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To effectively mitigate climate change, it is crucial to better understand the reaction of fossil-fuel demand to price and tax changes, and more precisely to climate policy instruments such as a carbon levy. The Swiss CO2 levy on heating fuels was introduced in 2008 at CHF 12/tCO2eq, and was increased steadily up to CHF 84/tCO2eq during the period of 2016/2017. This paper investigated the effectiveness of the levy as an instrument to reduce heating fuel demand, and hence carbon emissions, of private real estate owners. The Swiss Household Budget Survey 2006–2017 constituted the main data source. Before–after and pseudo-panel regressions were used to capture the CO2 levy's effects, and a large set of household characteristics, as well as climatic conditions, were controlled for. No significant effects in the first two policy periods of 2008–2013 were found. Over the period of 2014–2017, a significant reduction in house owners' heating fuel demand of up to 14% with respect to 2006–2007 was detected. The effect was less significant and smaller in magnitude for flat owners. A significant CO2 levy semielasticity of heating fuel demand of −1.3% for house owners was further estimated. Hence, the results confirmed the effectiveness of the CO2 levy under the conditions that the levy was sufficiently high, as during the years of 2014–2017, and households directly paid the levy and were responsible for decisions concerning heating and insulation, as was the case for house owners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper evaluates how policy shaped the emergence of electric mobility in three countries, Norway, the Netherlands and Denmark, between 2010 and 2015. Whereas previous studies have looked at the effects of separate policy instruments, this paper gives insights in the interaction effects of instruments on the diffusion of battery electric cars between five policy areas. Based on analysis of synergetic, contradictory and pre-conditional effects, we find that an effective policy mix includes: fiscal incentives that mirror the actual carbon footprint of the respective vehicles; non-fiscal demand-side incentives; centrally financed and/or coordinated charging infrastructure; clarity regarding the choice of technology that will be supported. Moreover, development of a domestic, e-mobility-related industry and a high share of renewable energy strengthens the legitimization of e-mobility support. The findings help designing policy mixes in the transition to electric mobility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cement is the key ingredient in concrete, which is the most consumed resource on the planet after water. As an energy-intensive industry, cement production is one of the largest sources of greenhouse emissions in the world today. The demand for cement is synonymous with the growth in infrastructure demand and per-capita gross domestic product in the world, calling the need for mitigation measures within the industry in order to contribute to the global climate change efforts. System dynamics (SD) is a simulation approach that is used for studying the nonlinear behaviours in complex systems over time, often used in industrial domains for emission forecasts as well as policy experimentation. With the adoption rates of mitigation strategies in the cement industry being inadequate, there is a need for improvisation in policymaking through better decision-support tools. In this paper, a comparative overview of the studies that specifically utilise the SD approach for evaluation of carbon mitigation strategies in the cement industry is presented on the basis of their scope, model description, scenarios tested, and featured mitigation methods. Additionally, the potential for improvements in future studies is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes the use of decomposition analysis to assess the effect of local energy-related actions towards climate change mitigation, and thus improve policy evaluation and planning at the local level. The assessment of the impact of local actions has been a challenge, even from a strictly technical perspective. This happens because the total change observed is the result of multiple factors influencing local energy-related greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, many of them not even influenced by local authorities. A methodology was developed, based on a recently developed decomposition model, that disaggregates the total observed changes in the local energy system into multiple causes/effects (including local socio-economic evolution, technology evolution, higher-level governance frame and local actions). The proposed methodology, including the quantification of the specific effect associated with local actions, is demonstrated with the case study of the municipality of Malmö (Sweden) in the timeframe between 1990 and 2015. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on policy instrument theory and a case of low-carbon city development (Qihe County in Shandong), this study examined the policy instruments adopted for low-carbon city development in China and the effectiveness of these instruments. All the policies adopted by the piloted city from 2008 and 2014 were collected, coded, and analyzed. A two-dimensional analytical framework was developed based on a trichotomous policy instrument categorization and low-carbon city connotation. The results showed that the key goal of China's low-carbon city construction is to develop low-carbon technology and low-carbon energy. Compulsory policy instruments are the most used and most effective, while voluntary policy instruments are rarely used. Further results indicated that when the ratio of compulsory instruments and mixed instruments comes to 2:1, the combination of policy instruments can lead to the optimal completion degree. It seems difficult to balance the stability of various policy instruments with the overall high completion degree. Chinese local governments are more accustomed to compulsory policy instruments. This reminds policymakers to pay more attention to the potential of voluntary instruments and mixed instruments in building low-carbon cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to improve energy efficiency, the Croatian government introduced an individual metering obligation for all district heat network users. The purpose of the research was to evaluate this policy measure regarding its effects on tenants' behavior and energy savings, but also from the perspective of cost-effectiveness. The sample includes approximately 20% of all Croatian users of district heat energy. Energy savings related to the installation of heat cost allocators are calculated by comparing the specific heat energy consumption, corrected for the number of heating degree days, in periods before and after the installation of the heat cost allocators. The cost-effectiveness assessment is based on the concept of the net present value. The transition to individual metering in Croatia resulted in significant energy savings averaged from 20 to 35%. However, low heat energy prices in cities with a dominant share of heat energy consumption did not ensure a positive net present value of investment for all buildings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]