• Energy Research
• Closed Access close
• Embargo close
• 12. Responsible consumption close
• 6. Clean water close
• Energy Policy close

Abstract Socio-technical transformations towards low-carbon energy systems are on the way in developed countries. Conversely, developing countries tend to be locked in fossil fuels and foster coal-based energy structures, emphasizing reliable and cost-effective energy provision and sidelining environmental concerns. In this study, we identified and analysed the predominant factors related to coal-based power generation in Bangladesh. We applied a mixed-method approach, initially conducting a systematic literature review and, subsequently, semi-structured expert interviews to identify and validate relevant factors. We then assessed their relative importance using an Analytical Hierarchy Process based on expert judgments. The results of this assessment reveal that socio-economic aspects and environmental issues scored highest, while technological aspects and sector regulations were considered to be less relevant for large-scale coal power implementation. We conclude that future energy policies created in Bangladesh will need to use appropriate legal instruments and address issues such as human displacement and resettlement, low levels of public acceptance, health hazards and environmental pollution. Participative policy frameworks should be deployed in coal plant projects, and active monitoring systems are necessary to reduce the negative consequences associated with increased electrification and energy consumption. To address foreseeable structural challenges, it furthermore will be crucial to explore sustainable alternatives.

Abstract A forecast of transport activity, energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions from transportation, carried out under ‘business as usual’ economic assumptions, is presented for the 10 countries of Central and Eastern Europe that have acquired the status of ‘accession countries’ to the European Union. Energy demand is projected under considerations of the dynamic evolution of transport modes and their use, the evolution of automotive fuel prices, which are assumed to gradually converge with Western European price levels within the current decade, and assumptions on efficiency improvements in all transport modes according to current technological trends and European regulations. The results, showing transportation energy demand to double and CO2 emissions to be 70% higher in 2030 compared to 2000, are compared with other published forecasts and discussed with a view to potential future energy and environmental impacts in these countries, outlining major policy implications.

Abstract The housing growth programme could offer an opportunity for accelerating the deployment of decentralised renewable energy systems (DRES) in the UK. The Government hopes to leverage private sector investment into DRES as part of new housing projects. The aim of this paper is to assess whether current regulatory and funding frameworks are sufficient to achieve this. The question is explored by drawing on the experience of developers, local authorities, energy utilities and service companies operating in the largest housing growth region in the UK–Thames Gateway. Their experience suggests that the current low intervention approach will be insufficient to generate the shift required in both industries. In order to be more successful economic and regulatory instruments should focus on producers (house-builders and energy providers) rather than consumers (households). Tighter regulation is needed to ensure that producers have a responsibility to install DRES as part of new developments, to enable connection to the grid, to ensure a sustained financial return from investment and revenue is spent on the expansion of new renewable energy infrastructure. This regulatory framework must be under-pinned by substantial funds focused on producers. Greater intervention is needed if DRES is to be included in new housing development.

Abstract In 2008, the UK launched the first regulatory sustainability reporting scheme for biofuels. The development of the scheme, managed by the Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership for the Department for Transport, involved extensive stakeholder engagement. The scheme has significantly increased understanding by policy-makers, the biofuels industry and its supply chains on how to monitor and manage the sustainability risks of biofuels and increase their greenhouse-gas benefits. It is providing a practical model for similar developments globally. To receive certificates in order to meet volume obligations under the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO), suppliers must provide a monthly carbon and sustainability report on individual batches of renewable fuels they supply into the UK. The Renewable Fuels Agency produces aggregate monthly reports of overall performance and quarterly updates of individual supplier performance. This scheme is an important first step to assist the biofuels industry to demonstrate its environmental credentials and justify the subsidies received. The paper provides a case study of the development of the scheme, its initial outcomes and outstanding challenges.

Abstract This paper attempts to measure consumers' perceived net benefits (or net costs) of energy-saving measures in using energy-consuming durable goods. Using the estimated net costs and the volume of CO2 reduced by the measures, a marginal abatement cost (MAC) curve for the average household's CO2 emissions is produced. An analysis using the curve suggests that in order to provide households with an incentive to take actions that can lead to CO2 emission reductions in using energy-consuming durables, a high level of carbon price is needed. In addition, a regression analysis reveals that the net benefits of the measures are larger for households that put a higher priority on energy saving, for those living in detached houses, for those with a smaller number of persons living together, and for those with less income. The result of the analysis using the MAC curve may suggest that promoting energy-saving behavior will require not only a policy to provide economic incentives but also interventions to influence psychological factors of household behavior.

Abstract Energy utilization of crop straw is of high economic, social and ecological benefit. In this paper, based on the beneficiary pays principle, we use biogas production from crop straw as an example and analyze households' willingness to pay (WTP) for the local government-led project on energy utilization of crop straw. “Interpersonal trust” and “institutional trust” variables are introduced to improve the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) model, on the basis of which, Probit and Interval Regression Models are employed to explore the determinants of households' WTP. Results show that: 1) Most households are willing to pay for biogas utilization of crop straw, and the average expected value of households' WTP is about 20.72 RMB per household monthly; 2) Crop straw program cost and benefit trade-offs, convenience of logistics and technology, and trust factors all play an important role in households’ WTP; 3) If the cultivation of trust is neglected, even if households have high expectations for the ecological performance of biogas production from crop straw, their WTP will not be improved. Conclusions are summarized to provide an important reference for the formulation of policies to improve energy utilization of crop straw in developing countries or regions.

Abstract The United States (US) Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Mandatory Reporting Program (GHGRP) is designed to collect accurate and timely facility-level emissions data that might be used by policy makers to support sound climate policy decisions in the future. After reviewing the US Inventory and the expected improvements under GHGRP, we find that the benefits of GHGRP are minimal and quite possibly zero while the cost of implementation is relatively high, that the stated goal of reducing emissions uncertainty is not met by the program in its current form, and that the additional emissions data to be collected is likely not needed given the ongoing non-committal environment of US GHG regulation. Our review also highlights the need for EPA to make its US Inventory GHG models accessible to the public, which would enable a more thorough review of its assumptions and methods by the broader scientific community.

Abstract This paper provides an overview of economic issues involved in timing limitations on CO2 emissions from energy systems. It highlights issues relating to technology availability, development and diffusion, and the inertia of energy systems, as being particularly important. The paper sets this in the context of wider uncertainties surrounding the problem and briefly considers other aspects relevant to timing. The paper is stimulated by the debate in the USA about optimal abatement paths, in particular recent claims that it would be economically preferable to defer such abatement action, in favour of measures that support technology development but do not affect emission trends for many years. This paper categorizes the various economic issues involved and concludes that for each economic argument that has been advanced to justify deferring emission constraints, there are counter-vailing economic arguments that could be used in support of rapid near term emissions abatement. Rational policy lies between these extremes. A policy of deferring all emissions abatement exposes economic systems and industries, as well as the environment, to significantly greater costs and risks than those arising from a more balanced approach. Furthermore the modelling studies that have been used to justify deferring emissions abatement do so because they embody the economic factors favourable to delay and largely neglect the countervailing issues, to the point where their results have little relevance to the overall problem of timing emissions abatement.

This study investigated the relationship between per capita income and environmental degradation in Africa, using longitudinal data on suspended particulate matter and organic water pollutants. The specific objective was to estimate environmental Kuznets curves for two indicators of environmental quality and to establish whether the estimated relationships conform to the inverted U-shape hypothesis. The results of the empirical investigation generally suggest the existence of an environmental Kuznets curve for suspended particulate matter. In the case of organic water pollutants, the evidence weighs more in favor of rising pollution as per capita income increases. The turning point levels of income established for the two indicators of environmental quality were however generally low, when compared to evidence from existing studies. On the face value, this suggests that African countries may be turning the corner of the environmental Kuznets curve, much faster, and at lower levels of income, much in line with the emerging idea of a “revised environmental Kuznets curve”. The results also suggest that economic growth and rising incomes may matter in African countries in order to curb pollution from these pollutants, but more stringent policy measures, particularly at the industrial level would be required to curb environmental degradation from organic water pollutants.