costs (RUECs) between the mid-1990s and 2011, primarily by offsetting high real energy prices through superior energy intensity performance. While the US saw significant RUEC growth driven by a 'restructuring effect' linked to the expanding refining sector, the EU's performance was driven by the 'energy cost effect' within sectors. Between 2005 and 2011, the US experienced negative RUEC growth likely due to shale gas exploitation, while the EU showed a slight move away from energy-intensive industries.

• From the mid-1990s to 2011, the EU manufacturing industry maintained one of the lowest Real Unit Energy Costs (RUECs) relative to value-added, trailing only Japan. This performance is attributed to low levels of energy intensity, which offset the fact that real energy prices in the EU and Japan are the highest among the compared regions.
• The growth of RUECs in the EU, Japan, and China was primarily driven by the 'energy cost effect'—increases in energy costs within sectors—rather than a 'restructuring effect' (the reallocation of resources between high and low energy-intensive sectors). In contrast, RUEC growth in the US was dominated by a static restructuring effect, specifically an increase in the weight of high energy cost industries like the coke and refined petrol sector.
• The US refining sector significantly influenced overall energy cost competitiveness; its share of total manufacturing gross value added (GVA) grew from 3% to 10% over 15 years. When the refining sector is excluded from calculations, the US's performance advantage over the EU and Japan diminishes, and the observed restructuring effect largely disappears.
• Between 2005 and 2011, the US experienced negative RUEC growth, likely resulting from reduced electricity and gas prices enabled by the exploitation of shale gas. During the same period, the EU saw moderately rising RUECs, though a limited negative restructuring effect indicated a partial shift away from energy-intensive industries.

APA

Maincent, E. (2015). Are high energy prices harming Europe’s competitiveness? World Economic Forum. https://www.weforum.org/stories/energy-transition/are-high-energy-prices-harming-europes-competitiveness/

Chicago

Maincent, Emmanuelle. Are high energy prices harming Europe’s competitiveness? World Economic Forum, 2015. https://www.weforum.org/stories/energy-transition/are-high-energy-prices-harming-europes-competitiveness/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Maincent |first1=Emmanuelle |title=Are high energy prices harming Europe’s competitiveness? |publisher=World Economic Forum |date=28 January 2015 |url=https://www.weforum.org/stories/energy-transition/are-high-energy-prices-harming-europes-competitiveness/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{maincent2015are, author = {Maincent, Emmanuelle}, title = {{Are high energy prices harming Europe’s competitiveness?}}, institution = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2015}, month = jan, url = {https://www.weforum.org/stories/energy-transition/are-high-energy-prices-harming-europes-competitiveness/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }