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This paper explores the role of electricity in the transition to renewable energy to mitigate climate change. A systematic literature review with the Scopus database identified 92 papers relevant to the renewable electricity transition. A PESTLE (Political, Economic, Sociological, Technological, Legal, and Environmental) review of the papers provided a multidisciplinary analysis. The Paris Agreement created a global movement for carbon neutrality to address the threats of climate change, calling for a transition to renewable electricity to lead the way and expand into new sectors and regions. Although smaller renewable technologies are ramping up, complexities thwarting the transition include locked-in assets, high upfront costs, variability of solar and wind energy, infrastructure, difficulty in decarbonizing transportation and industry, material resource constraints, and fossil fuel support. This research found that renewables are not replacing fossil fuels to date but adding further energy demands, so that greenhouse gas emissions rose in 2021 despite an increased renewable electricity share. Without a major shift in the trillions of dollars of subsidies and investment away from fossil fuels to renewables, catastrophic climate change is predicted. This paper found that the Paris Agreement's commitment to net-zero carbon and the transition to renewable electricity are undermined by record-high levels of subsidies and financing for fossil fuel industry expansion. Transitioning to a climate-neutral economy requires an investment away from fossil fuels into renewable energy ecosystems. Renewable electricity provides possibilities to realize sustainable development goals, climate stabilization, job creation, a green economy, and energy security with careful planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Considering that more than half of the world's population today lives in cities and consumes about 80% of the world's energy and that there is a problem with drinking water supply, this paper presents a way to solve the problem of the sustainability of cities by enabling their complete independence from external sources of energy and drinking water. The proposed solution entails the use of Seawater Steam Engine (SSE) technology to supply cities with electricity, thermal energy and drinking water. The system would involve the seasonal storage of electricity and thermal energy, supported by geothermal heat pumps. The strategy of the distribution network would be based on the original concept of the "loop". In cities that do not have enough space, SSE collectors would be placed above the lower parts of the city like "canopies". The city of Zagreb (Croatia) was selected as a case study due to its size, climate and vulnerability to natural disasters. The results show that Zagreb could become sustainable in 30 years with the allocation of less than 2% of GDP and could become a paradigm of sustainability for cities worldwide. This paper encourages the development of the "Philosophy of Sustainability" because the stated goals cannot be achieved without a change in consciousness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main part of mankind's ecological footprint is the carbon footprint, a measure of the environmental impact of humanity's energy release from fossil fuels. The use of fossil fuels will have to change in the forthcoming decades to a largely climate-neutral use of solar energy enabled by dramatic cost reductions for PV and wind energy systems. The impact of this trend on world society has been discussed in a previous paper. In connection with these important technical developments, the role of electricity, its transport and storage will alter in the coming decades, allowing the design and use of larger and larger electricity grids and a parallel use of hydrogen for both storage and energy transport. This will further change the energy landscape of the world. All these developments and their relationship to global sustainable development are elaborated in this cross-disciplinary paper by specifically analyzing whether the Sustainable Development Goals by the United Nations are an effective road map for humanity to handle global climate change risks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interest in the potential of smart grid to transform the way societies generate, distribute, and use electricity has increased dramatically over the past decade. A smarter grid could contribute to both climate change mitigation and adaptation by increasing low-carbon electricity production and enhancing system reliability and resilience. However, climate goals are not necessarily essential for smart grid. Climate change is only one of many considerations motivating innovation in electricity systems, and depending on the path of grid modernization, a future smart grid might do little to reduce, or could even exacerbate, risks associated with climate change. This paper identifies tensions within a shared smart grid vision and illustrates how competing societal priorities are influencing electricity system innovation. Co-existing but divergent priorities among key actors' are mapped across two critical dimensions: centralized versus decentralized energy systems and radical versus incremental change. Understanding these tensions provides insights on how climate change objectives can be integrated to shape smart grid development. Electricity system change is context-specific and path-dependent, so specific strategies linking smart grid and climate change need to be developed at local, regional, and national levels. And while incremental improvements may bring short term gains, a radical transformation is needed to realize climate objectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to identify the determinants of the decarbonisation processes in Poland within the scope of energy transformation. The purpose of the study is to identify how the public perceives decarbonisation determinants in order to develop a sustainable energy strategy for Poland. The transition of the energy market to low-carbon technology is a policy challenge. Governments must implement policies that are environmentally friendly, cost-effective, but, most of all, socially acceptable. Social acceptance risk plays a significant role in Poland, influencing the decarbonisation process. In Poland's case, the coal share is decreasing, but it is still the most important fuel for electricity production. This process of decarbonisation is a fundamental influence on the transformation of the energy sector in Poland. The social perception of solutions that can be applied was examined. The Polish natural environment is poisoned. Poles suffer from diseases related to the burning of coal for energy production. Societal awareness, how people perceive the government's actions, and what they expect in this regard is crucial. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The strengthening of ecological conflicts due to the increase of the destructive impact from industrial companies on the environment provokes the development and implementation of the eco-innovation technologies. Besides, such technologies should allow obtaining not only the ecological benefits (the decrease of the negative impact on the environment) but also the economic and social advantages which correspond to sustainable development principles. This paper aims to justify the social, ecological and economic effects from implementing a new electricity production technology from post-process gas heat at companies. The data for empirical justification were obtained from the experiment of applying the electricity production technology from post-process gas heat at Polish industrial companies. In the first stage, bibliometric analysis was used for highlighting the scientific background of economic evaluation of the innovative activity on energy technologies of industrial companies and its impact on the environment and public health. Secondly, the economic and ecological efficiency of electricity production technology for the selected company was estimated. The results of the analysis confirm that new technologies allowed increasing the energy efficiency of the company by decreasing energy consumption, increasing productivity, etc. The findings prove that one of the ecological effects was the decrease of CO2 and SO2 emissions in the air. In this case, the link between the volume of CO2 emissions and the rate of morbidity if such innovative technologies were scaled was checked. The findings show that decreasing CO2 emissions by 1% leads to a decline in the death rate by 0.5%. If the new technology were scaled and implemented among similar industrial companies, it could decrease the rate of morbidity by 0.01% The results obtained could be used by the companies' management and policymakers in the framework to achieve sustainable development goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The strengthening of ecological conflicts due to the increase of the destructive impact from industrial companies on the environment provokes the development and implementation of the eco-innovation technologies. Besides, such technologies should allow obtaining not only the ecological benefits (the decrease of the negative impact on the environment) but also the economic and social advantages which correspond to sustainable development principles. This paper aims to justify the social, ecological and economic effects from implementing a new electricity production technology from post-process gas heat at companies. The data for empirical justification were obtained from the experiment of applying the electricity production technology from post-process gas heat at Polish industrial companies. In the first stage, bibliometric analysis was used for highlighting the scientific background of economic evaluation of the innovative activity on energy technologies of industrial companies and its impact on the environment and public health. Secondly, the economic and ecological efficiency of electricity production technology for the selected company was estimated. The results of the analysis confirm that new technologies allowed increasing the energy efficiency of the company by decreasing energy consumption, increasing productivity, etc. The findings prove that one of the ecological effects was the decrease of CO2 and SO2 emissions in the air. In this case, the link between the volume of CO2 emissions and the rate of morbidity if such innovative technologies were scaled was checked. The findings show that decreasing CO2 emissions by 1% leads to a decline in the death rate by 0.5%. If the new technology were scaled and implemented among similar industrial companies, it could decrease the rate of morbidity by 0.01% The results obtained could be used by the companies' management and policymakers in the framework to achieve sustainable development goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increase in global electricity demand, along with its impact on climate change, call for integrating sustainability aspects in the power system expansion planning. Sustainable power generation planning needs to fulfill different, often contradictory, objectives. This paper proposes a multi-objective optimisation model integrating four objective functions, including minimisation of total discounted costs, carbon emissions, land use, and social opposition. Other factors addressed in the model include renewable energy share, jobs created, mortality rates, and energy diversity, among others. Single-objective linear optimisations are initially performed to investigate the impact of each objective function on the resulting power generation mix. Minimising land use and discounted total costs favoured fossil fuels technologies, as opposed to minimising carbon emissions, which resulted in increased renewable energy shares. Minimising social opposition also favoured renewable energy shares, except for hydropower and onshore wind technologies. Accordingly, to investigate the trade-offs among the objective functions, Pareto front candidates for each pair of objective functions were generated, indicating a strong correlation between the minimisation of carbon emissions and the social opposition. Limited trade-offs were also observed between the minimisation of costs and land use. Integrating the objective functions in the multi-objective model resulted in various non-dominated solutions. This tool aims to enable decision-makers identify the trade-offs when optimising the power system under different objectives and determine the most suitable electricity generation mix. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents estimates of short run impacts of a carbon price on the electricity industry using a cost-minimizing mathematical model of the U.S. market. Prices of $25 and $50 per ton of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions cause electricity emissions reductions of 17% and 22% from present levels, respectively. This suggests significant electricity sector emissions reductions can be achieved quickly from a modest carbon tax, and diminishing reductions occur when increasing from $25 to $50. The model captures short run effects via operational changes at existing U.S. power plants, mostly by switching production from coal to natural gas. A state-level analysis yields the following conclusions: (1) states which reduce the most emissions are high coal-consumers in the Mid-Atlantic and Midwest regions, (2) 15 states increase emissions after carbon policy because they increase natural gas consumption to offset coal consumption decreases in neighboring states, and (3) a flat per-capita rebate of tax revenue leads to wealth transfers across states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]