Search

In Africa, switching to renewable energy sources with low carbon emissions is becoming more popular. In the Economic Community of West African states (ECOWAS), the low-carbon energy transition must overcome significant obstacles, including those posed by policies put in place and their implementation. In order to replace the current fossil fuel-driven economy with low-carbon development that also advances the regional aims and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), this paper analyzes the current policy landscape in the region. A total of 75 policies from four categories (energy access, energy efficiency, renewable energy, climate change) were chosen for the policy review. Multicriteria decision analysis and a thorough review of the literature have shed light on how well the policies of the ECOWAS countries could promote low-carbon development and what the main challenges to overcome are. The last step was the comparison of the progress of the two key policies in the region: the National Energy Efficiency Action Plan (NEEAP) and National Renewable Energy Action Plan (NREAP). The results illustrate the amount of work still needing to be done in the region, with only 26 of the 75 policies receiving a score above 50. However, the prospect of a better energy strategy that adequately considers the difficulties of the energy transition is possible, given the progress made by the region's nations since the creation of national action plans for energy efficiency (EE) and renewable energy (RE). Our analysis has also shown that countries like Senegal have obtained quite promising results, as evidenced by the best scores of 76.88 and 73.25, respectively, obtained by its NREAP and NEEAP policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Policies targeting energy efficiency and renewable energy are sometimes viewed as more politically feasible than carbon pricing in pursuit of emission reduction goals. This paper assesses underlying drivers of energy policy development. These factors include economic, social, environmental, and institutional variables. The between estimator for panel data is an appropriate method for our focus on some exogenous variables that vary more across countries than over time. We find that larger oil reserves per capita have a negative relationship with renewable energy policy development. Education and political globalisation have strong positive relationships with both energy-efficiency and renewable-energy policy development. These results suggest that greater participation in global political groups can be an indirect approach toward energy policy development, in cases where direct and immediate policies are hard to implement. OECD countries have higher policy scores by 33 and 25 points in energy efficiency and renewable energy respectively. Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition analysis shows that these higher scores are primarily due to social and political institution predictors rather than economics and physical endowments. • Large-n cross country international sample on continuous policy score measurement. • Political globalisation is positively linked with renewables and energy efficiency policies. • Education is positively linked to energy policy development, especially for efficiency. • Higher OECD countries' policy scores are primarily due to social and political predictors. • Higher incomes are unlikely to lead to automatic improvements in energy policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The goal of this paper is to estimate the perspectives of the Baltic States: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania on meeting the new European Union climate commitments, i.e., to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20% to the year 2020 in comparison with 1990. This ambitious target could be reached based on other EU climate and energy package commitments: increase of the share of renewables and improvement of energy efficiency as tools for fulfilling the GHG emissions reduction target. The paper gives an overview on the current situation and future plans of the Baltic States in the field of energy efficiency, consumption of renewables and reduction of GHG emissions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper will summarise the European Strategy for Energy and Climate Change. In current international negotiations Europe has proposed a 20% reduction in GHG (greenhouse gases) in the developed countries by 2020 or 30% should there be an international agreement in the domain. However it is important to define measures to achieve the targets. One of the principal tools is to improve energy efficiency under the energy efficiency action plan, which will help to achieve a 20% energy saving by 2020. On the other hand, the amount of energy from renewable sources consumed in Europe will have to rise from its current level of 8.5%–20% by 2020. These are ambitious but achievable targets. Nonetheless, these can only be achieved through strong investment in areas of the knowledge triangle which strengthens research and innovation in the energy sector in Europe. The paper covers European Energy and Climate Change Policy, the European Strategic Energy Technology plan, the consequences of the Lisbon Treaty, European and national Road maps to a low carbon economy, the Energy Efficiency Plan for 2011 and finishes with a brief consideration of the EU’s energy infrastructure priorities. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper reports the outcome of the project on “Capacity building in formulating harmonized policy instruments for the promotion of Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency in the ASEAN member countries”. With the growing concerns about green house gas (GHG) emission and consequent climate change, renewable energy sources have become more attractive option for electricity generation around the world. Studies have been made on the status of renewable energy potential and utilization, major barriers in promoting renewable energy in ASEAN countries, major energy policies to overcome barriers, and existing renewable energy and energy efficiency policies in ASEAN countries. Paper concludes that ASEAN has not utilized its renewable energy resources anywhere near to the potential. Analysis found that the key factor that has to be amended is “policies and regulations in renewable energy and energy efficiency” at both country level and regional level. But, ASEAN is not yet ready for the full harmonization of the policies. However, it recommends that, with the project outputs it is possible to focus on the specific policy instruments common to most of the member countries, such that it could use to augment ASEAN Plan of Action for Energy Cooperation (APAEC) initiatives. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Energy efficiency is a central target for energy policy and a keystone to mitigate climate change and to achieve a sustainable development. Although great efforts have been carried out during the last four decades to investigate the issue, focusing into measuring energy efficiency, understanding its trends and impacts on energy consumption and to design effective energy efficiency policies, many energy efficiency-related concepts, some methodological problems for the construction of energy efficiency indicators (EEI) and even some of the energy efficiency potential gains are often ignored or misunderstood, causing no little confusion and controversy not only for laymen but even for specialists. This paper aims to revisit, analyse and discuss some efficiency fundamental topics that could improve understanding and critical judgement of efficiency stakeholders and that could help in avoiding unfounded judgements and misleading statements. Firstly, we address the problem of measuring energy efficiency both in qualitative and quantitative terms. Secondly, main methodological problems standing in the way of the construction of EEI are discussed, and a sequence of actions is proposed to tackle them in an ordered fashion. Finally, two key topics are discussed in detail: the links between energy efficiency and energy savings, and the border between energy efficiency improvement and renewable sources promotion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While designing the volume of a building, architectural solutions can be employed to achieve greater energy efficiency for the entire lifecycle of the building. However, currently this possibility is not sufficiently utilised. The paper provides a comparative analysis of architectural solutions, presenting the ones that not only allow for a reduction in energy losses through the external envelope of a building considering the local climatic conditions; but also make it possible to increase the use of energy from renewable resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]