ABSTRACT
Most countries have experienced two dramatic energy crises since 1973. The first crisis occurred from 1973 to 1974, and the second crisis from 1979 to 1980. After these crises, significant efforts have been devoted to energy conservation. Figure 13.1 depicts both real GNP and final energy consumption in Japan, which are normalized to be 1.0 in 1960. According to this figure, energy consumption grew faster than real GNP until 1973. On the other hand, energy consumption remained almost unchanged during the period from 1973 to 1985. During these periods, the growth rate of real GNP slowed down, but still grew at an annual rate of 4.2 per cent. As a result, the ratio of energy consumption to real GNP (energy/GNP ratio) declined at a rapid pace since the first oil shock as shown in Figure 13.2.
