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This paper presents the editorial for the Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews joint special issue devoted to the research work discussed and presented at the 11th Conference on Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environment Systems (SDEWES), held from the 4th September to the 9th September 2016 in Lisbon, Portugal and the 2nd South East European (SEE) SDEWES Conference held from June 15th to June 18th, 2016 in Piran, Slovenia. This special issue is in line with the journal's aim of publishing research from across the ever-broadening field of renewable and sustainable energy with a strong review element. Previous SDEWES conference special issues have gathered a significant knowledge base in the field of sustainable development that reflects the continuous research efforts of the SDEWES research community. Therefore, this editorial provides not only an overview of the papers published in this particular special issue, but also a wider overview of the current trends in the domain of sustainable and renewable energy. This year's special issue focuses particularly on the benefits of the bio-based economy, energy security issues, fossil fuel thermal plant alternatives and environmental constraints, district heating and cooling together with cross sector energy efficiency and energy conservation issues. Sustainable transport systems, the issue of fuel poverty in urban neighbourhoods and renewable energy to support development of peripheral rural areas, optimising passive building design for hot climates and solar-powered heating and cooling are further topics featured in this special issue. In the process of selecting papers for this special issue, the guest editors invited in total 23 extended manuscripts for consideration for publication. After a rigorous review process by expert reviewers overseen by the guest editors a total of 16 articles were accepted for publication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transport is a significant and growing contributor to climate change. To stay within ‘safe’ global warming guardrails requires substantial cuts in greenhouse gas emissions. This represents a global political consensus, but there is evidence that current legislation in the transport sector is not significant enough to achieve medium- and longer-term reduction goals. In focusing on the European Union, this paper investigates the perspectives of twelve policy officers in three Directorates-General (MOVE, CLIMA, ENV) of the European Commission with regard to their understanding of mitigation goals and timelines, responsibilities for policy development and implementation, and perceived efficiencies of these policies to achieve climate objectives in the transport sector. Results indicate diverging and common views on climate policy goals and political responsibilities, as well as barriers to policy-making, including lack of political leadership on climate change mitigation, resistance from member states, the favoring of economic growth over cuts in greenhouse gas emissions, pressure from industry and lobby groups, preferential treatment of aero- and automobility over more sustainable transport modes, policy implementation delays, insufficient forecasting and monitoring tools, and an overreliance on technologies to contribute to emission reductions. In offering a view inside the ‘black box’ of transport policy-making, the paper reveals fundamental institutional (structural) and individual (agency-based) barriers that will have to be overcome if significant emission cuts in the transport sector are to be achieved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How do advocacy organizations make tactical choices? This paper contributes to theory building in advocacy studies by examining how the decision‐making processes of advocacy organizations are affected by the choices of their peers. Drawing on qualitative interviews with practitioners in two contexts—the European Union and the United States—I document that organizations face pressures toward cohesion and differentiation with the tactical choices of other organizations. Other important processes—such as rational evaluation of political opportunities, resource dependence, and ideological constraint—are also reported to be influential, although these processes are sometimes influenced by relational dynamics. These findings suggest new variables and relationships of interest for future quantitative research and provide insight into the growing complexity of climate politics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European Union launched a set of policies as part of its 2020 climate and energy package aimed at meeting its 20/20/20 headline targets for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth. This paper evaluates how successful new-to-the-market climate change mitigation technologies (CCMT) are in helping EU member states (MS) reach these goals and, furthermore, whether there are differences between sectors subject to EU-wide polices. To do so, we relate CCMT patent counts to two specific headline targets: (1) achieving 20% of gross final energy consumption from renewables, and (2) achieving a 20% increase in energy efficiency. Our results provide the first ex-post evaluation of the effectiveness of these technologies for combating climate change. Moreover, our sectoral impact assessment points to significant differences in the way in which these technologies contribute to policy goals across the sectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two mega-trends are rapidly emerging to reshape the European energy system: decarbonisation and digitalisation. Based on strong public policies, decarbonisation is already transforming the European energy mix, while industry-driven technological innovation is progressively opening-up new and potentially disruptive opportunities for evolving energy systems. These trends will transform the European energy system from a static, unidirectional and centralised model into a dynamic, multidimensional and more decentralised one. In this framework, the governance of the European energy system will also need to change. Traditional top-down energy and climate policy dynamics will need to be complemented by more bottom-up dynamics, and increasing interaction between local, national and EU policies will be essential. This paper provides an insight on these future developments, and suggests key policy coordinates to navigate these uncharted waters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change is recognised as one of the key challenges humankind is facing. The Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector including data centres generates up to 2% of the global CO2 emissions, a number on par to the aviation sector contribution, and data centres are estimated to have the fastest growing carbon footprint from across the whole ICT sector, mainly due to technological advances such as the cloud computing and the rapid growth of the use of Internet services. There are no recent estimations of the total energy consumption of the European data centre and of their energy efficiency. The aim of this paper is to evaluate, analyse and present the current trends in energy consumption and efficiency in data centres in the European Union using the data submitted by companies participating in the European Code of Conduct for Data Centre Energy Efficiency programme, a voluntary initiative created in 2008 in response to the increasing energy consumption in data centres and the need to reduce the related environmental, economic and energy supply security impacts. The analysis shows that the average Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) of the facilities participating in the programme is declining year after year. This confirms that voluntary approaches could be effective in addressing climate and energy issue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper analyses the main aims of the EU policy of combating climate change in relation to the climate change effects and action to combat them in Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Bulgaria and Romania. Having in view the requirements of the EU climateenergy package, the paper puts forward some recommendations for decision-makers meant to help adapt the Black Sea region countries to climate change through adaptation measures and align them to the EU standards in the field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The renewed emphasis on national political boundaries across Europe would seem to go hand-in-hand with a weaker external personality for the EU. However, there are several prominent examples of EU leadership that challenge this notion, from the December 2015 UN climate change agreement to common sanctions again Russia to a new Global Strategy. This paper examines a policy area that lies at the intersection of populist outrage and external engagement: counter-terrorism. In the wake of the 2015 and 2016 Paris and Brussels terrorist attacks, the EU has made significant strides in enhancing the external dimension of its counter-terrorism policies, particularly in terms of intelligence sharing, formal and informal diplomacy, and the internal–external nexus of security. The article argues that major terrorist attacks in 2015–2016 have served as critical junctures of crisis, driving counter-terrorism policies forward and emphasising the notion of European boundaries beyond any functionalist or securitization explanation. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper uses an analytical framework drawn from organisational studies to unpack and evaluate climate change relations under the EU–South Africa Strategic Partnership. The article finds that, while the EU and South Africa share a common purpose and high-level climate goals, many of the formal organisational structures set up under the partnership to tackle climate change and the environment are weak and have fallen into disuse. At the same time several factors outside of the strategic partnership, such as South Africa's hosting of the Durban climate change meeting, have played a significant role in promoting climate cooperation between the two partners. Therefore, while the strategic partnership creates an additional opportunity for climate cooperation, it is by no means the only or even the most important instrument in the EU's foreign policy tool box for negotiation and dialogue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The on-going transition towards low-carbon forms of energy provision (frequently termed ‘energy transitions’) has triggered far-reaching material, economic and institutional reconfigurations at the global scale. There is evidence to suggest that energy transitions increase the social vulnerability of actors involved in and affected by them, including entities operating at different scales, from individual households to entire states. However, the link between energy vulnerability and energy transitions remains poorly understood. We aim to formulate an explicitly geographical perspective on this relationship. The paper is based on an analysis of documentary evidence and 170 expert interviews undertaken between April 2013 and March 2015. This research took place in the post-communist states of Central and Eastern Europe where systemic change has fundamentally altered the institutional landscape of the energy sector since the early 1990s. Our findings point to the need for understanding energy vulnerability as an evolving socio-spatial phenomenon embedded in multiple layers of institutional change and organizational practice. We identify urban landscapes as the primary site for the geographic expression and articulation of domestic energy deprivation. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Initially pushed by the European Union (EU) through the Europe 2020 strategy, the development of renewable energies is a strategic action aiming to limit climate changes and cut greenhouse gas emissions. National subsidies favored the diffusion of this new kind of energy sources, even if there are interesting economic opportunities also in non-subsidized markets. Renewable energy (RE) is a sustainable choice, but its management requires a proper analysis, both from political and operational levels. The aim of this paper is the assessment of European renewable energy source (RES) trajectory towards 2020, starting from historical values and through common scientific methods. In addition, a new reference framework is proposed, in order to evaluate RESs performances in Europe. The framework is based on three indicators: (i) share of energy from RESs in gross final energy consumption, (ii) REs primary production per capita and (iii) gross final consumption of REs per capita. Results could have practical implications for the decision makers involved in the management of energy sources throughout Europe and could be used for the comparison on a global scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses whether a new paradigm is necessary for independent economic regulation of electricity land closely associated natural gas) systems. We begin by summarizing the nature of the traditional model of electricity reform and the place of economic regulation within it. Next we outline the drivers for changing the current model of electricity regulation, namely, the maturity of the existing model, the reality of changing circumstances, and the coming of age of climate change concern. We go on to discuss the premises on which a new model of regulation should be based. These are: remembering the successes of the current system of regulation; a new focus on processes not just outcomes; a recognition of the economics of climate change; and the appropriate management of uncertainty. We then highlight the key elements of a new model for regulation: new processes of regulation; new models of competition and the issues raised by focus on climate change. The paper draws heavily on the experience of the UK, but has direct implications for the rest of the European Union countries and for other countries whose regulatory systems mirror them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adaptation is defined as the planned or unplanned, reactive or anticipatory, successful or unsuccessful response of a system to a change in its environment. This paper examines the current status of adaptation to sea-level rise and climate change in the context of European coasts. Adaptation can greatly reduce the impact of sea-level rise (and other coastal changes), although it requires adjustment of coastal management policies to changing circumstances. Consequently, adaptation is a social, political, and economic process, rather than just a technical exercise, as it is often conceived. The Synthesis and Upscaling of sea-level Rise Vulnerability Assessment Studies project has shown that adaptation to sea-level rise is widely divergent among European countries. Crudely, four groups of countries were identified: 1. Those that do not worry about accelerated sea-level rise and should not as their coasts are not susceptible 2. Those that do not worry as they have more urgent problems 3. Those that do not worry but probably should 4. Those that do worry and have started to adapt At the European Union level, while coastal management is a focus, this effort is mainly targeted at today's problems. Hence, this paper suggests the need for a concerted effort to address adaptation in coastal zones across Europe. Sharing of experience among countries would facilitate this process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

EU sees itself as a world leader in coping with the challenge of climate change. At the same time, the Ukraine crisis has demonstrated how vulnerable its energy supply security is due to EU's dependence on import oil and gas. The paper addresses the interlinkages and prospects of EU's climate and energy policies with respect to ethical and security dimensions. The ethical dimension is addressed in terms of how to fairly allocate responsibility among nations, regions and states to reduce GHG emissions to non-dangerous levels, a central issue at the upcoming UN summit in Paris. The proposed principles, such as the common but differentiated responsibility, are discussed in view of a growing literature, political controversies and converging diplomatic moves. At the same time the fundamental values of the EU may be at stake if the security dimension of all EU member states cannot be guaranteed. Both ethical and security challenges EU is confronted with points strongly towards accelerated introduction of a low-carbon economy and corresponding infrastructure, with renewables to play a central role in the medium/long term. A review of the literature shows that continuing import dependence on oil and gas, including from Russia, is a risk factor both in economic, political and environmental terms. Some recently proposed policy responses, such as the creation of an EU energy union, are reviewed and critically evaluated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contemporary global metal mining is a source of environmental pollution, but in Britain it is our historic mining industry that has left a legacy of contamination in the landscape, around both the immediate mine sites as well as within the river valley floors that drain these orefields. It has been estimated that the levels of lead and zinc stored within some northern British river systems represent values comparable to present-day reserves of economically viable ore deposits and exposure to them can be detrimental to human health. Despite the prevalence and significance of these deposits, they have been neglected by the cultural heritage community in favour of more easily interpretable remains such as mine buildings, technologies of ore procurement and processing, and the final products of manufacture. This paper argues that in light of future climate change and legislation associated with the European Union Water Framework Directive, heritage managers and industrial archaeologists have to start investigating these deposits as part of their studies and to engage with the environmental science and geomorphological communities who are, at present, setting the agenda in terms of strategies for pollution mitigation and landscape remediation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The realization of national climate change commitments, as agreed through international negotiations, requires local action. However, data is still insufficient to make accurate statements about the scale of urban emissions (UNHABITAT, 2011). The need of comparable emission inventories at city level, including smaller cities, is widely recognized to develop evidence-based policies accounting for the relation between emissions and institutional, socio-economic and demographic characteristics at city level. This paper presents a collection of harmonized greenhouse gases (GHG) emission inventories (the "CoM sample 2013") at municipal level directly computed by the cities and towns that participate in the EU Covenant of Mayors initiative. This is the mainstream European movement of local and regional authorities who voluntarily commit to reduce GHG emissions by 20% or more by 2020. The "CoM sample 2013" (http://edgar.jrc.ec.europa.eu/com/data/index.php? SECURE=123, doi:10.2904/EDGARcom2013) has been carefully checked to ensure its internal consistency and its congruity with respect to internationally accepted guide values for emission factors. Overall, it provides valuable data for the analysis of the heterogeneity of final energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions of cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the European Union's (EU) energy relations with Russia through new institutionalist concepts that understand ideas to be powerful within policymaking processes, in conferring credibility on certain governance norms as well as in contesting existing institutions. Explanations of the deterioration in EU–Russia energy relations have emphasized divergence in perspectives on energy, and how it should be governed, between these actors. Here it is argued that the proliferation of different ideas about energy within EU institutions has significant implications for this relationship. The paper analyses EU energy policy as a whole, including climate policy, and outlines what ideas have been influential over policymaking processes and with what consequences. Internal ideological differences challenge the dominance and credibility of market liberal ideas and policies, the EU's ability to speak with one voice in energy and attest to an increasingly complex and contradictory EU energy policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To-date, forest resource-based carbon accounting in land use, land use change and forestry ( LULUCF) under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change ( UNFCCC), Kyoto Protocol ( KP), European Union ( EU) and national level emission reduction schemes considers only a fraction of its potential and fails to adequately mobilize the LULUCF sector for the successful stabilization of atmospheric greenhouse gas ( GHG) concentrations. Recent modifications at the 2011 COP17 meetings in Durban have partially addressed this basic problem, but leave room for improvement. The presence of an Incentive Gap ( IG) continues to justify reform of the LULUCF carbon accounting framework. Frequently neglected in the climate change mitigation and adaptation literature, carbon accounting practices ultimately define the nuts and bolts of what counts and which resources (forest, forest-based or other) are favored and utilized. For Annex I countries in the Kyoto Mechanism, the Incentive Gap under forest management ( FM) is significantly large: some 75% or more of potential forestry-based carbon sequestration is not effectively incentivized or mobilized for climate change mitigation and adaptation (Ellison et al. 2011a). In this paper, we expand our analysis of the Incentive Gap to incorporate the changes agreed in Durban and encompass both a wider set of countries and a larger set of omitted carbon pools. For Annex I countries, based on the first 2 years of experience in the first Commitment Period ( CP1) we estimate the IG in FM at approximately 88%. Though significantly reduced in CP2, the IG remains a problem. Thus our measure of missed opportunities under the Kyoto and UNFCCC framework - despite the changes in Durban - remains important. With the exception perhaps of increased energy efficiency, few sinks or sources of reduced emissions can be mobilized as effectively and efficiently as forests. Thus, we wonder at the sheer magnitude of this underutilized resource. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The impacts of agricultural land use are far-reaching and extend to areas outside production. This paper provides an overview of the ecological status of agricultural systems across the European Union in the light of recent policy changes. It builds on the previous review of 2001 devoted to the impacts of agricultural intensification in Western Europe. The focus countries are the UK, The Netherlands, Boreal and Baltic countries, Portugal, Hungary and Romania, representing a geographical spread across Europe, but additional reference is made to other countries. Despite many adjustments to agricultural policy, intensification of production in some regions and concurrent abandonment in others remain the major threat to the ecology of agro-ecosystems impairing the state of soil, water and air and reducing biological diversity in agricultural landscapes. The impacts also extend to surrounding terrestrial and aquatic systems through water and aerial contamination and development of agricultural infrastructures (e.g. dams and irrigation channels). Improvements are also documented regionally, such as successful support of farmland species, and improved condition of watercourses and landscapes. This was attributed to agricultural policy targeted at the environment, improved environmental legislation, and new market opportunities. Research into ecosystem services associated with agriculture may provide further pressure to develop policy that is targeted at their continuous provisioning, fostering motivation of land managers to continue to protect and enhance them. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Global warming and air quality are headline environmental issues of our time and policy must preempt negative international effects with forward-looking strategies. As part of the revision of the European National Emission Ceilings Directive, atmospheric emission projections for European Union countries are being calculated. These projections are useful to drive European air quality analyses and to support wide-scale decision-making. However, when evaluating specific policies and measures at sectoral level, a more detailed approach is needed. This paper presents an original methodology to evaluate emission projections. Emission projections are calculated for each emitting activity that has emissions under three scenarios: without measures (business as usual), with measures (baseline) and with additional measures (target). The methodology developed allows the estimation of highly disaggregated multi-pollutant, consistent emissions for a whole country or region. In order to assure consistency with past emissions included in atmospheric emission inventories and coherence among the individual activities, the consistent emission projection (CEP) model incorporates harmonization and integration criteria as well as quality assurance/quality check (QA/QC) procedures. This study includes a sensitivity analysis as a first approach to uncertainty evaluation. The aim of the model presented in this contribution is to support decision-making process through the assessment of future emission scenarios taking into account the effect of different detailed technical and non-technical measures and it may also constitute the basis for air quality modelling. The system is designed to produce the information and formats related to international reporting requirements and it allows performing a comparison of national results with lower resolution models such as RAINS/GAINS. The methodology has been successfully applied and tested to evaluate Spanish emission projections up to 2020 for 26 pollutants but the methodology could be adopted for any particular region for different purposes, especially for European countries. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]