Road transport energy consumption in the G7 and BRICS: 1973–2010

Abstract

Road transport will account for a large share of developing countries’ future energy demand. This paper reviews the trends in road transport energy consumption in 12 countries (Group of Seven (G7) and BRICS) over the period 1973–2010. We report several stylised facts: road transport energy use and its share in total energy use have been rising; there were large differences in road transport energy use per capita across countries, resulting from differences in country size, resource endowments, fuel prices and other factors; oil accounts for around 95% of road transport energy in the selected countries except Brazil; oil will likely be the dominant road transport energy source in most countries for some years to come but not in the long run; and the use of alternative road transport energy sources is increasing.