This paper summarizes the arguments and counterarguments within the scientific discussion

on developing the free-carbon economy in Ukraine. The main purpose of the paper is elaborating

the energy efficiency profile of Ukraine to assure the development of the free-carbon economy. To

achieve this purpose, the authors carried out an investigation in the following logical sequence.

Firstly, the bibliometric analysis of 4674 of the most cited articles indexed by the Scopus database

was conducted. The obtained findings indicated that the green economy transformation depended

on the main factors such as economic performance, corruption, macroeconomic stability, social

welfare, shadow economy etc. As a result, the forecast of the final energy consumption to 2030

was performed. The methodological tool of this research is based on the Autoregressive Integrated

Moving Average (ARIMA) model. This study involved data of the Visegrad countries (Poland, the

Czech Republic, the Slovak Republic and Hungary) and Ukraine from 2000 to 2018. The base of

data is Eurostat, the EU statistical service. Based on the obtained results of analyzing the green

economic transformation in the Visegrad countries and Ukraine, the authors intimated the existence

of the significant energy-efficient gap in Ukraine compared to the analyzed countries. In reliance on

the experience of the Visegrad countries and the forecast results, the authors provided the main recommendations

for providing the green transforming in Ukraine. The authors highlighted that the obtained

results of this paper were considered to be the base for future investigations considering the influence

of endogenous and exogenous factors on developing the free-carbon economy in Ukraine.

Primary energy consumption depends on the size of the economy and its structure, including both industrial and service sectors, characterized by different energy demands. Some of the basic energy and economic indicators that can be used to analyze primary energy consumption include energy intensity, energy productivity and indicators measuring the activity of the economy (gross domestic product or gross value added). In the years 1995–2021, the Polish economy developed at a relatively constant pace, and the value of gross domestic product increased in real terms by almost 290% over the entire analyzed period. However, despite this increase, total primary energy consumption remained at the relatively constant level of around 3,800–4,600 PJ/year. This was caused by, among other factors, an increase in energy productivity on the one hand and a reduction in energy intensity on the other. It should be emphasized that a descriptive analysis of changes in primary energy consumption in Poland in the analyzed period, including changes in selected energy and economic indicators, does not allow the identification and quantification of the impact of all key factors on the total change of the examined value over time. In this context, the main aim of the research presented in this paper is to propose a decomposition model of primary energy consumption in Poland and adapt it to conduct analyses covering the period of economic and energy transition to quantitatively determine the impact of the identified factors on the total change in primary energy consumption in the 1995–2021 period. To perform the described research, decomposition analysis was applied, including a multiplicative and additive approach. A decomposition model was developed based on the formulated decomposition identity. Mathematical formulas of two methods were used to perform the calculations: a generalized Fisher index and the logarithmic mean Divisia index (LMDI). The obtained results indicate that the effects of demand and energy intensity factors had the most significant impact on the primary energy consumption change.