Assessment of the environmental efficiency of the electricity mix of the top European economies via data envelopment analysis

•We analyze the eco-efficiency of the electricity mix of the top 27 European economies.•Moving toward ecofriendly electricity production mixes is the goal of this study.•The targets for eco-inefficient countries are provided and compared with actual mixes.•The study focuses on satisfying the electricity demand with minimum environmental impact.•Our approach provides useful guidelines for governments on how to improve the environmental performance of energy generation.

Moving towards a more sustainable energy system is a major goal of modern societies that aim to minimize the dependence on fossil fuels and the associated anthropogenic impacts. In this article, the combined use of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) is applied to analyse the environmental performance (eco-efficiency) of the electricity mix of the top European economies. This approach allows identifying environmentally efficient and inefficient countries considering as undesirable inputs several environmental impacts associated with the production of 1 kWh (regarded as output). The method provides as well targets for the inefficient countries that (if attained) would make them efficient. Our results provide valuable insight for governments and policy makers that aim to satisfy the electricity demand while minimizing the associated environmental impact.

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