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Abstract This paper empirically examines the individual support of the German energy transition in total and especially of six single energy policy measures, which are components of the energy transition. Our micro-econometric analysis with binary and ordered probit models on the basis of data from a broad survey of citizens reveals the important role of several attitudinal factors. With respect to our indicators for perceived personal costs of the energy transition, the estimation results point to a weak evidence for economic self-interest due to some negative correlations between expected energy price increases due to the energy transition and the support of single energy policy measures. Interestingly, however, the concern that the energy transition alone causes strong energy price increases is not shared by the majority of the respondents. The estimation results also suggest that the support of several energy policy measures is strongly correlated with environmental values. However, the most important attitudinal factor is obviously political identification. The econometric analysis suggests that an overall left-green policy identification is positively correlated with the support of the energy transition in total and an identification with ecological policy is positively correlated with the acceptance of several single energy policy measures. The econometric analysis especially supports the more sophisticated categorization of political orientation since, for example, a liberal-conservative policy orientation is not significantly correlated with the support of the energy transition in total. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The rebound effect presents a major flaw in to energy conservation policies that aim to reduce energy consumption through energy efficiency development. Economics and energy related disciplines have thus far developed tools to measure such a phenomenon. This paper attempts to explain this seeming paradox using a thermodynamic-evolutionary theoretical framework in addition to the traditional economic approach. We here propose that evolutionary systems, such as biological or even economic systems, may rearrange themselves in a more complex fashion under the pressure of an increasing flux of energy, driven by the higher conversion rate of greater efficiency. Higher complexity, due to a greater energy density rate, counteracts the positive effects of energy efficiency. We investigated this hypothesis in the context of the road freight transport system and the productive structure. The qualitative analysis in this paper, further substantiated by figures, provides a link between the dynamics of production patterns and the effect of efficiency in the light of the macro-economic effects of increased energy demand. The analysis departs from a rigorous investigation of the actual energy efficiency evolution in the road freight transport system to develop through a survey of the subsequent worldwide economic revolution in the production system. It is then shown how outsourcing, the key feature of globalization, can be identified as the main source of traffic density growth. Finally, four paradigms are used to stress how the shift in the production system must be considered a leap in structural complexity that consequently serves to increase the frequency of components’ interactions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The choice of domestic fuel is a matter of great concern for households and policy makers in India. This paper investigates the demand for domestic fuels when households face four choices: Fuelwood, Coal, Kerosene and LPG. The study is based on a survey of 500 households in Kolkata, India. The demand estimates are conducted using a two-stage process where the first stage investigates choice and the second the quantity used. Determinants of fuel demand are identified and their relative importance shown. Extending the study, the paper also analyses the choice of the main cooking fuel in terms of the households'' stated rankings of six fuels for five attributes. The policy discussion indicates that subsidies have less potential to reduce polluting fuels such as coal and fuelwood due to weak cross-price elasticities, while increased availability of LPG and potentially also increased awareness of indoor air pollution have greater prospect. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Overcoming reliance on non-renewable resources is a key concern of energy transitions worldwide. But as the literature on carbon lock-in has shown, overcoming path dependence is all but trivial. Even well-minded decision-makers tend to relapse into inertia when it comes to making concrete divestment decisions. We investigate one specific case, the 2016 Swiss popular initiative to phase out nuclear power, to explore the cognitive and affective drivers of energy path dependence on the individual level. Within eight weeks of an intense political campaign, support for this initiative dropped from more than 60 to just 45.8% of Swiss voters. Based on a representative longitudinal survey ( N  = 1014), we show that changes in perceived risk and benefit of nuclear power play key roles in explaining fading voter support for nuclear divestment, and that affect is in turn a significant driver of those changes. By framing it as a choice between the lesser evil of nuclear power or importing German coal power, opponents of the phase-out managed to introduce an asymmetrically dominated option into voters' choice set, leading many to change their original voting intentions. Our paper responds to calls for integrating dual-process theories (“ thinking fast and slow ”) into research in Ecological Economics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While the production of biofuels has expanded in recent years, findings in the literature on its impact on economic growth and development remain contradictory. This paper presents a meta-analysis of computable general equilibrium (CGE) studies published between 2006 and 2017 on the effect of biofuel production on economic development worldwide. Using 30 CGE studies, we found that biofuel-supportive policies generated significant impacts on GDP and household incomes. CGE studies included in our database reported an average 0.25 percentage point increase in GDP and a 0.49 percentage point increase in household incomes. We also found that results were driven by several key features of the CGE studies included in our database. We investigated features such as biofuel type, geographic area, and characteristics of the CGE models employed. We found that biofuel expansion has heterogeneous effects in developed versus emerging countries. Simulations on longer time periods and in multi-country studies led to results that indicate higher impacts of biofuel expansion on GDP growth and household incomes. Moreover, simulations with an increase in agricultural productivity indicate positive welfare impact gains, unlike simulations with land expansion. Lastly, we found that biodiesel development leads to higher welfare impact gains than that of bioethanol. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper links theoretical perspectives from energy efficiency economics with those observed from corporate environmental strategy to develop a framework for explaining energy efficiency strategies by firms in response to national policies and local regulations in China. The framework is refined through analytic generalization of 20 cases from four industries and four cities in Jiangsu Province, and reveals two strategies: 1) firms with moderate institutional pressure seek incremental competitiveness by adopting energy-saving technologies, which is reinforced by their informational, organizational, and financing capabilities, and facilitated by voluntary policies and industrial competition; 2) firms with survival risk or development constraints under regulation seek a position favored by local governments by replacing old plant and equipment with larger, more efficient ones and contributing to the local community. The Chinese case studies reveal a strong institutional impact on firms' choice of business strategies and particularly the positioning strategy. The identified business strategies shed additional light on the effectiveness and implications of different policy instruments for energy efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public acceptability appears an essential condition for the success of low-carbon transition policies. In this paper, we investigate the role of self-interest on citizens' preferences for the distribution of costs and environmental benefits of energy efficiency policies. Using a discrete choice experiment on nationally representative household samples of Sweden, Italy, and the United Kingdom, we first investigate preferences for national burden-sharing rules and for the distribution of environmental benefits accruing primarily in rural and/or urban areas. We examine the role of self-interest and self-serving bias in a correlational manner by looking at the effects of income and location of residency on preferences for these policy attributes. Moreover, we investigate the effect of self-serving bias on preferences for burden-sharing rules in a causal manner by experimentally priming randomly assigned groups of participants to feel either rich or poor. Our results suggest that the accountability rule is the most popular and the equal-amount rule the least popular burden-sharing rule. Further, policies with environmental benefits accruing primarily in rural areas are least preferred. We find some evidence for self-interest, especially through our correlational approach. Finally, across country samples, our results reveal heterogeneity in preferences for policy attributes and in the prevalence of self-interest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the size and nature of green fiscal stimulus in the G20 countries in response to the COVID-19 crisis, with a focus on the energy-related policies. We exploit a new dataset, the Energy Policy Tracker (EPT), with detailed information on countries' policies since the start of the pandemic. Between January 2020 and December 2021, G20 countries enacted 913 stimulus measures that have direct impacts on energy supply and demand. The average country spent $395 USD per person on energy-related policies. Only 30% of this amount, on average, is devoted to low-carbon measures, mostly in the transit and buildings sectors, with considerable variation across countries. To properly compare countries' efforts in aligning their COVID-19 stimulus with climate goals, we construct a new index, the Green Energy Policy Index (GEPI), using principal components analysis, taking into account both "green" and "brown" stimulus measures. The GEPI varies considerably across countries. We find that on average, countries with a "greener" energy-related stimulus are wealthier and have a lower emission intensity. On average, countries that have experienced the crisis more acutely, both in terms of deaths and gross domestic product (GDP) loss, have "greener" stimulus packages. We discuss the implications of these findings for future research and climate energy policy-making. • A Green Energy Policy Index (GEPI) is developed to assess countries responses to the COVID-19 crisis. • On average, low-carbon measures accounted for 30% of energy-related spending in the G20 with large variations across countries. • Wealthy and low-emission countries have 'greener' energy-related stimuli • Countries with higher COVID deaths and GDP loss have 'greener' stimuli [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The notion of sufficiency has gained considerable traction in many social sciences as well as in environmental and energy policy. However, sufficiency is not widely discussed in economics, most likely because it is seen as being hard to identify or uninteresting in the context of the standard model of rational choice. In this paper, we introduce a concept of sufficiency, which we define as a change of lifestyle that reduces environmental externalities without compromising individual well-being. We advance a framework of individual choice, where individuals select lifestyles and face uncertainty regarding their preferences in hitherto not experienced lifestyles. We show that changes towards sufficiency are feasible in this setting but, although they can be beneficial to the individual, they might require policy support. • Concept of sufficiency for defining and analyzing sufficiency in a rational choice framework. • Preference uncertainty is key to explain why lifestyle changes may not happen although they increase individual well-being. • Policy can help to circumvent this problem. • Offering opportunities to test new lifestyles at low costs can facilitate sufficiency-enhancing lifestyle changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy security ranks high on the policy agenda of many countries. To improve on energy security, governments undertake regulatory measures for promoting renewable energy, increasing energy efficiency, or curbing carbon dioxide emissions. The impacts of such measures on energy security are typically monitored by means of so-called energy security indicators. In this paper, we show that the common use of wide-spread energy security indicators falls short of providing a meaningful metric. Regulatory measures to improve on energy security trigger ambiguous effects across energy security indicators. We conclude that a major pitfall of energy security indicators is the lack of a rigorous microeconomic foundation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Policymakers are increasingly concerned about rebound effects, which lead to lower savings than expected when energy-efficiency increases. There are difficulties in making coherent comparisons between magnitudes of rebound effects in different sectors, such as home heating, industry and transport. A barrier to this in domestic heating is the conceptual difficulty of estimating rebound effects as energy-efficiency elasticities, since the large, stepwise increases in energy-efficiency through thermal retrofits fit uneasily with differential calculus. This paper offers a solution. Firstly, it develops a ‘cross-sectional’ method in which elasticity-based rebound formulae are used to estimate implied average rebound effects in large datasets of energy consumption and energy efficiency. It then shows how a simple power curve can model these datasets, simplifying the mathematics, giving ‘constant’ rebound effect results that are immediately meaningful, and extending compatibility to rebound effect modelling in other sectors. The method is then extended to case studies of thermal retrofits of individual dwellings. Here the inherent inaccuracy of using linear approximations in rebound effect formulas is also illustrated. The cross-sectional, ‘constant’ rebound effect methodology is offered for wider use in estimating rebound effects in case studies and in domestic heating as more datasets of energy consumption and efficiency become available. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Proponents of distributive justice with regard to energy hold that every household has the right to affordable access to energy. However, when passively participating in clean energy reform policies, households, and especially low-income households, are often forced to use energy beyond the scope of affordability, resulting in distributive injustice. However, research on the quantitative estimation of injustice in energy distribution is still rare. In this paper, an evaluation model of energy vulnerability and distributive justice is established through the "reverse deduction method," and the change value of energy vulnerability before and after energy reform is used to calculate the loss value of distributive justice, which is used as the basis for energy policy evaluation. Taking the policy of replacing coal with natural gas for rural heating in Gaocheng District, Hebei Province, China as a case study, the value of lost distributive justice is calculated. The results show that 34.51% of households experienced distributive injustice after the energy reform, while 19.34% of households improved their energy vulnerability and achieved energy justice through energy subsidy policies. However, 46.15% of households were able to adapt to the energy reform independently without subsidies, which indicates a waste of resources in the energy subsidy policy. The policy implication of these results is that differentiated energy subsidy policies should be implemented according to household energy vulnerability, so as to maximize the policy benefits on the premise of ensuring justice in household energy distribution and minimizing injustice. The empirical study proves that the method of assessing injustice in energy distribution based on the "reverse deduction method" of energy vulnerability is feasible and a new attempt. • The passive participation of low-income households in clean energy reform policies results in distributive injustice. • Apply the vulnerability framework to calculate energy distribution injustice. • The implementation of differentiated subsidies can effectively improve the vulnerability of rural households energy poverty. • It is feasible and a new attempt to measure energy distributive injustice by using the "reverse deduction method". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the effects of nuclear accidents on energy policy with the help of a panel dataset of 31 countries from 1965 to 2009, using annual data on the capacity of reactor construction starts, as well as the timing of three nuclear accidents scaled five or higher on the International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale. After determining the extent of the accident impact in the different countries, I find that neither the Three Mile Island (TMI) nor the Lucens accidents had a worldwide negative effect on construction starts, while Chernobyl did. Three Mile Island had a lasting impact in the United States, however. I show that the effect of Chernobyl wore off in certain geographical clusters, after ten to thirty years. An accident is likely to have a negative and long lasting impact in the country where it happened, and possibly in countries affected by the direct consequences. I find that nuclear capacity enlargement shows a significant lock-in effect, but it was also driven by primary energy consumption and energy security considerations in the past five decades. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In this paper we investigate how changes in the support scheme may affect electricity generation from agricultural Combined Heat and Power (CHP) biogas plants in Germany. An agent-based simulation model for investment decision-making is coupled with GIS data. The spatial-temporal diffusion model accounts for the limited availability of substrate resources, alternative plant sizes and different heat use combinations. For illustration, we apply the model to the German federal states of North Rhine-Westphalia and Bavaria, for which we estimate an additional economical capacity potential of 409MWel. Overall, we conclude that current feed-in payments per unit of electric power provided are probably not too far off the optimum level, if one considers the maximum diffusion of CHP units possible. However, the current feed-in system may overtly favor small generating units, thereby failing to incentivize coordination among farmers for joint resource utilization in larger and more efficient plants. In addition, optimization of the biogas conversion process and feedstock use would also be highly beneficial. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Achieving a sustainable energy future requires a revolution in the energy system. At the heart of such a transformation lies strong and coherent governance at all political levels, including the global level. While the need for global governance is taken for granted in a number of issue areas such as health, peacekeeping and environment, pursuit of global energy governance has been almost a taboo in political and foreign policy circles and has also had limited attention in the literature. In this paper, we explore how the viewing of a sustainable energy system as a global public good could serve as one approach to reducing the sensitivity towards global energy governance. The global public good concept together with the principle of subsidiarity is applied as a framework for understanding the role that the international community could play in, and the key ingredients for, global energy governance. Using two examples of international energy efficiency and renewable energy policy, we identify some types of international collaboration measures that would be both efficient and necessary to support a sustainable energy system. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The paper explores the role of natural resource accounting and calculations as tools for inducing movement towards ecologically sound policy making. We draw from the theoretical debates in social studies of science and technology (STS) to understand how calculations gain their power in real-world decision-making. Through in-depth case analysis of a local energy production decision in Finland, we study how and under what conditions calculative methods related to environmental valuation affect the rationalities applied in policy decisions. On the basis of our analysis, we claim that new calculative rationalities do not become significant through changing ways of thinking alone. There is a need for shift of calculative framing. This shift requires active promotion by powerful actors and furthermore, new framings need to become embedded in the rules of the game of decision making. Our analysis suggests that the methods of STS can provide a valuable tool for economists’ creation of richer understanding of the dynamics between calculative rationalities and the institutions of decision-making. In-depth case analysis of decision making involving the use of natural resources brings out the multitude of ways in which calculations can take part in or be excluded from the making of natural resource policy. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Shaping change such that it avoids losing potentially useful options for future development is a challenging task in the face of complex, coevolving socio-ecological systems. Sustainability appraisal methods, which open up dialogue and options before closing down and making suggestions, pay attention to the inclusion of various and conflicting points of view and address uncertainty, are increasingly used in the science, environment and energy policy domains. The quality of the process is seen as key to high quality appraisal outcomes. Dimensions of quality include learning opportunities which are seen as ways for addressing complexity and uncertainty. Participatory sustainability appraisal methods intend to support social learning among participants. Despite high expectations, social learning processes in sustainability appraisals are poorly conceptualized and empirically understudied. This paper (1) briefly reviews theories of social learning; (2) develops a conceptual framework for the analysis; and (3) presents an empirical application of the framework by use of data obtained from three energy and natural resource management case studies around Europe. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper develops economic definitions of energy quality for individual fuels and energy aggregates. There are use- and exchange-value concepts, as well as marginal and total measures, of energy quality. A factor augmentation or quality coefficients approach corresponds to the use-value definition while indicators based on distance functions and relative prices are exchange-value based definitions. These indicators are identical when the elasticity of substitution between fuels is infinity but diverge or cannot be computed for other interfuel elasticities of substitution. When the elasticity of substitution is zero only the quality coefficients approach is defined. I also show that 1) the ratio of an energy volume index to aggregate joules cannot be considered a complete indicator of aggregate energy quality as it does not account for quality changes in the component fuels 2) demand curve integrals do not provide information on relative use-values or fuel qualities when the elasticity of substitution is unity or less. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Based on a large sample for the German commercial and services sector, this paper econometrically assesses the relevance of various types of barriers to energy efficiency at the sectoral level and across fifteen sub-sectors. The results at the level of entire sectors suggest that the lack of information about energy consumption patterns and about energy efficiency measures, lack of staff time, priority setting within organizations, and – in particular – the investor/user dilemma are all relevant barriers. Allowing for sector-specific differences in the relevance of these individual barriers yields a more heterogeneous picture. The numbers and types of relevant barriers vary across sub-sectors, and the majority of sub-sectors are subject to relatively few barriers. The statistically most significant barriers are found for the sub-sector of public administrations. These findings are robust, independent of whether the definition of an organization's energy efficiency performance includes only measures that have actually been realized or also those that are being planned. For planned projects, however, organizations appear to underestimate internal priority setting as a barrier to energy efficiency. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The UK Climate Change Bill proposes to establish legally binding targets for a 60% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions by 2050. This paper discusses the challenges posed by measuring progress towards this target. It takes as a premise that the conventional production-based accounting framework, enshrined in the UNFCCC emissions accounting guidelines, is inappropriate for this task because it fails to account for the carbon ‘traded’ across the UK national boundary. Accordingly, it sets out a consumption-based accounting framework – using a two-region Environmental Input–Output (EIO) model – which could in principle measure progress in reducing the emissions attributable to final consumers in the UK. It illustrates the use of this framework to measure the reduction in carbon dioxide achieved by the UK between 1990 (the Kyoto base year) and the year 2004 and compares this against the production perspective. The results indicate that any progress towards the UK''s carbon reduction targets (visible under a production perspective) disappears completely when viewed from a consumption perspective. But the robustness of this conclusion depends critically on the accuracy of underlying economic and environmental datasets as well as specific assumptions concerning imports. By analysing the consistency of UK Input–Output data, we conclude that EIO is still some way from being able to answer the critical question of the carbon trade balance for the UK. In these circumstances, measuring real progress towards carbon reduction in the UK remains elusive. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The Index of Sustainable Economic Welfare (ISEW) has been calculated for many countries, but rarely at the local level. This paper shows how the index has been calculated for the Province of Siena, Central Italy. The whole procedure is illustrated step by step, including the search for the most suitable and precise methods to obtain reliable values for each item composing the index. Application of ISEW at a very local level was found to be feasible. The most general difficulty encountered was the lack of an adequate institutionalised source of statistical information to support the construction of indicators other than purely economic or demographic ones. This is mainly due to the still low interest for a sustainable management of natural resources and land on the part of local authorities, and the related willingness to invest money and human resources on environmental research. The ISEW gives a more realistic representation of the well-being of the population than GDP, since it includes environmental and social items not considered in conventional national accounting. Furthermore, in Italy, the principle of administrative decentralization has been implemented in recent years to such an extent that the central government devolved part of its power to Regions, Provinces and Municipalities. Consequently, local authorities are called to allocate more resources to pursue their policies towards sustainability, an issue which modern electoral campaigns are often based on. The results for the Province of Siena show that there is a large gap between local GDP and ISEW (about 37% of GDP). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Sustainable energy policy and tackling climate-change-related issues require exploring energy consumption patterns. This paper proposes an integrative methodological approach called grounded survey for understanding behavioral factors behind household energy consumption. The study aims to overcome the restrictions of both quantitative and qualitative studies by combining participatory-systems-mapping (PSM) based focus group research with a quantitative survey. Focus groups were used to highlight common patterns, which helped formulate survey questions specifically into understudied areas of energy-related behavior. The survey helped validate these qualitatively grounded questions, while generating generalizable quantitative results based on a representative sample. Finally, a comparative assessment contrasted the comprehensive qualitative analysis with the survey findings. Two causal loop diagrams of common patterns are employed to illustrate the methodological model. This integrative approach deepens understanding of behavioral factors behind energy consumption and provides policy recommendations to strengthen the relationship between heating-related behavior and heating costs. The grounded survey method can be utilized in studying wicked or paradox problems in which the relationship between behavioral and technical factors are complex and possibilities for intervention are limited. The application of the model is suggested in areas where development can only be achieved through behavioral change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Resilience is a hot topic within the international development agenda and Sustainable Development Goals. Nowadays, resilience plays a crucial role in improving the quality of life of vulnerable categories and is designed as a major strategy to face the diverse dimensions and dynamics of vulnerability. Energy results among the most relevant fields of applications of resilience policies, especially when it comes to electricity. As a multidimensional concept, energy resilience policies must relate to the dimensions of sustainability – here considered as the interplay between the economic, social, environmental and governance dimensions. Due to the complexity of the phenomenon, energy resilience can be effectively outlined making use of composite indicators techniques. This paper presents the following new results: i) energy resilience is defined and ranked, strengthening a composite indicator for both OECD and non-OECD countries; the determinants of energy resilience are investigated; ii) an innovation on the construction of the World Bank's Regulatory Indicators on Sustainable Energy is operated. Our exercise makes use of an approach based on interval data to assess the sensitivity of the measure from different specifications. For the same scope, the robustness of the ranks obtained is analyzed through an uncertainty analysis. These choices aim to enhance the soundness and the validity of the composite indicator. The methodology provides a more reliable baseline to validate the results and the conceptual assumptions undertaken. It is found that, according to the diverse theoretical frameworks and methodologies applied, some countries vary considerably both in the pillars that aggregate the variables and within the minima, the centers, and the maxima of the intervals. • Energy and resilience are compelling development policy, regulatory, and scientific quests. • Energy resilience is measured by an interval data composite indicator. • Interval data is a robust method for measuring energy resilience. • GDP is related to energy resilience. • Results vary with respect to linear methods in that they allow to better represent uncertainty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]