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An understanding of the spatial evolution of global household energy and its determinants is needed to achieve global access to clean cooking energy before 2030. Based on a novel global household energy database, we adopt the log t regression test to identify the global trend and find the potential convergent clubs. Besides, we utilize Random Forest method and Ordered Probit model to investigate the drivers affecting the club convergence. As a result: (1) The global sample exhibits divergence from 2000 to 2020; (2) The 191 countries and regions can be classified into 3 convergent clubs, characterized by significant disparities in both the mean and growth rate of their access to clean energy; (3) Per capita GDP, urbanization level, infrastructure development, and educational attainment are identified as the most important factors influencing the club convergence; (4) Countries with a higher level of socio-economic development generally have a higher proportion of residents using clean fuels, with gas energy playing a pivotal role in driving this transformation. This paper adds more evidence to understand the disparity of global household cooking energy use, we propose that economic and infrastructure development, education attainment, and international cooperation are favorable. • Convergence analysis of country-level clean cooking is conducted. • 191 countries are classified into 3 convergent clubs by access to clean cooking. • Drivers that affect the formation of club convergence are investigated. • Policy suggestions to reduce the gap of SDG 7 are proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After China launched its “Belt and Road” (BR) initiative, the international community became concerned that it may worsen the environmental performance of the BR countries. Due to a lack of data for empirical testing, this paper addresses this concern through an indirect method and draws the implications of the potential impacts of China’s BR initiative. This method empirically examines the effects of trade integration and regional cooperation, two major functions of the BR initiative, on energy efficiency (EE) convergence, a concept that describes the catching up process of EE across countries. A sample of 89 countries was selected to analyse the process of EE convergence from 2000 to 2014. The results indicate that although the gaps in EE among countries around the world become larger after 2010, regional cooperation may lead to a convergence process. It also finds that trade integration has a positive influence on convergence across the countries, especially among middle- and low-income countries. The results suggest that the BR initiative, through its roles in trade integration and regional cooperation, may promote EE convergence among countries. This is a desirable environmental outcome. This research also provides policy implications for both China and the other BR countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Energy Market Integration (EMI) has been a goal for many regions, including the European Union and East Asia, for quite a long time. How it could play a role in facilitating equitable economic growth among a group of countries remains an empirical question that this paper will attempt to answer. The paper uses economic convergence analysis (including both the σ-convergence and β-convergence approaches) to examine the impact of EMI – measured by two newly constructed indexes (namely, the energy trade index and the energy market competition index) – at the country level on dynamic economic growth paths across countries. Its special interest lies in informing policy making related to promoting EMI. The results show that countries involved in a more integrated energy market are more likely to reduce their income disparity, suggesting that EMI may help the region to achieve equitable growth through the accelerated economic development of lagged economies. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Congestion management is one of critical tasks in electric power markets. Although congestion management using a centralized optimal power flow may give an efficient solution, it lacks enough transparency in a competitive power market for its participants about congestion related costs. On the other hand, clearing the market and mitigating congestion separately may not result in an efficient solution from cost viewpoint. In this paper, a two-stage method using a modified Benders decomposition technique is proposed for congestion management in hybrid electricity markets including pool and bilateral transactions. An innovative convergence criterion and a new type of the sub-problem are proposed in using Benders decomposition in congestion management. The proposed method not only gives the efficient solution, but also provides enough transparency about congestion cost. Results of testing the method on the New-England test system are presented and discussed in detail. The results confirm the efficiency of the proposed congestion management method. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In this paper, per capita CO2 convergence among the EU-25 countries between 1920 and 2007 is analysed using the distribution dynamics approach. Furthermore, the analysis is complemented by investigating the asymptotic half-life of convergence, mobility indices and the continuous version of the ergodic distributions. The novel aspect of this work consists in the fact that it examines whether patterns could differ if weighted by either the population of each country or their economic sizes. The unweighted analysis indicates that the convergence patterns differ strongly before and after World War II, with more convergence being displayed after the seventies. Results of weighting both by population and by economic size show that convergence is much faster when these features are introduced into the model. Conclusions from this analysis are important for the environment policy adopted across the EU-25 countries. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]