Energy and carbon emission review for Macao's gaming industry

Energy consumption and CO₂ emissions caused by gaming industry have never been explored, while gaming industry across the world has experienced considerable development. To fill this blank, a comprehensive analysis based on systems accounting is conducted in this study for embodied energy consumption and CO₂ emissions by gaming industry, the backbone of Macao's economy. The results reveal that the total embodied energy consumption by Macao's pillar industry increases by about 1.5 times from 2005 to 2010 while the energy intensity decreases by more than a quarter. The trends of overall CO₂ emissions and emission intensity are in parallel to those of total energy consumption and energy intensity. It is also noted that as a service industry, indirect energy consumption and emissions induced by gaming is an order of magnitude larger than those based on direct accounting. As to the energy and emission structures, energy consumption and emissions caused by operating inputs is the largest contributor to both overall energy consumption and emissions. The results also indicate that for gaming industry's energy and emission issues, the relative importance of commission is increasing while that of goods purchased is decreasing. Appreciable energy saving and emissions reduction potential is also discussed against the background of Macao's urgent need for gaming industry's sustainable development.