한국의 에너지 소비와 경제성장의 탈동조화에 대한 분석

An Analysis on the Decoupling between Energy Consumption and Economic Growth in South Korea

Purpose - This study analyzed the decoupling phenomenon between energy consumption and economic growth in Korea from 1990 to 2021. The main purpose of this study is to suggest policy implications for achieving a low-carbon society and decoupling that Korea must move forward in the face of the climate change crisis. Design/methodology/approach - This study investigated the relationship between energy consumption and economic growth by energy source and sector using the energy-EKC (EEKC) hypothesis which included the energy consumption on the traditional Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC), and the impulse response function (IRF) model based on Bayesian vector auto-regression (BVAR). Findings - During the analysis period, the trend of decoupling of energy consumption and economic growth in Korea is confirmed starting from 1996. However, the decoupling tendency appeared differently depending on the differences in energy consumption by sources and fields. The results of the IRF model using data on energy consumption by source showed that the impact of GDP and renewable energy consumption resulted in an increase in energy consumption of bio and waste, but a decrease in energy consumption by sources, and the impact of trade dependence was found to increase the consumption of petroleum products. Research implications or Originality - According to the main results, efficient distribution by existing energy source is required through expansion of development of not only renewable energy but also alternative energy. Additionally, in order to increase the effectiveness of existing energy policies to achieve carbon neutrality, more detailed strategies by source and sector of energy consumption are needed.