The international distribution of energy intensities: Some synthetic results

•International inequalities and polarization in energy intensities are examined.•The reduction on energy intensity levels has coincided with a reduction in cross-country inequalities.•Cross-country energy intensity inequalities are basically a question of regional groups.•The increase in bi-polarization incorporates problems in terms of environmental agreements.•The results obtained have useful policy implications

The paper examines the international distribution of energy intensities as a conventional proxy indicator of energy efficiency and sustainability in the consumption of resources, by employing some descriptive tools from the analysis of inequality and polarization. The analysis specifically focuses on the following points: firstly, inequalities are evaluated synthetically based on diverse summary measures and Lorenz curves; secondly, different factorial decompositions are undertaken that assist in investigating some explanatory factors (weighting factors, multiplicative factors and decomposition by groups); and thirdly, an analysis is made of the polarization of intensities when groups of countries are defined endogenously and exogenously. The results obtained have significant implications from both academic and political perspectives.