In Developing an Input-Output Based Method to Estimate a National-Level Energy Return on Investment (EROI), Lina I. Brand-Correa, Paul E. Brockway, Claire L. Copeland, Timothy J. Foxon, Anne Owen and Peter G. Taylor the authors note that declining energy return on energy investment (EROI) from fossil fuels and low levels of EROI for alternative energy sources could constrain the ability of national economies to continue to deliver economic growth and improvements in social wellbeing, while undertaking a low-carbon transition.
In order to test these concerns on a brazil rcs data national scale, the authors identified a conceptual and methodological gap in relation to calculating a national-level EROI and analysing its policy implications.
They developed a novel application of an Input-Output methodology to calculate a national-level indirect energy investment – one of the components needed for calculating a national-level EROI. The authors used a mixed physical and monetary approach using Multi-Regional Input-Output data and an energy extension, describing the methodology and data requirements for the approach.
Noting that oil and gas dominate the UK’s energy production mix, the authors noted that changes in the EROI values of these particular fuels were likely to dominate the changes in the UK’s EROI. The model uses the IEA World Energy Balances: Extended Energy Balances data to identify the share of energy sources in the UK: