Per capita 42.1MWh for Germany vs 76.6MWh for USA in 2021 (before the war and any special energy savings) [1]. The living standard is comparable and the output per GDP is 0.98kWh for Germany vs 1.48kWh for the USA (in 2018) [2].
So it should be easy for the USA to reduce by 1/3 their energy consumption without affecting productivity and without even switching to other energy sources.
There is a lot of potential in energy efficiency also in Germany and other countries of course.
No credible aggregate analysis says that living standards are “comparable” in the US and Germany.
If you assume your conclusion, it’s easy to make convincing sounding arguments.
There are many ways that Germany is more pleasant than the US, and if you care a lot about those things you can construct arguments for why being in Germany is preferable.
But ability to consume goods and services is not one of those arguments. The US is MUCH richer than Germany.
Per capita 42.1MWh for Germany vs 76.6MWh for USA in 2021 (before the war and any special energy savings) [1]. The living standard is comparable and the output per GDP is 0.98kWh for Germany vs 1.48kWh for the USA (in 2018) [2].
So it should be easy for the USA to reduce by 1/3 their energy consumption without affecting productivity and without even switching to other energy sources.
There is a lot of potential in energy efficiency also in Germany and other countries of course.
[1] https://ourworldindata.org/energy/country/germany?country=US...
[2] https://ourworldindata.org/energy/country/germany?country=US...