From constraint to sufficiency The decoupling of energy and carbon from human needs, 1975-2005

We investigate the relationship between human needs energy consumption and carbon emissions for several indicators of human development life expectancy literacy income and the Human Development Index We find that high human development can be achieved at moderate energy and carbon levels increasing energy and carbon past this level does not necessarily contribute to higher living standards By conducting a novel longitudinal analysis from 1975 to 2005 we observe a previously undetected decoupling of the per capita energy and carbon required for human needs If resources were equally distributed current energy and carbon levels would be more than sufficient to satisfy global human needs at high levels of human development By projecting current trends to 2030 we demonstrate that the global energy consumption and carbon emissions required to satisfy human needs will decrease with time despite growth in population (C) 2010 Elsevier BV All rights reserved