Climate change mitigation - Drivers & Pressures ()

Comparison of the trend in GDP growth and the trend in aggregated GHG emissions shows that the Slovak Republic is one of the few countries where GDP growth does not follow the trend of GHG emissions, which has been stable since 1997. This shows that decoupling is feasible. But, in international terms, the level of GHG emissions per inhabitant still remains high.

Carbon intensity defined as CO₂ emissions per GDP is a similar indicator. The carbon intensity has reduced fourfold since 1994. This trend was maintained even during the period of high economic growth and it peaked on the decreased share of high energy-intensive industry in GDP generation and increased share of services.

Table 2: The carbon intensity per GDP in absolute values in the Slovak Republic in the period 1990–2008

Source: Slovak Hydrometeorological Institute, 15 April 2010, y axis left = emissions in Tg, y axis right = GDP in bio €, The values are absolute, GDP after recalculation in 2009 up to 1997, data before 1994 are not available.

(Figure 3): The carbon intensity per GDP in absolute values in the Slovak Republic in the period 1990–2008

According to statistical information from the Ministry of Economy, the energy industry reached a 2.7 % share of the total GDP of the Slovak Republic in 2008. Energy intensity is still 1.8 times higher than the average in EU15, despite its continual decrease. The reason for this is the adversely high share of energy-intensive industry in the GDP. This trend can be seen also in the indicator comparing the primary consumption of energy resources (which is approximately at the same level as 1994) with the GDP growth. Energy intensity is expressed in PJ/billion euro.

(Figure 4): The trend in energy intensity (right y axis) in the period 1994–2008 (after the formation of the Slovak Republic)