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Abstract It is generally accepted that attainment of the objectives set in the Kyoto Protocol will impose fundamental changes on the structure of North America's economy. This text highlights the extent of the Kyoto challenge as it pertains to one critical sector of the economy, the electricity industry. The results of the analysis, based on historical trends, suggest that it will be virtually impossible to reach the Kyoto objectives within the North American electricity industry. These results confirm and reiterate the degree of difficulty in meeting the Kyoto objectives and hence help explain the lack of political support for ratification of the Protocol.

Abstract This article examines Korean consumer responses towards second-generation lignocellulosic bioethanol. Consumer surveys were conducted in the Korean cities of Seoul, Incheon, Bucheon, Gwangju, Seongnam and Suwon with three information treatments for the purpose of this study. The survey collected data on consumers’ willingness to pay (WTP) for this product, their driving patterns, knowledge about renewable energy, acceptance of relevant government policies, and demographic characteristics. A dichotomous-choice contingent valuation methodology is used to estimate WTP for this product and investigate factors that affect consumer choice. The findings include that the average respondent in the sample is willing to pay a 4.3% premium over second-generation bioethanol compared to conventional fuel. The mean premium is highest (6% premium) for respondents who received information about positive environmental effects of the advanced fuel. Being female and higher income positively affect WTP. Also higher self-reported knowledge about renewable energy sources and higher valuation of environmental friendliness positively affect WTP for advanced bioethanol.

Abstract The world is presently mired in an energy crisis that challenges our ability to maintain standards of living in the North and raise them in the South. With accelerating demand for fossil fuels and relatively stagnant supplies, the fundamental bases of our transportation, energy, and agricultural systems are being questioned. Biofuels provide a more feasible technology than other renewables that could serve immediately to substitute for petroleum products in transportation. However, biofuels have been much reviled as leading to increased food prices and being environmental unfriendly. This article examines the case of Brazil. As a pioneer of biofuel use, Brazil is a key case for studying the possibilities, trade-offs, costs and benefits, of ethanol as an alternative to petroleum. Brazil has had an active program for over 30 years and is the world leader both in terms of technology and usage of ethanol. With relatively low economies of scale, a number of developing countries could successfully adopt the Brazilian system, reducing their dear dependence on petroleum. The evolution of the Brazilian ethanol system and its parameters are therefore of paramount interest to those interested in energy policy around the world.

AbstractThis chapter assesses the macroeconomic effects of carbon‐energy taxation introduced under unilateral environmental tax reform (ETR) in the 1990s undertaken in six member states of the European Union: Denmark, Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the UK. The effects are estimated using the large‐scale Energy–Environment–Economy (E3) model for Europe, E3ME, which covers the countries involved as well as the complete single market, so that the effects on other economies can be considered, along with any effects on competitiveness. The method is to identify the key characteristics of the green tax reform packages and include these in the modelling of the price and non‐price effects of the ETR on energy use and international trade in E3ME. The effects are then compared with a ‘reference case’ (i.e. a counterfactual case) generated by E3ME over the period 1995–2012, including current and expected developments in the EU economy, e.g. the impact of the EU Emission Trading Scheme, but without the ETR. The revenue recycling meant that the cost of ETR to the economy was significantly reduced and in several cases resulted in an increase in GDP. The method for revenue recycling strongly affects the results, as does the scale of exemptions offered to certain fuel user groups.

Abstract Since the 1970s, countries have protected the environment by means of various legal instruments, including environmental approvals and licensing. An environmental task force created under the Hydropower Agreement was appointed by the IEA to compare and determine the efficiency and effectiveness of such mechanisms, as they apply to each phase of hydropower development (policy level, project planning, project implementation, plant operation and plant upgrading, relicensing and decommissioning). It also examined whether legal mechanisms respected ethical principles as well as the protection of the environment, human rights and the right to economic development. This paper reports on the essential findings outlined by the task force. It discusses common deficiencies in national legal mechanisms relating to hydropower development and also proposes practical solutions and potential improvements. The main conclusion of this study is that environmental approval and licensing processes have become excessively rigid and cumbersome in many countries and that governments need to rethink the approval process and reform the legal and regulatory frameworks. Governments should consider a mechanism such as a strategic environmental assessment implemented at the policy level and processes that systematically integrate information gathered by previous monitoring studies. And since hydropower development raises ethical dilemmas that are difficult to reconcile, some decisions should be made by the legislative branch and not by the executive branch or other decision-making body. Moreover, proponents should adopt a code of conduct based on ethics and principles of international environmental law.

It is widely accepted that electrification of the transport sector is one of several technological trajectories that could redress some of the environmental issues associated with the growth in travel demand including climate change and oil demand at a global scale, and air quality and noise pollution at the urban scale. Electric vehicles have been considered a promising technology at repeated intervals over the last century, but this promise has not been realised. This paper is a contribution to understanding the key tools and strategies that might enable the successful introduction of new technologies and innovations by exploring the key barriers to electric vehicles encountered in two countries (UK and Germany) where the automobile industry has been historically significant. The study evaluates stakeholders' opinions on relevant regulation, infrastructure investment, R&D incentives, and consumer incentives. The key findings of the research are that the introduction and penetration of EVs is confronted by several barriers that inhibit a larger market penetration under current conditions, which in turn casts doubt on the assumptions of strategic niche management and transitions theory.

Abstract In the last decade, the EU has driven forward the development and connection of renewable power sources across Europe. This has changed the way in which distribution networks operate, moving from a passive system, to a more active system where generation and demand are located closer together with system states being more complex and variable. Increased penetration of renewable generation into distribution networks is presenting a number of challenges to Distribution Network Operators (DNOs) including the provision of network access in capacity constrained networks. The introduction of Active Network Management (ANM) is enabling an increase in renewable generation connections through enhanced network access in otherwise ‘full’ networks. This paper presents a way in which DNOs might move towards Business as Usual (BAU) arrangements for ANM schemes. It is necessary to determine the curtailment arrangements, or Principles of Access (PoA), and from this estimate generation access under ANM and the flow of services and money for different scenarios. In this paper, a comprehensive literature review, detailed case study evaluation on early ANM schemes, quantitative curtailment assessment for different PoA and a qualitative analysis of business models for different ANM PoA is presented in turn with conclusions drawn from these three approaches.

Abstract The need to decarbonize the power sector through increased participation of renewable generation has originated an escalating necessity for transmission network investments that can be undertaken by a number of market participants, including planning authorities/system operators, network companies and project developers. The expansion of the power network, however, presents various environmental and social conflicts, in particular, with land uses that are valuable by society such as the presence of communities, national parks, protected forests, tourism zones, archaeological sites, etc. In this context of environmental and social awareness, we assess the benefits of two strategies that coordinate network investments among various participants and compare them against the current counterfactual approach, where no coordination is undertaken and thus renewable generation projects are connected to the main transmission system in an individual, project-by-project basis. Through various case studies based on the main Chilean transmission system, we show that the lack of coordination in network investments may present severe impacts in terms of the socio-environmental externalities of transmission network expansions. Furthermore, we demonstrate that attempting to reduce externalities of new network investments without proper coordination of new developments may significantly limit the success of a land use policy associated with network developments.