Year over year, the quantity of energy to provide basic needs has decreased. Transportation and housing HVAC is more efficient, and the shift away from physical world such as digital entertainment and remote work also decreases the energy needs.
It used to be that meeting more needs (crudely measured by GDP growth) was directly linked to more energy consumption. That's not the case now for a few decades already, GDP growth has decoupled from energy usage.
It used to be that meeting more needs (crudely measured by GDP growth) was directly linked to more energy consumption. That's not the case now for a few decades already, GDP growth has decoupled from energy usage.