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Global anthropogenic activities resulting in the emission of harmful greenhouse gases (GHGs) to the atmosphere have increased the challenges faced from climate change. The greater awareness of the need to mitigate climate variability has brought about intense focus on the adverse impacts of fossil-fuel based energy on the environment. Being the single largest source of carbon emissions, energy supply has attracted much attention and more so that, climate change impacts extend beyond national boundaries. Since energy use is sine qua non to economic development, scientists have reiterated the necessity of developing and utilising renewable energy. Although, past and present CO2 emissions have and are majorly caused by industrialized countries, it is envisaged that future GHGs emissions would be mostly from developing countries as they industrialize. Renewable energy sources that include biomass, hydroelectric, wind, solar and hydrothermal systems, are carbon-neutral, releasing relatively no emissions. This paper discusses the initiatives associated with the provision of renewable energy to the energy mix in Nigeria as an indication of the country’s commitment to adopt a sustainable development strategy in shaping the economy. It reviews the literature and employs a discourse analysis to examine the limited use of renewable energy sources in Nigeria and the factors prevailing against their development. The paper concludes by identifying social and political obstacles as most significant roadblocks towards rapid implementation of a green economy through the deployment of renewable energy for sustainable development.

This paper formulates flow of energy from primary resources and import routes to different socio-economic sectors by making use of Long-Range Energy Alternatives Planning (LEAP) model. It presents a baseline of how Iran’s future production and consumption patterns evolve. It also seeks plausible scenario for renewable energies utilization and evaluates its mitigation potential and economic aspects. Model results indicate that exploitation of a “not-too-strict” package of renewable sources featuring 10 GW of wind and 19 GW of hydro by the end of 2035 will lead to CO2 emissions to be reduced up to an amount of 190.7 million tons in the study period. By accounting for the opportunity costs different fossil fuels can have, and with a 22% discount rate, abatement of 1 ton of CO2 costs about 7.5 $ (in 2005 constant prices) that declines to zero with a discount rate equal to 7.7%. The paper is concluded by discussing policy options for overcoming barriers hindering the development of renewable resources ...

First of all, the paper explains the meaning of climate sustainability and the parallel understanding of the category of sustainable development in the EU as a concept of total decarbonization of the economy. Secondly, it shows a great impact of Europe 2020 strategy and the latest package 2.0 for the period to 2030 on the Polish industry and society, due to the specific structure of energy balance and high costs of climate change mitigation. Thirdly, the paper shows the possibilities of the technological change in the energy sector in a broad sense that led to the low-emission economy and at the same time which are feasible and economically acceptable. Apart from renewables, energy efficiency, coal substitution to gas and cogeneration, a few efficient technologies exist which are a climate ‘rescue’ being consistent with the low-emission economy as well as securing minimum prospects for coal. Although the possibilities of CO2 reductions in the process of coal combustion are especially limited, moderate chances can be seen in the conversion process of coal to gaseous and solid forms. Opracowanie wyjaśnia istotę trwałości klimatycznej i równoległego rozumienia kategorii rozwoju równoważonego jako koncepcji totalnej dekarbonizacji gospodarki. Promocja rozwoju zrównoważonego opartego na trwałości klimatycznej, ujmowanego w Strategii Europa 2020 i w pakiecie 2.0 obejmującym perspektywę 2030 r., stanowi wielkie wyzwanie dla Polski zarówno ze względu na wyjściową strukturę bilansu energetycznego i charakterystykę systemów energetycznych, jak i na wysokie koszty dla gospodarki oraz społeczeństwa. Na tym tle zostały pokazane rozwiązania, głównie o charakterze technicznym, sprzyjające wdrażaniu gospodarki niskoemisyjnej. Poza OZE, poprawą efektywności energetycznej i substytucją węgla z gazem oraz gospodarką skojarzoną nie ma wielu wydajnych rozwiązań technicznych, które z jednej strony "ratują" klimat i wiodą do gospodarki niskoemisyjnej, z drugiej zaś zapewniają minimalne perspektywy dla węgla. W szczególności możliwości redukcji CO2 w procesach spalania węgla są niewielkie, natomiast umiarkowane szanse można wiązać z procesami jego konwersji.

The world faces unprecedented threats from climate change and increasing variability, which severely impacts human society and the natural environment. To reduce future climate change and ensure our economies can grow in a sustainable way, sustainable energy development is considered to be an effective approach. In this context, sustainable energy development involves augmenting our energy supplies and managing demands in a fashion that societal energy needs are met with a minimal effect on greenhouse gas emissions and a nominal resultant contribution to future climate change. In this Special Issue, research papers focus on the role of sustainable energy development (while addressing important dimensions of sustainability), which mandates an inter-disciplinary perspective in all articles. We collected 11 such papers that have analyzed a broad array of topics related to bioenergy, wind power, industrial innovation, and climate change mitigation. These papers show the varied application of renewable energy and climate change energy responses, while providing meaningful decision-making information and policy implications.

This paper informs the national and international policy discussions related to the adoption of the United Nations Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation Programme. Effective program instruments must carefully consider incentives, opportunity costs, and community interactions. A choice experiment survey was applied to rural Ethiopian communities to understand respondents’ preferences toward the institutional structure of the program contracts. The results show that respondents have particular preferences about how Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation programs are structured with regard to the manner in which the payments are divided between the households and the communities, the restrictions on using grazing land, and the level of payments received for the program. Surprisingly, restrictions on firewood collection do not significantly impact contract choice. The paper further analyzes the structure of the preferences by using attribute interaction terms and socio-demographic interaction terms. The analysis finds significant regional variation in preferences, indicating that Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation should be tailored to specific regions. Finally, the marginal willingness to pay for attributes is calculated using the traditional preference space approach, as well as the more recent willingness-to-pay approach.

The purpose of this paper is to summarize the challenges and the practical successes that a selected number of countries are experiencing in moving towards 'climate-smart' agriculture while also meeting the food requirements of a growing population, broader economic development and green growth objectives. It complements papers prepared in 2010 on technologies and policy instruments, research, and farmers' perspectives. The paper is also intended to provide a broad country perspective to two additional papers produced for a meeting of African Ministers of Agriculture which took place in Johannesburg in September 2011. The main conclusion is that a number of countries have made impressive progress in integrating 'climate-smart agriculture' into broader development and growth programs. Several countries are supporting policy measures and programs to conserve soil and moisture while enhancing productivity and competitiveness, and are addressing the particular concerns of drought-prone semi-arid areas. They are improving agricultural water management and watershed management, and addressing sea-surges, salinity and coastal flooding. Some countries are also including climate-smart agriculture as a core element in broader green growth agendas. The private sector has a key role to play in climate-smart agriculture, especially where the enabling environment has been favorable. Achieving climate-smart agriculture needs an integrated approach, tackling productivity and food security, risk and resilience, and low carbon growth together, but integration and institutional coordination remains a challenge in many countries.

This internal background paper has been prepared to help inform the 2010 environment strategy with respect to a proposed way forward on use of country systems. The World Bank Group environment strategy is built on three pillars: leveraging natural resources for growth and poverty reduction; managing the environmental risks to growth and development; and transforming growth paths. As part of its exploration of these three pillars, the strategy considers the question of environmental co-benefits of climate change actions. In particular, it poses the question of potential trade-offs between actions to address climate change and other local and regional environmental priorities, and considers how to maximize co-benefits arising from climate action. The primary objective of this background paper is to assess the potential for climate change mitigation and adaptation actions to provide environmental co-benefits, particularly in the quality of environmental media, flow of ecosystem services, and maintenance of biodiversity. To accomplish this, the paper is organized in five sections: section one gives provision of an organizing framework to identify and classify potential co-benefits; section two gives summary of the external literature on co-benefits; section three gives review of examples from the World Bank portfolio; section four presents initial thoughts on creation of enabling conditions for co-benefit provision; and section five gives review of implications for the environment strategy.

This paper presents an overview of the status of wind energy productivity and development issues in Iran. It also presents a summary of the present global work on offshore energy, including the most recent works as well as potential offshore wind energy resource in Iran. The positive impacts of wind energy on the mitigation of climate change as well as opportunity to diminish energy dependency are indisputable. Wind energy helps decreasing import dependency, diversifying sources of production, and contributes to a sustainable development in many countries. Wind energy production is expected to increase in future and has experienced dramatic growth over the past decade in many countries worldwide. Offshore winds are generally stronger and more constant than onshore winds. Wind farms in real offshore sites, open seas with waves and water depth over 10 m, are now proposed in Persian Gulf, Caspian Sea and Gulf of Oman. This paper studies productivity and development of wind energy in Iran while setting out the developments that have taken place so far. There are many installed wind turbines in suitable regions like Manjil and Binalood in north, but there has not been any offshore wind installation yet in Iran. Also many suitable land sites have been identified for future installation of large wind turbines.

The world development report 2010 estimates that an additional $200 billion per year of climate-related financing is needed in developing countries between now and 2030 to keep global average temperature rise within 2 degrees Celsius. Developing countries face increased financing challenges over coming decades as they seek to pursue economic development along a lower emission trajectory. The goal of this paper is twofold: i) to provide greater information and clarity on these three mitigation-related climate financing instruments available for the World Bank Group (WBG) and their application in the context of specific projects and national policy frameworks; and ii) to draw lessons for the broader development community on how resources from different climate financing instruments can be combined for expanded impact, increased leverage, and enhanced efficiency. This paper represents an initial contribution to this field and will be followed by papers focusing on guarantees for low-carbon growth support for the private sector and the challenges of financing climate resilience and adaptation.

All countries, including developing ones, have set climate change and energy security as clear target goals. They have developed programs and policies to reach their energy security, emission reduction, and environmental mitigation goals. Colombia has notably developed programs to promote renewable energies and efficiency. However, there is still a need to quantify the impact that these policies could have in the future. The aim of this paper is to quantify the emissions prevented by the implementation of two proposed Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMAs), for which we built Colombia’s energy system model in order to understand its effects on GHG emissions. The first NAMA replaces old refrigerators that continue using CFC compounds with efficient refrigerators that use HCFC compounds. The second NAMA seeks to secure new energy supplies through renewable sources for areas not connected to the grid. We also created a scenario that integrates both NAMAs to understand their combined effects on GHG emissions. The simulation shows that both NAMAs will allow to prevent the emission of 4.71 million tons of CO2 equivalent by 2040, and that the faster they are implemented, the more GHG emissions will be avoided. The model is a framework available for further research in climate change mitigation and energy efficiency policies.

Th is paper argues that in the future the primary focus of policy research and global agreements should be the de-carbonization of economic development. Consequently, instead of treating climate stabilization and economic development as separate and equal, the strategy should be to re-integrate the two global policy goals, in part by separating responsibility (and funding) from action. Th is will require an approach that goes beyond Kyoto. Th e paper invokes the example of the Manhattan Project to argue for a massive, globally funded public investment program for the deployment of renewable energy technologies in developing countries.

Worldwide, the demand for energy has increased significantly in last two decades, leading to an increased use of non-renewable energy resources. The global agenda aims to reduce the carbon intensity of energy in long-term climate change mitigation strategies, and to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG-7) on affordable and clean energy. Use of renewable energy (RE) can contribute to reducing global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions while providing incremental financial resources to stimulate clean development mechanisms. Hydropower continues to be the leading RE option and has the additional benefits of water storage for agriculture and other uses. Drawing on the position of four Hindu Kush Himalayan (HKH) countries – Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan – this paper investigates the current status of hydropower generation and related policies, and attempts to identify the key challenges to and opportunities for hydropower development in the region. Collectively, four HKH countries have commercially feasible hydropower potential of nearly 190 GW. However, only one-third of this potential has actually been tapped so far. Nepal and Pakistan have tapped 2% and 12%, respectively, of their hydropower potential. The current hydropower supply has not been able to fulfill the electricity demand in the region, where 26–37% of the rural population is living without access to electricity, and future demand for electricity is likely to increase sharply. There are several economic, social, technical, environmental, ecological and political challenges to hydropower production in the HKH countries. Despite these challenges, hydropower remains an important option for achieving renewable energy goals in the region. To achieve these goals, we suggest capitalizing on emerging opportunities such as large hydropower development using a ‘smart approach', micro-hydropower promotion, energy trade, and regional cooperation for collective energy development programs.

Global firms are increasingly adopting greenhouse gas mitigation targets in response to climate change. These targets serve as a spur for carbon mitigation initiatives, provide guidelines to select appropriate mitigation actions, and set the standards to measure the progress of the mitigation efforts. Despite their important functionalities, firm-level mitigation targets have rarely been studied. In this paper we aim to provide a comparative view on mitigation targets set by global firms across different countries and industrial sectors. The analysis focuses on four dimensions, i.e., adoption, metric, scope, and stringency. We find Japan far leads the other major countries in terms of target adoption, but the targets of Japanese firms are generally less stringent. Canadian firms are laggards in both target adoption and target stringency. The mitigation targets are also considerably uncommon among Australian firms. Firms in developing countries fall behind in target stringency and display a significantly greater divergence than developed countries in sectoral adoption rate. The European Union firms are most likely to cover the emissions in their supply chains in targets. Target stringency has substantially tightened from 2005 to 2012. For all the countries in this study, around 95% of the firm-level targets are more stringent than the Intended Nationally Determined Contributions submitted to the Paris Agreement. Setting mitigation target has a significant positive impact on both the likelihood of investing in renewable energy and the amount of investment in renewable energy. However, there is no evidence that more stringent targets lead to higher investment. These findings point to the most pressing issues with regard to corporate mitigation target-setting that policymakers and corporate management should address.

Transitioning to a decarbonized and circular economy is paramount for climate change mitigation and sustainable development. In this paper we assess the global production trends of cobalt, an energy-transition metal (ETM), and its supply sustainability. Accurate production forecasting of ETMs is essential to understand the dynamics of energy supply security and adequately plan for a change from fossil fuel energy to renewable energy production. Evaluations of market concentrations demonstrate that cobalt is a high-risk market characterized by production fluctuations and supply-chain complexities. We forecast the cobalt production using several methods. Results from both of the Auto Regressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) and Holt's methods show a linear increase in world cobalt production for the short term, while a Hubbert model predicts a world production decline beginning in the late 2010s. These predictions, coupled with geopolitical, socio-environmental, and techno-economic influences on the market, reinforce the concern regarding cobalt supply sustainability. Although alternative avenues for sourcing cobalt, such as secondary urban mining and stockpiling exist, they are unlikely to become major suppliers in the short term, which highlights the need to accurately forecast primary production. Increasing interests in critical raw materials (CRMs) in policy spheres also heightens the necessity to anticipate the future of cobalt supply as governmental entities acknowledge the imbalance of CRMs in international trade. Well-researched and well-designed policies, that incorporate environmental sustainability and non-discriminatory economic growth, can facilitate an equitable shift to a greener and more circular economy. At the forefront of this shift should be ethical environmental and resource governance that recognizes the inequalities in socio-economic development and energy-transition, and mandates for a just transition towards a low carbon future. Validerad;2021;Nivå 2;2021-10-21 (beamah);Forskningsfinanziär: National Research Foundation (NRF) Thuthuka (121973)

Biomass gasification is a promising renewable energy technology with immense possibility to minimise reliance on fossil fuels while also addressing environmental concerns in long-term planning and achieving sustainable development goals. India has enacted effective policies in the field of renewable energy, including biomass and bioenergy. Biomass gasification can work as multifaceted technology that may be used for heat and electricity generation, hydrogen production, deriving second-generation biofuels, and chemicals. Several elements go into the selection, operation, and commercialization of gasification technology. Despite the several benefits of biomass gasification, such as better efficiency and lower CO2 emissions, it still lags in commercialization due to its specific challenges faced at technological, implementation and policy levels. The paper gives an overview of the gasification technologies and their various routes of application, techno-economic feasibility, role in climate mitigation and policies focuses on biomass gasification in the context of the Indian scenario.

Nowadays, in the world and especially in European Union, the main concern is sustainable development linked to the use of Renewable Energy Sources (RES) and climate change mitigation. At the same time, in many countries there are being raised the idea of transition to 100% RES. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the technical potential of the photovoltaic renewable energy sources available in Republic of Moldova with scope to contribute to achievement the goals of the Energy Strategy until 2030, the main state document in the field of energy. The Republic of Moldova is an Associate Membership of the EU and a Membership of Energy Community. These facts determines the country’s development direction and policies of its energy sector. The goals of this Strategy include diversification of energy sources, inclusively RES, ensuring the share of annual electricity production from RES at least 15% (about 1,274 TWh) in 2030 and reducing greenhouse gases emissions by 25% in 2020. Republic of Moldova has an insignificant amount of fossil energy resources (coal, natural gas and oil). At the same time, the renewable electricity production is insignificant and the economy entirely depends on imports of fossil energy resources from neighbor countries. Thus, there is considerable delay in achieving Strategy’s goals.

As a low-cost, low-carbon, and clean renewable energy, hydropower is crucial to carbon emissions reduction and climate change mitigation. Compared with non-steady and highly volatile renewable energy, flexible hydropower can help secure the reliable operation of the grid. However, development cost increase, resettlement and environmental issues have recently hindered China’s hydropower development. This paper first reviews the history and current status of hydropower development in China, integrates the economy-energy-environment system, the water-energy-food nexus, and socio-hydrology theory to analyze the complex influence mechanism of hydropower development, and identifies driving factors of hydropower development through a cost-benefit analysis. Then, the quantitative system dynamics (SD) model of hydropower development is constructed based on the interdisciplinary qualitative analysis. Combining incentive policies and technological progress, four scenarios are set. The multi-scenario prediction results and sensitivity analysis results of the SD model indicate that incentive policies can enhance the attractiveness of hydropower investment and significantly promote long-term stable hydropower development, while technological progress can improve the efficiency and carbon emissions reduction benefits of hydropower. Based on the comparative analysis of these results, specific policy recommendations for promoting sustainable development of green hydropower in China are proposed in terms of four aspects: the hydropower development concept, cooperation mechanism, policy mechanism, and technological progress.

Greenhouse gas emissions are the main cause of today's climate change. To address this problem, the world is in an era of new round energy transformation, and the existing energy structure is being reformed. In this paper, according to the Chinese government's action plan for coping with climate change, the China's wind energy sustainable development goals and development route are discussed, and the countermeasures and suggestions are put forward. Wind energy is currently a kind of important renewable energy with matured technology which can be scale-up developed and put into commercial application, and in this transformation, wind energy will play a key role with other non-fossil energy sources. The development and utilization of wind energy is a systematic project, which needs to be solved from the aspects of policy, technology and management. At present, China is in the stage of transferring from “large wind power country” to “strong wind power country”, opportunities and challenges coexist, and the advantages of China's socialist system could be fully used, which can concentrate power to do big things and make contribution in the process of realizing global energy transformation.

The use of renewable energy (RE) sources contributes to the sustainable development goals of climate change mitigation and access to clean and affordable energy. To diversify the electricity mix, reduce reliance on fossil-fuels and abate powers sector CO2 emissions, the Government of Pakistan developed a policy to incentivize RE deployment by offering upfront feed-in tariffs (FIT). This paper attempts to estimate the cost of CO2 emission abatement with RE incentives for solar and wind power plants for the period 2015-2020. The implicit cost of CO2 abatement defined as the ratio of net cost of RE to CO2 emissions avoided is estimated to be $116/tCO2 for wind and $78/tCO2 for solar power. The payment to generators guaranteed by FITs is a major determinant and explains the difference between the implicit abatement costs of solar and wind power. These estimates, however, are sensitive to the resources displaced by RE and the fuel prices. This study provides a framework to the policymakers for analysis of RE incentives recognizing the dynamic nature of the abatement cost metric and discusses policy implications in the light of the results.

For the past two decades, low-carbon planning has been one of the main energy planning topics of research at both city and district scales. The attention has for long been on energy consumption reduction by alternative means (such as renewable energies), smart grid systems and measures of CO2 emission reductions and climate change mitigation and adaptation. For developing countries like China, achieving these in a short period is a challenging task. For low carbon planning, there are measures of sustainability, mainly environmental, that can be considered at three scales of ‘target plan’, ‘masterplan’ and ‘construction phase (or implementation)’; some of which are purely focused on energy sector and achieving low-carbon built environments. In here, some of these are studied as part of a feasibility study of a small-scale low carbon town planning case study in Zhejiang Province, East China. This paper is based on a research case study and is divided in to three sections, case study introduction, case study analysis, results and discussions. The conclusions are made based on outcomes of the conducted feasibility study for the case of Songao's low carbon town planning. More importantly, this study highlights the importance of feasibility study for low carbon planning projects and also argues in favour of pre-assessment case of research prior to planning and implementation phase.

With ever growing urgency, climate change mitigation is fast becoming a priority for China. A successful policy of implementing and expanding sustainable development and the use of renewable energy is therefore vital. As well as long-term and near-term targets for installed capacity of renewable energy, in its 12th five-year plan, China has created strict and ambitious carbon intensity targets for each province. This study proposes an inter-provincial clean development mechanism to assist in meeting these targets. This mechanism will create potential co-benefits of assisting in sustainable development in lesser developed provinces, increasing local air quality and supporting the growth of China's renewable energy sector. This paper also highlights the potential that this inter-provincial clean development mechanism has in accelerating the growth of the domestic solar photovoltaics (PV) sector, for which the market in China is still in its infancy.

The electricity production sector has currently and for the past years been dominated by fossil fuel technologies, mostly coal, oil and natural gas. This has had various environmental consequences, such as increased gaseous emissions, soil and water pollution, global warming, as well as fossil resource depletion. As a result, the need to pursue Sustainable Development (SD), in order to reduce dependency on fossil fuel, to achieve Greenhouse Gas (GHG) mitigation and to reverse the effects of climate change has currently become imperative. SD is considered to be one of the most important factors for countries’ energy policy today and efforts, such as the ones materialized through the Kyoto Protocol mechanisms, are being made to promote sustainable electricity production technologies globally. Nuclear and renewable energy technologies both have the potential of contributing to the increasing global energy demands, while simultaneously lowering GHG emissions and also having a positive economic and social impact. In view of their differences and the ongoing nuclear debate, this paper aims to compare specific promising and emerging nuclear and renewable energy technologies in terms of their contribution to SD and prospects for deployment. The comparison showed that each technology contributes in its own way to SD and that political decisions, individual country energy policies and public opinion will probably determine the future deployment of each energy technology.

While some countries have achieved considerable development, many others still lack accessto the goods and services considered standard in the modern society. As CO2 emissions and development are often correlated, this paper employs the theoretical background of the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) and the learning curves toolkit to analyze how carbon intensities have changed as countries move towards higher development (and cumulative wealth) levels. The EKC concept is then tested with the methodology of learning curves for the period between 1971 and 2010, so as to capture a dynamic picture of emissions trends and development. Results of both analyses reveal that empirical data fails to provide direct evidence of an EKC for emissions and development. The data does show, however, an interesting pattern in the dispersion of emissions levels for countries within the same HDI categories. While data does not show that countries grow more polluting during intermediary development stages, it does provide evidence that countries become more heterogeneous in their emission intensities as they develop, later re-converging to lower emission intensities at higher HDI levels. Learning rates also indicate heterogeneity among developing countries and relative convergence among developed countries. Given the heterogeneity of development paths among countries, the experiences of those which are managing to develop at low carbon intensities can prove valuable examples for ongoing efforts in climate change mitigation, especially in the developing world. QC 20140514

This paper investigates the decision-making processes of mayors on the municipal level in Brandenburg, Germany, to support 100% renewable energy policies as well as the respective key success factors. Three different cases and their specific settings are examined: (1) Turnow-Preilack with Germany's largest solar power plant, (2) Prenzlau, a town claiming the title 'City of Renewable Energy’ and (3) the village of Feldheim, the first energy independent settlement in Germany. On the basis of exploratory site visits and interviews, the process of implementation of renewable energy is investigated. The methodology developed here is based on the 'theory of planned behaviour’ which helps to visualise the individual decision-making processes of key actors. Not surprisingly, many different factors influence the investigated cases. The decision-making processes must be investigated in their context that is shaped by the attitudes of mayors, the expectation of how their actions will be perceived, and the control mayors estimate to have over projects. The identified factors point at the key finding that the mayors first and foremost think about the 'good of their municipality’. This does not necessarily refer to economic factors but can encompass aspects such as 'strengthening community life’. More abstract factors such as climate change or contributing to the transition of the national power supply play - if at all - a minor role. Policies that aim at supporting energy transitions in similar settings should therefore shift their focus from communicating climate change mitigation to the co-benefits that ambitious renewable energy policies can bring to a community.

Making the shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy seems inevitable. Because energy transition poses new challenges and opportunities to the discipline of landscape architecture, the questions addressed in this paper are: (1) what landscape architects can learn from successful energy transitions in Güssing, Jühnde and Samsø; and (2) to what extent landscape architecture (or other spatial disciplines) contributed to energy transition in the aforementioned cases. An exploratory, comparative case study was conducted to identify differences and similarities among the cases, to answer the research questions, and to formulate recommendations for further research and practice. The comparison indicated that the realized renewable energy systems are context-dependent and, therefore, specifically designed to meet the respective energy demand, making use of the available potentials for renewable energy generation and efficiency. Further success factors seemed to be the presence of (local) frontrunners and a certain degree of citizen participation. The relatively smooth implementation of renewable energy technologies in Jühnde and on Samsø may indicate the importance of careful and (partly) institutionalized consideration of landscape impact, siting and design. Comparing the cases against the literature demonstrated that landscape architects were not as involved as they, theoretically, could have been. However, particularly when the aim is sustainable development, rather than “merely” renewable energy provision, the integrative concept of “sustainable energy landscapes” can be the arena where landscape architecture and other disciplines meet to pursue global sustainability goals, while empowering local communities and safeguarding landscape quality.

Nearly half the world's population and about 81 percent of Sub-Saharan African (SSA) households rely on wood-based biomass energy (fuel wood and charcoal) for cooking. This degree of reliance is far greater than in any other region. While the use of biomass fuels in China, India and much of the developing world has peaked or will do so in the near future, SSA's consumption will either remain at very high levels or even grow over the next few decades. Population growth, coupled with strong urbanization dynamics and relative price changes of alternative fuels, offset the important achievements made over the past decade by significant investments in energy access, rural and urban electrification, off-grid energy developments, and the promotion of alternative energy sources. With increasing economic development, the demand for energy is increasing as well and consumers depend on a broader portfolio of energy sources to satisfy growing energy needs. While electricity and other energy sources are needed to satisfy additional energy needs emerging with economic development, a vast majority of Sub-Saharan African consumers continue to use wood based biomass energy for cooking. Especially electricity is not regarded a suitable alternative for cooking given equipment and use costs. Biomass burning in cook stoves also emits black carbon (BC) as part of visible smoke, which is particulate matter that results from incomplete combustion. Climate science now views BC as the second or third largest warming agent after carbon dioxide, alongside methane. In the case of biomass cooking, the warming effects of BC and the cooling effects of organic carbon that is also emitted during the burning appear to be closely balanced. Given the present uncertainty about the net impact, additional research is currently underway. Black carbon has also an impact at the regional level: it accelerates melting of ice and snow, and contributes to regional pollution which can alter climatic conditions and precipitation patterns over a wide area. This paper advocates that any policy reform should entail a combination of clear rules, transparent enforcement, strong incentives and awareness-creation/capacity development. Key stakeholders and the general public need guidance by way of information campaigns, training, and demonstration projects to ensure that awareness-deficits or false perceptions do not curtail policy implementation. The bureaucratic and administrative barriers e.g. overcomplicated forest management planning requirements, complex fiscal systems and land tenure procedures may inhibit development and thus warrant critical reflection. The regulatory framework needs to integrate externalities in order to promote adequate pricing of charcoal, and thus enhance regional economies.

Many governments in different parts of the world are investing in high speed rail. Some of them do so thinking that it will be an important part of climate change mitigation. Intercity traffic over medium distances is particularly interesting in the environmental context as it constitutes the only transport segment where aircraft, trains, coaches and cars naturally compete for market shares. This report calculates the effect on emissions from building a new high speed link that connects two major cities located 500 km apart. It assumes that emissions from new vehicles and aircraft in 2025 can be used as a proxy for the emissions during a 50 year investment depreciation period. The emissions from the marginal production of electricity, used by rail and electric vehicles, are estimated to amount on average to 530 gram per kWh for the entire period. Fuels used by road vehicles are assumed to be on average 80 percent fossil and 20 per cent renewable (with a 65% carbon efficiency in the latter case).

It is recognised that renewable energies have an important role in sustainable development, especially in developing countries, ranging from climate change mitigation to the provision of energy for poor people in remote rural areas. Latin America is lagging behind in the deployment of renewable energy technologies, in spite of its great natural potential and needs of rural electrification. This paper analyses the potentials and the barriers for the diffusion of renewable energy technologies in Bolivia, one of the poorest countries of Latin America. Firstly, a framework is developed from the literature that delineates the main factors which characterise renewable energy technology diffusion in developing countries. Secondly, this framework is applied to the specific situation of Bolivia by assessing existing studies and drawing upon expert interviews. The key findings show that a huge potential of natural resources, especially for the use of solar energy and hydro power, is confronted with a series of barriers for the dissemination of these technologies.

Cooperation of large developing countries such as India would be important in achieving a low carbon future, which can help in restricting the global temperature rise to 2 °C. Global modeling studies of such low carbon scenarios point to a prominent role for renewable energy. This paper reports scenarios for a low carbon future in India. An integrated modeling framework is used for assessing the alternate development pathways having equal cumulative CO2 emissions. The modeling period ranges from 2005 to 2050. The first pathway assumes a conventional development pattern together with a carbon price that aligns India’s emissions to an optimal 450 ppmv CO2-eq. stabilization global response. The second emissions pathway assumes an underlying sustainable development pattern. A low carbon future will be good for renewable energy under both the development pathways, though the share of renewable energy will be higher under a sustainable pathway. Renewable energy faces competition from low carbon technologies lik...