Search

The global economy faces increasing environmental challenges and economic instability, prompting the adoption of innovative energy technologies as a crucial strategy. This study addresses the urgent quest for sustainable development in South Africa, specifically by evaluating renewable energy solutions. This study utilizes a comprehensive literature analysis to examine the current state of renewable energy infrastructure, policy frameworks, technological advancements, and economic viability within the South African context. Synthesizing insights from the existing literature on the interplay between energy, economy, and technology, this study aims to provide a refined understanding of renewable energy solutions' feasibility and integration potential. The exploration of these solutions in South Africa identifies key opportunities, challenges, and implications for sustainable development. These findings offer valuable guidance for policymakers, researchers, and stakeholders in advancing a country's transition towards a sustainable energy future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy transformation in Poland, including the need to accelerate the shift away from hard coal and lignite in the power system, has been taking place in the face of the energy crisis. Ambitious climate and economic goals force the development of renewable energy sources, but they require legislative changes for the benefit of socially vulnerable consumers. This is important from the point of view of counteracting energy poverty. Energy transformation is not only a change in the fuel used, but most of all, the path and basis of low-carbon development that changes many socio-economic systems. The aim of this study is to link the development and environmental challenges in the studied subject matter with social challenges. The analyses show that it is necessary to strengthen the use of local energy potential and resources, and to activate local communities. The construction of nuclear power plants is also crucial. The results of the presented theoretical and empirical studies can be the basis for a revision of the energy policy in Poland in the area of the social dimension of the energy sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the environmental and economic consequences of coal, gasoline and other conventional energy sources have been widely discussed. Currently, Pakistan's energy output is highly dependent on these resources; as a consequence, the country is facing a severe energy crisis. The government spends more than $3.7 billion annually on fossil fuel imports, which has a significant impact on an already vulnerable economy. Moreover, the country is ranked as the seventh-most impacted region by climate change, making it critical for the government to take proactive measures. Renewable energy that is both economical and sustainable will become a realistic and viable choice for satisfying Pakistan's current and future energy demands. This article provides a detailed overview of Pakistan's long-standing energy scarcity concerns and discusses the country's current renewable energy challenges and opportunities. Additionally, Pakistan's efforts in the realm of renewable energy are compared to those of other Asian nations in order to understand how these countries are advancing renewable energy sources. Numerous statistics show that despite government initiatives, the amount of power generated from renewable sources falls short of the Indicative Generation Capacity Expansion Plan's (IGCEP's) 2025 and 2030 targets. Achieving these aspirational targets will require competent policies, incentives, technological expertise and substantial political and financial commitments. Hence, this article also advised policymakers and city municipalities on how to enhance energy infrastructure, knowledge and the capacity for overcoming future challenges. In contrast, the development of renewable energy in Pakistan has been an extremely successful endeavour, but an effective and efficient approach is necessary to leverage the benefits of rapid progress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Review of African Political Economy is the property of Review of Political Economy (ROAPE) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The European Union (EU) is a global leader in renewable energy, and it is working to maintain this position through setting high standards for itself as well as for its member states in this field. Among the goals set for 2030 in Directive (EU) 2018/2001 and changes published on 14 July 2021 is a 55% reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (compared to 20% in 2020). The targets for individual countries vary and depend on the current level of development of renewable energy. This article focuses on evaluation of these targets in the Visegrad Group (V4) countries (Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia). These are post-Communist countries that have undergone systemic transformations but still face challenges related to sustainable development in renewable energy. This article analyzes the 2030 goals and the prospects of their implementation. Evaluated criteria include greenhouse gas emissions, the share of renewable energy in energy consumption, energy consumption, energy efficiency, and energy intensity. The analyses in this article are based on a literature review, the current energy situation in each country, European climate and energy targets, comparative analyses, and our own forecasts. Our results show that V4 countries would need to revise their policies and funds allocated for green transformation, which, in turn, might change their projections of the EU climate package targets for 2030. These findings might be useful for the EU stakeholders and policymakers responsible for climate policies and implementing renewable energy targets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The new perspectives of the water–energy nexus, water-for-energy and energy-for-water, emphasize the current and future need to find ways to produce as much energy with as low an amount of water as possible and to obtain as much water with as little energy as possible. In order to promote and implement the concept of sustainable development, the understanding of the dynamic and complex relationship between water and energy is crucial, especially in the context of energy transition. This paper presents a comprehensive analysis of the recent approaches regarding water and energy and the interlink during implementation, operation and servicing of various water and energy production systems. This endeavor is placed in the context of current energy transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources. A qualitative and quantitative analysis is performed with various literature solutions from water-for-energy and energy-for-water perspectives for a broader view of the impact of implementing novel technologies in terms of resource use. Technological and managerial innovations are discussed and placed in a transdisciplinary context with a focus on establishing key approaches for achieving sustainable development goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable development (SD) can indicate the direction of the development of modern organizations' transition and transformation strategies in the energy sector. Currently, in most countries, the main challenge for the energy sector's strategies is to deal with energy security. The implementation of SD induces changes both in strategy and technology. The strategies are based on the technological transition toward renewable energy sources (RES). The aim of this paper is to explore business management literature dedicated to the transformation and transition strategies in the energy sector. The adopted methods are a systematic literature review (SLR) accompanied by a classical literature review (CLR) in Scopus database exploration. A literature review is developed in VOSviewer software and keyword co-occurrences analysis allowed to identify the main changes of direction in energy sector transformation strategies. The literature was explored by the 26 queries which resulted with 11 bibliometric maps. The analysis of the bibliometric maps was a challenge due to the cross-disciplinary strategic directions of development presented in indexed publications in the Scopus database. The identification of the changes in energy sector strategies is important because of its reliance on depleting resources and natural environment degradation. As a result of this paper, there is a visible shift of the trend in explored scientific publication from not only technological-based solutions but also towards managerial and organizational practices to achieve sustainability in the energy sector. This paper, besides the results, presents the theoretical contribution and managerial recommendations for business practices and addresses future research avenues. There are discussed implications of the presented analysis for further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Relying on traditional biomass for cooking has become less common in many regions worldwide, however, most of the Sub-Sahara African population lacks access to clean cooking and still uses charcoal and firewood for cooking. Thus, seeking sustainable development in Sub-Sahara Africa regions would be hindered due to the consequences connected with replying on traditional cooking which leads to greenhouse gas emissions and environmental degradation, and resulting in high death rates each year. This study explores the potential and challenges of energy transition and household cooking sustainability enhancement in Sub-Sahara African regions. The results show that innovative solutions related to the improved cookstoves and renewable energy sources are emerging to address these challenges and pave the way for a more sustainable future. However, there are various factors hindering the implementation of these innovations, including cultural factors, financial aspects, awareness, technical and logistical barriers and policy frameworks. This study also identifies a link between households cooking sustainability and the potential of achieving numerous Sustainable Development Goals. Furthermore, the study highlights some examples of sustainability interventions to enhance the widespread adoption of sustainable cooking practices in Sub-Sahara Africa, including financial, technical innovations, policy support and research and development. Therefore, this research provides valuable insights for policymakers, researchers, and practitioners seeking to promote households cooking sustainability and facilitate sustainable development progress in the region. • There is potential of household cooking sustainability in Sub Sahara Africa. • A framework of co-benefit of cooking sustainability on SDGs was introduced. • A challenge is limited access to clean fuels and Improved cookstove. • Enhancement of energy transition could be a way for household cooking sustainability. • Collaboration and investments are key solutions to energy transition in Sub Sahara Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the depletion of traditional energy sources, the rising costs of their operation and the need to transition to a sustainable economy, it becomes relevant to increase the share of renewable energy sources in total consumption. The purpose of this study is to determine the role of renewable energy and the establishment of factors determining pro-environmental behavior. The data of the author's sociological survey of the population of the Arctic regions of Russia and methods of descriptive statistics were used, and regression analysis was carried out. The study shows the ecological and energy characteristics of the Arctic regions of Russia. The main advantages and possibilities of transition to renewable energy sources have been identified. A relationship has been established between the degree of involvement in pro-environmental behavior and knowledge about renewable energy, the perceived importance of environmental problems, age, income, education, amount of waste produced and current electricity costs. It is shown that the degree of involvement in pro-environmental behavior affects the willingness to pay more for renewable energy. A number of institutional measures to promote renewable energy, increase willingness to pay for renewable energy and spread pro-environmental behavior are proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nunavik's residents experience significant social and environmental disruptions due to climate change. These disruptions add to the widespread changes that the Inuit have encountered over the last century--changes that have left this community totally dependent on fossil fuels for heat and power. Over time, Nunavik's residents have taken control of petroleum resources and their distribution, transforming this energy source into a major regional economic asset. Recently, there has been a transition towards renewable energy technologies (RETs) in Nunavik. However, are these alternative sources of energy appealing to local residents? This article explores the potential of RETs through the lens of procedural and substantive equity in the context of Inuit interests and integrated sustainability. Based on informal discussions with Inuit residents, interviews with stakeholders of the energy transition in Nunavik, and a literature analysis, this article presents two main results: (1) The level of substantive equity depends mainly on the type of RET and on idiosyncrasies between communities, and (2) local governance and procedural equity need to be asserted so that RETs can become true catalysts for equity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper tackles the process of energy transition from a transactional perspective. It addresses the governance of energy transition by studying its local actualizations, moving beyond purely technical and normative readings. The paper shows that through the local socio-technological energy systems, sustainability governance filters down to the level of individual, everyday behavior, thus questioning the link between public and private spaces, especially regarding the issue of housing. Going beyond the results commonly yielded by transition studies, which favor large-scale analysis, it details how the discourse of citizen involvement, which often boils down to a mere call to control one's individual energy consumption, conceals environmental inequalities, confirming the socioeconomic divide materialized in deprived areas such as public housing estates or remote rural areas. From a methodological standpoint, the analysis is based on four case studies in Northeast France, in more or less privileged areas, and in both urban and rural environments: the renovation of a heating network in the public housing estate of Cité de l'Ill, north of Strasbourg; the solar energy systems designed for property owners in Plobsheim, a residential suburb of Strasbourg; the energy-efficient equipment set up in a public housing estate in the city of Saint-Dié, in the Vosges; and citizen participation in a cooperative program to finance wind turbines in the small Alsacian city of Saâles, in a mountain rural area. The paper draws on the results of these sociological investigations, carried out using field observations, questionnaires and interviews. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A renewable-energy transition evokes the question 'Renewables? Yes, please!' or 'Renewables? No, thanks!' to people, communities and regions, because it initiates a physical and social transition to places and communities. Although 'community renewable energy' emerged as a grassroots-based innovation and is thus of increasing interest to the public and politicians, actual interwoven community benefits and challenges of renewable-energy projects are not well understood yet. Recent studies mainly consider potential community benefits and not experienced benefits and hardly address challenges which affected communities face. To address this research gap, we empirically investigated how people perceive community-based renewables and assess the change in the social fabric of communities, the so named 'community transition' resulting as outcome of local energy transition. We explored trade-offs between benefits and challenges by conducting a regional literature analysis, two sets of interviews in municipalities of North Frisia (Germany) and a household survey in one of them. Our results lead to two important insights: First, community renewables provide interwoven and offsetting physical, environmental, social, economic, planning and political benefits and challenges for communities. Second, a local participatory process and a fair distribution of revenues are essential for the success of community benefits, holding the potential for a sustainable development in rural areas. Thus, multifaceted and interlinked local benefits but also challenges of local energy transition need to be addressed more by developers and political decision-makers in order to enable and retain positive, sustainable outcomes of community renewable-energy projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the era of globalization and rapid economic growth, affecting most world economies, increased production and consumption are leading to higher levels of energy production and consumption. The growing demand for energy means that energy resources from conventional sources are not sufficient; moreover, its production generates high costs and contributes to the emission of greenhouse gases and waste. In view of the above, many countries have opted to implement an energy transformation. The energy transition allows the transition from an energy system based on conventional fuels to an energy system based mainly on renewable energy (RE) and low-emission sources. In the EU, the development of a "green economy" has become a strategic goal in the fight against climate change. The development of RE offers the possibility to improve the energy security of a given country and the entire EU. New, innovative technologies of RE also increase the attractiveness and competitiveness of the economies of the Member States. In line with the EU strategy, the activities carried out aim to achieve a situation in which, in 2050, the activities of economies will not endanger the environment. The main purpose of this article was the assessment of the RE sector in the Pomerania region in the context of energy transformation. To achieve this goal, PEST analysis regarding the functioning of the RE sector in the selected Polish region was used and the potential of the RE sector was determined using GIS tools on the basis of physical conditions. The article presents the research hypothesis that the RE sector within the Pomerania Voivodeship possesses appropriate energy potential, which will allow this Voivodeship to become an energy self-sufficient region based on the use of these energy sources (according to EU strategy). The implementation of the goal set in the article allowed for the verification of the research hypothesis, where the determined energy potential from the RE sector would cover the Voivodeship's needs due to the use of electricity and heat. The conducted research shows that the RE sector in these regions has high energy potential to meet the criteria outlined in EU legal documents and to implement them successfully within the intended period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]