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Climate and energy policies are the key areas of the European Union's development aspirations in the international arena. The European Green Deal sets ambitious new goals in this respect, emphasizing clean energy. The development of the energy sector, relying chiefly on renewable sources, is one of the conditions for the EU to transition to energies that do not produce waste that pollutes or is otherwise harmful to the Earth and human health. This paper assesses the development of renewable sources of energy in the EU and identifies challenges to the realization of the EU's energy priorities. An analysis of renewable sources of energy in the EU in 2012 and 2020 is the prime method. The generation of primary energy from renewable sources, the share of energy from renewable sources in the final energy consumption, the structure of energy generation from renewable sources, and the share of energy from renewable sources in the energy used by the transport sector are discussed. Secondary data are employed, made available by Eurostat and Statistics Poland. To reach the objective of the study, Z. Hellwig's taxonomic method is applied to assess the development of renewable energy sources (RES). Cluster analysis (Ward's agglomerative clustering method) is additionally used for separation of objects and member states that are similar with regard to the phenomenon reviewed. Particular attention is paid to the challenges that societies and economies face in view of the assumptions of the EU's new Green Deal, which envisages a balancing of CO2 emissions and absorption. This analysis discovers varied progress on the development of RES in the member states, posing a threat to the European community's aspirations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of the paper is to identify factors which determine energy policy in the EU countries in the middle of 1990s. This objective is achieved in three stages. First, the changes in the distribution of RES in 26 EU countries in the period between 1995 and 2014 are investigated. The analysis demonstrates that over the last 20 years the EU countries diversify the RES they use, which results in substantial changes in their distribution. Second, the distribution of energy sources in 1995 is described, as it is assumed that the distribution might be a crucial factor influencing energy policy in each country. Third, several other factors related to energy security, environmental concerns, economy and politics are considered as potential determinants of renewable energy development. Two statistical methods of variable selection, namely, the best subset regression and the LARS method, reveal that the present (in 2014) share of RES in the energy mix significantly depends on the condition of the EU countries in the middle of 1990s. The distribution of energy sources in 1995 is the crucial determinant of renewable energy development. Countries without their own fossil fuel sources are the ones which develop renewable energy to the greatest extent. Other important factors boosting RE development include: GDP per capita, concentration of energy supply (SWI), and the costs of consumption of energy obtained from fossil fuels in relation to GDP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to present the state of development of renewable energy sources (RES) in Poland in accordance with the obligations of European Union energy policy. The EU Member States are obliged to adopt different support mechanisms for the development of renewable energy sources, and in consequence to achieve their Directive's targets. Poland, being a Member State of the EU since 2004, has accepted a target of a 15% share of energy generated from renewable energy sources in final energy consumption, including 19.3% from renewable electricity until 2020. Due to the difficulties with target achievement, the authors found it reasonable to analyze the challenge of RES development in Poland. The article presents energy policy in the EU, as well as the review of measures implemented for renewable energy development. The current state of and perspectives on using renewable energy sources in Poland and in the EU are also depicted. In the article, the authors analyze the relation between reference prices at dedicated RES auctions in Poland and the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE). The paper also provides a description of the renewable energy sources' development in three areas: electricity, heat and transport biofuels. Its main content, though, refers to the generation of electricity from renewable energy sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The European Union (EU) is developing an increasingly close relationship with Moldova, going beyond cooperation, to gradual economic integration and a deepening of political cooperation. This fact indicates that eventually the adoption of EU legislation in the energy sector is a necessity. Therefore, the provision of a clear picture of the country’s renewable energy potential is considered essential, bearing in mind the new EU Renewable Energy Directive, which sets a mandatory target of 20% of renewable energy sources by 2020 for each member state. The aim of this paper is to discuss the perspective of renewable energy in Moldova taking into account the current energy framework and to analyze, whether it is suitable to adopt similar methodologies and policy frameworks applied in other EU countries. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Concern about energy in the European Union (EU) has been a recurrent issue from the very beginning. Though initially addressed at the state level, energy is now a shared competency as stressed by article 194 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. New challenges, added from time to time, need public support in order to be properly addressed. Such is the case of substituting traditional energy production with renewable energy sources. Our paper seeks to determine whether the Romanian public opinion favors such an evolution, which is traditionally associated with significant investment efforts. The study is focused on the north-east development region, which has the highest population and registered the fastest economic growth in 2019. The topic was explored through a survey applied to a sample of 649 household respondents. The results suggest strong support for introducing renewable energy sources, serious concerns about climate change, and a preoccupation for energy saving. Concerns regarding climate change or various economic factors, behaviors oriented towards reducing energy waste, as well as perceived knowledge on the matter are the factors with the biggest impact on supporting electricity production based on renewable energy sources. However, TV and online exposure have a negative impact on support. Demographics, along with social and political values remain mostly not significant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate changes necessitate measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). The European Union's climate and energy policy places particular emphasis on the development of renewable energy, considered to be the primary mean in achieving the climate neutrality goal by 2050. Having in mind the aforementioned, the study was conducted to determine time delay in the development of renewable energy sources between the Visegrad Group (V4) countries and Germany, considered the most advanced country in developing renewable energy and having the greatest impact on shaping European Union climate and energy policy. The time delay econometric method was used in four of its variants. The research results show that, despite the existence of support mechanisms, the development of renewable energy sources (RES) in the V4 countries has a high mutual correlation. There is a hight correlation between RES penetration in energy mix and UE goals of the climate and energy policy until 2020. At the same time, the available data from the analysed period 2004–2019 indicate growing time delay between the reference facility—Germany and the surveyed group. The paper identifies the primary factors behind the identified time delay and proposes research areas that could direct the future research of those aspects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]