Decomposition of Intensity and Sustainable Use Countermeasures for the Energy Resources of the Northwestern Five Provinces of China Using the Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index (LMDI) Method and Three Convergence Models

Energy resources are a material basis for regional sustainable development and ecological security. However, this issue has not been adequately studied in Northwest China. Here, we consider the five northwestern provinces of China and break down the change in energy use intensity. Results show that the total energy intensity in the five northwestern provinces decreased from 2.389 tons/104 Chinese yuan (CNY) in 2000 to 0.92 tons/104 CNY in 2021. The main influencing factors for the decline in energy intensity are the industrial energy intensity followed by the industrial structure and the energy structure. There are eight industrial sub-sectors that contributed to the decrease in industrial energy intensity. Conversely, there are seven sub-sectors that increased industrial energy intensity. In addition, there are six sub-sectors with an energy intensity of more than 1 ton/104 CNY. The convergence parameters demonstrate that the energy intensities of the five northwestern provinces did not converge to the same steady-state level, and their gap did not narrow in the short term. While the region’s overall energy intensity has shown a consistent downward trajectory, sectors heavily reliant on traditional fossil fuels—such as coal chemical processing, petroleum refining, and coking—have experienced a paradoxical upward trend in energy consumption. To address this, governments must implement targeted sector-specific measures, including upgrading technical capabilities through advanced coal gasification technologies, optimizing heat integration systems in petroleum refining processes, and streamlining intermediate production stages to minimize energy waste.