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This study adopts a life cycle approach to analyse the principal critical elements, opportunities and limits of biogas production's socio-economic aspects and environmental implications. From this perspective, the biogas supply chain sustainability and the opportunity for a closed-loop approach have been assessed starting from existing studies. The analysis revealed that the biogas sector could play a strategic role in making energy systems more resilient in a context characterised by sudden changes, such as the current scenario. In particular, the research is focused on this sector's potential to support the energy transition in Italy, which presents a structural vulnerability related to fossil resource scarcity. The paper contributes to the literature on the sustainable assessment of the biogas supply chain and paves the way for future researchers to understand the complex issues involved in the biogas sector sustainable development process. Furthermore, it provides policy, managerial and social implications, showing that the complete diffusion of biogas - a renewable, scalable and flexible resource - can foster security and decarbonisation of the energy system. It can also create new business opportunities at the local level, promoting a circular and bio-based economy.

In the context of the global energy transition, peripheral economies face multipleobstacles in expanding the participation of renewable energy. This article analyzes theprogram for the incorporation of renewable energy in Argentina (RenovAr) that was inforce between 2016 and 2019, and pays particular attention to the weaknesses in itsdesign that explain why, despite the initial momentum, it went into crisis three yearsafter it was launched. This paper corroborates that the country´s macroeconomicinstability became a barrier for an energy transition program that depends on externalfinancing for the import of renewable technologies. In this context, the high exposure tothe ups and downs of the international economy, added to the economic vulnerabilityof peripheral countries such as Argentina, draws attention to the limits of marketmechanisms to organize the public policies necessary to sustain strategies towardsustainable societies over time. Fil: Sabbatella, Ignacio Mariano. Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales. Sede Académica Argentina Buenos Aires. Área de Relaciones Internacionales; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina Fil: Barrera, Mariano Alejandro. Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales. Sede Académica Argentina Buenos Aires. Área de Economía y Tecnología; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina Fil: Serrani, Esteban Carlos. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de San Martín. Instituto de Altos Estudios Sociales; Argentina

Abstract This work analyzes the grid parity of distributed photovoltaic generation (DG-PV) in the province of San Juan-Argentina, proving that currently, the levelized cost of DG-PV is on average 20% higher than the tariff price for residential customers. In order to achieve the grid parity, the provincial government should implement incentive mechanisms such as the Net Billing proposed in the National Law 27.424 (2017). The impact of the Net Billing scheme proposed in such law, from the point of view of a typical residential user, and also compared with the impact of the Net Metering and Feed-in Tariff mechanisms are presented in this work. Results show that the Net Metering scheme could be the most profitable or economically beneficial for PV-owners, but it could have some negative impact on the incomes of utilities. Besides, investment decisions in renewable distributed generation are significantly affected by technological costs, national financial conditions, and tariffs. This analysis also suggests that taxes included in the tariff structure are an important aspect to take into account for implementing incentive mechanisms. Finally, some energy policies are recommended to guarantee the profitability of DG-PV systems and to assist the government in making decisions to promote these systems.

The use of dirty fuels at home is still widespread in developing countries, and it is often associated with various undesirable consequences especially for human health and the environment. Using data from the 2013 Bangladeshi section of the School-to-Work Transition Survey, we investigate whether and how the use of kerosene for lighting in young households is associated with parental education. Adopting a mediation analysis technique, we disentangle the total effect of parental education into the direct effect and the effect mediated by the role of household financial conditions. We find that having both parents not educated is associated to an increase in the probability of using kerosene for lighting (+10.3%). The greater part of the impact takes place directly, while just the 15% works through the mediating role of poor financial conditions. Finally, we find the role of mother's education is predominant over father's one, highlighting the importance of accounting for gender norms and roles.

Abstract The generation of RES electricity in urban areas is regarded as a key element in achieving the 20% emission reduction target by 2020, in line with the strategy adopted by the European Union (EU). To understand the actual role of renewable energy planning in cities, as well as the adequacy of the strategies adopted, the authors considered statistics officially reported by the Joint Research Centre of the EU which regard the totality of submitted SEAPs and ten Sustainable Energy Action Plans (SEAPs) as sample cities. The double survey has a dual goal: one, the collection of overall statistics to have a general framework of all cities that submitted their SEAPs and to verify their inclusion of renewables, and two, the analysis of urban planning processes and climatic features through a sample of representative cities to try to determine direct connections between the implementation of renewables and real source potentials (an aspect not present in the JRC reports). Making comparisons between SEAPs submitted by European cities, the authors report in the final discussion the merits and drawbacks of the planning and usage of renewable sources in urban areas, thereby highlighting some relevant critical points and possible directions for future research efforts.

Public opposition to wind power plants has led to the abandonment of numerous proposed projects. Focusing on a recently proposed project, we test some of the most relevant determinants of community acceptance found in the literature, as well as propose new ones. In 2022, shortly after the public announcement of a new off-shore wind farm installation in a tourist region of Southern Italy, we conducted an in-the-field survey. The survey targeted nearly 1000 individuals at the region 's most prominent mass-gathering festival, which attracts both residents and tourists. Our questionnaire is unique in its inclusion of three temporal questions (past, present, future), allowing us to assess how interviewees perceive the seriousness of climate change and how this perception evolves over time. Our findings contradict the NIMBY hypothesis and support the importance of place attachment among both residents and tourists. Additionally, we identify a positive impact of environmental attitudes. Most notably, we highlight the role of climate change perception in the medium term: individuals who express greater concern about climate change in the future compared to the past and present are more likely to accept the project. These findings are validated by another survey that we conducted under similar conditions in 2023.

Abstract This paper investigates the intensity of international collaborations in energy-related technologies across OECD and BRIICS countries, by disentangling the role of the distance in environmental policy stringency between countries, controlling for the more traditional measures of technological, social, institutional and geographical distance. In doing so, it distinguishes between the stringency in demand-pull and the stringency in technology-push policy instruments. The analysis relies upon an original dataset, with data on patents and co-patents in climate change and mitigation technologies over the period 1995–2014, with a focus on technologies related to energy generation, transmission or distribution. The results show that the distance in the stringency of environmental policy between countries hinders the intensity of technological collaborations in energy-related technologies and this occurs specifically with reference to demand-pull policy instruments. We also find that while the availability of local technological capabilities positively affects the intensity of international collaborations, if two countries are distant in terms of technological development, the co-patenting activity is hindered. Finally, BRIICS countries display a lower ability to participate in international co-patenting activity, particularly so in collaboration with other BRIICS countries.