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

Public acceptance of sustainable energy innovations and policies is of crucial importance in enabling the transition to decarbonized energy systems necessary to meet the key climate targets of the Paris Agreement. This is particularly important in the context of the European Union, which is the third largest energy-related greenhouse gas emitter in the world. However, achieving acceptance is complex and requires improved understanding of the underlying conditions that are likely to motivate it. To contribute to this understanding and overcome common shortcomings in the literature, this paper presents a multidimensional and cross-national framework for the factors that have the potential to motivate both dimensions of acceptance, namely adoption and support. The innovations of interest are numerous and include electric vehicles, residential solar panels, energy-efficient home insulation, environmental taxes and incentives. The paper employs multilevel regression analysis and combines individual and contextual data from all the European Union nations to demonstrate the significance of various types of predictors in motivating acceptance. It is found that citizens' personal capabilities and attitudes towards life satisfaction, climate change and the environment influence both dimensions of acceptance. Attitudes towards broader socio-political dimensions such as representation, equity and transparency primarily influence support, whereas national environmental and energy policy indicators primarily influence adoption. Overall, this paper provides evidence suggesting governments should simultaneously address both dimensions of acceptance, through a combination of different means: enhancing support through strategies that target attitudes and preferences, and market-based environmental policies that promote adoption at the household level. • A comprehensive framework to explore citizen adoption and support of energy innovations • Both technological and economic innovations are investigated • Combining individual and contextual data from all the European Union nations • Market-based policies and citizen attitudes to climate change affect technology adoption • Attitudes to socio-political dimensions affect support for renewables and environmental taxes [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Limiting the negative effects of human-induced global warming is the focus of climate policy worldwide. In the European Union (EU), the target for reaching carbon neutrality is set to 2050, including a proposed renewable energy target of 45% for 2030. In Finland, the government has pledged to reach net-zero emissions already by 2035, which is expected to require large increases in wind and nuclear capacity, as well as sector coupling with, e.g., transport and heating. In view of these plans, this study evaluates the feasibility of attaining carbon neutrality in Finland by 2035, while considering delays from potential bottlenecks, such as limited raw material availability, fuel availability, manufacturing capacity, and import reliance. The literature review highlights the considerable dependence of renewable technologies on critical raw materials and other minerals, largely imported from non-EU countries. Modelling revealed how increased biomass usage considerably reduces the size of national carbon sinks, vital for reaching net-zero emissions in Finland in the coming decade. In light of this, current climate strategy was shown to be partially outdated and short of reaching carbon neutrality by 2035, already without including potential delays from the analyzed bottlenecks. Subsequently, alternative measures to improve sustainability and reduce emissions are presented. The findings of this paper are also relevant for other countries aiming to reach net-zero emissions, especially for those which have climate strategies emphasizing bioenergy and wind power. [Display omitted] • Raw material and manufacturing bottlenecks can delay renewable implementation. • Maintaining carbon sinks critical for climate neutral Finland in 2035. • Limits to biomass usage are needed, but result in adverse industrial impacts. • Further nuclear capacity needed for 2035 climate target and electricity sufficiency. • Finland will rely on electricity imports in 2035, despite plans to become exporter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]