Increasing energy demand and economic performance can be observed in emerging markets and, in parallel, their share in world energy use and in global GDP is growing as well. It causes significant spatial shifts and calls attention for a new geography of energy demand. The main purpose of this study is to reveal the spatial distribution of energy use and economic growth focusing on the link between them. Developing gravity models, we identify the economic and energy centres of gravity in the world and on different continents and reveal their movements between 1990 and 2015, in particular, the directions of the shifts. Bi-dimensional regression analysis and the method of standard distance are applied to compare these movements. The study utilizes cartograms to visualize how the space is changed and distorted by the field of force. It can be stated that the economic and energy centre of gravity can be found in the Mediterranean Basin, but a slow and gradual shift to the east can be observed. Currently it reflects the dominance of the north, but it marks the position loss of the northern hemisphere and the greater importance of developing economies (in the southern hemisphere).

The COVID-19 and the resulting global energy crises highlighted the importance of decarbonization and the necessity of shifting the economy from fossil fuels towards renewable energy sources. Sustainable energy transition is also a key element of circular economy, social welfare and justice. In this paper we developed an indicator set and we compiled a composite indicator to measure the performance of the EU Member States regarding the sustainable energy transition between 2007 and 2019. Our results show significant differences which do not follow the usual East-West division of the integration. Both convergence and divergence can be revealed.

ABSTRACT:In this study two different decoupling indicators are applied to examine the delinking of the energy consumption from economic growth in the Visegrad Four countries (Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary) during the period 1990-2015. In the light of these results conclusions are drawn with regard to the impact of decoupling as well (it means decoupling environmental impacts from economic growth) using the ecological footprint and biocapacity data. This paper pays special attention to the years when the economies are in recession. The resulting estimations of decoupling effects are optimistic, these economies achieved absolute or relative decoupling during a significant part of the period considered. However, the time interval 2009-2013 can be interpreted as a structural break, because in these years the decoupling of the examined variables was not detected and only weak negative, strong negative and expansive negative decoupling could be identified It can be stated that decoupling is not a permanent process and after even one and half decades (such as Poland -1994Poland - -2009) the positive tendency can be reversed. The analysis of the ecological footprint shows that examining the energy consumption, not only the resource decoupling but the impact decoupling can be detected as well.

An analysis of the 27 European Union (EU) member states over the years 2000–2018 examines the relationship between residential energy use per capita and human well-being, measured by the Human Development Index (HDI). The EU’s ‘Fit for 55’ policy package to reduce greenhouse gas emissions may derail post-communist member states’ convergence (PCMS) to the same level of well-being of households in old member states (OMS). The aim of this article is to assess both the direct and indirect relationship between residential energy use per capita and human well-being. The findings indicate a direct connection in addition to the indirect effect between them. Therefore, reducing or leveling off residential energy consumption in PCMS will prevent human development convergence within the EU. The findings indicate the lack of convergence, because of the ‘Fit for 55’ policy package assumption of a decline of residential energy consumption in all member states could stagnate or lower HDI in PCMS and prevent policy implementation.

No abstract