Search

Green hydrogen potential as a clean energy carrier presents promising prospects in the fight against climate change. The most efficient method of producing decarbonized hydrogen is through electrolysis, which involves splitting water molecules using renewable sources of electricity. Morocco boasts various advantages that enable it to play a pivotal role in bringing this vision to fruition. Lately, the nation has devised an ambitious strategy for green hydrogen and implemented significant changes related to industry and water resource management. This document presents a thorough examination of Morocco's energy sector, with a special focus on the substantial hurdles that must be surmounted to establish an economy centered on green hydrogen, with the capacity to generate employment opportunities and achieve carbon neutrality. Numerous impediments require cooperation with Europe and other international allies to establish a green hydrogen industry in Morocco. These challenges encompass bolstering the competitiveness of green hydrogen, scaling up production, and cultivating the requisite expertise. • Morocco is identified as one of the countries with the highest potential for green hydrogen export. • Green hydrogen roadmap for Morocco is presented and analyzed. • Technological, economical, environmental and societal challenges for green hydrogen development in Morocco are outlined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research explores the role of green resource productivity, renewable energy, economic globalization, and economic growth towards advancing the pursuits of decarbonization in top energy transition economies. This study achieves this objective by adopting both asymmetric and symmetric econometric methods for the period between 1990 and 2021. This study adopted the Method of Moments Quantile Regression (MMQR) to uncover the asymmetric effect of the regressors on carbon emissions. The MMQR results suggest that in all quantiles, green resource productivity, renewable energy, and economic globalization mitigate CO2 emissions, while economic growth induces CO2 emissions. Additionally, for the robustness analysis, we disaggregated economic globalization into trade and financial globalization and investigated their roles towards achieving decarbonization. We uncovered that financial globalization mitigates CO2 emissions at all quantiles, but at the lower and middle quantiles, trade globalization mitigates CO2 emissions. Moreover, for the symmetric estimation, the following estimators: Fixed effect Ordinary Least Square, Fully Modified Ordinary Least Square, and Dynamic Ordinary Least Square estimators were employed in this study. Their outcome corroborated the findings of this MMQR. For the Granger causality inference, the outcome suggests that there is a bi-directional causality between renewable energy and CO2 emissions. Furthermore, we find a feedback causality association between financial globalization and CO2 emissions, and a one-way causal interconnection is detected from CO2 emissions to trade globalization. Moreover, we detected that there is a causal association flowing from economic globalization to CO2 emissions. Finally, an unidirectional causal interaction is detected from economic growth to CO2 emissions. Consequently, the research's findings provide applicable policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nigeria, at the 2021 Conference of Parties (COP26) meeting in Glasgow announced a commitment to transitioning her carbon economy to reach net-zero by 2060. One year after, the country's drive for carbon neutrality is shrouded with uncertainties despite numerous policies targeted at it. This study employed the Multilevel Perspective (MLP) and PESTLE (Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal, Environmental) analytical framework to assess the politics of low-carbon transition in Nigeria. We used a triangulation of literature review, document analysis, and survey to build the theoretical, historical, and empirical bases for the enquiry. The findings show that the current low-carbon transition process is characterised by few potential drivers and many barriers with critical uncertainty effects. The key drivers are: Nigeria's potentials for carbon sink/nature-based solutions; vast renewable energy resources; strong niche market demand; and huge opportunities for employment in the renewable energy sector. The major barriers are: poor management of the energy regime; weak infrastructural base; dependence on global climate fund; fossil fuel-based economy; cost of renewable energy options; and impacts of climate change, among others. The barriers with critical impacts outweigh the potential drivers at the ratio of 4:1 thereby playing greater role in characterizing Nigeria's transition pathway as the 'reconfiguration transition pathway' within the 'emergent transformation context.' Therefore, unless the identified regime barriers are eliminated, the current transition pathway may not deliver the low-carbon targets. Considering the huge mitigation potentials of Nigeria's vast forests and natural ecosystem for carbon sink, the study recommends investment in nature-based solutions in synergy with energy system management as the most convenient and cost-effective pathway to attaining carbon neutrality by 2060. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Guangxi is a typical developing region on the southern coast of China. The current issues encountered in the region's development are that fossil energy accounts for about 80% of the energy structure, fossil fuels are heavily dependent on imports, and the self-sufficiency rate of resources is only 32%. These challenges have created a disparity between the current regional development state and the country's dual carbon target. Under the premise of comprehensively considering the multi-sectors of electricity, industry, transportation, and heating, this paper presents a study on the energy system transition towards low-carbon development for Guangxi in four steps. Firstly, to demonstrate EnergyPLAN's capability in energy modeling, a reference scenario for Guangxi is created using official yearbook data from 2020. Then, a short-term scenario is formulated to analyze the development of Guangxi's energy system during the 14th Five-Year Plan. Furthermore, two mid-term scenarios are established, revealing that Guangxi is anticipated to reach its carbon emission peak between 2025 and 2030. Finally, three long-term scenarios are proposed for Guangxi's energy system for 2050. These scenarios encompass the expansion of photovoltaics, nuclear, and wind power in the electricity system and emission reduction policies in the industrial, transportation, and heating sectors. As a result, compared with the 2020REF scenario, Guangxi can achieve a carbon emission reduction exceeding 57% and the share of non-fossil energy consumption can reach about 70% in the 2050 scenarios, despite a substantial increase in energy consumption, which makes it possible to achieve carbon neutrality in 2060 and to establish an energy system with less than 20% of fossil energy consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Successful energy transitions, also referred to as leapfrog development, present enormous prospects for EU nations to become carbon neutral by shifting from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources. Along with climate change, EU countries must address energy security and dependency issues, exacerbated by factors such as the COVID-19 pandemic, rising energy costs, conflicts between Russia and Ukraine, and political instability. Diversifying energy sources, generating renewable energy, increasing energy efficiency, preventing energy waste, and educating the public about environmental issues are proposed as several strategies. The study draws the conclusion that central European countries may transition to a clean energy economy and become carbon neutral on economic and strategic levels by locating alternative clean energy supply sources, reducing energy use, and producing renewable energy. According to the study, the EU energy industry can be decarbonised and attain energy security using three basic strategies, such as supply diversification, energy savings, and quicker adoption of renewable energy to replace fossil fuels. The energy transformation industry still needs to improve energy efficiency, incorporate a circular and sustainable bioeconomy, and support renewable energies, including solar, wind, hydropower, nuclear, and hydrogen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ensuring that electricity systems maintain reliable power supplies is critical to sustaining political support for the low-carbon energy transition. Therefore, it is crucial to analyze the recent electricity disruptions in China and evaluate the government's response. Since 2020, China has faced three unprecedented power outage affecting multiple provinces for weeks. This study investigates the interplay of various factors contributing to China's power crisis and examines the government's policies aimed at addressing immediate issues while advancing broader reforms. Key policy measures involve adjusting the electricity market to allow greater price fluctuations for coal-fired electricity and opening the wholesale market to industrial and commercial users. While this reform is expected to boost market competitiveness, the present market structure falls short of what is likely needed to ensure that power sector dispatch, pricing, and investment can work together to ensure reliable electricity supply in the context of China's transition towards carbon neutrality. To create an advanced, resilient, and flexible renewable energy grid, more intricate reforms across the electricity system, market, regulatory framework, and institutions will be essential. [Display omitted] • Power reliability is critical to keeping political support for energy transition. • A combination of factors led to power curtailments in China in recent times. • Policy responses to address China's power crisis are examined. • Implications of these policy changes are assessed. • An integrated solution framework is recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Common research interests between geography and energy studies represent an opportunity for carrying out an in-depth examination for understanding the relationship between different trajectories of energy transition and the geographical conditions from which they emerge. By Considering Costa Rica as an empirical case study and applying theories shared between the fields of economic geography and neo-institutional theories, this research analyzes the development of Costa Rica's energy matrix by identifying three forms of path dependence mechanisms: technological lock-in; positive externalities; and institutional hysteresis. With an electricity sector almost 100% renewable and national commitments of achieving carbon neutrality, this article sheds light towards understanding a pathway that is difficult to reverse despite the issues surrounding the exploitation of conventional sources. It offers a practical example of applying economic geography theory from an evolutionary perspective in order to achieve an interpretation of Costa Rica's energy progression and serve as a basis for decision-making processes required to guarantee future sustainability of the energy sector in a scenario in which climate change is a serious issue compromising the current hydroelectricity pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Renewable energy policies are necessary for achieving carbon neutrality which is the main goal for climate change mitigation. The cities in the Helsinki Metropolitan area have committed themselves to significantly reducing carbon emissions through various climate measures including some measures for renewable energy utilization. We use multilevel perspective (MLP) and renewable energy frameworks to examine the role of renewable energy policies to carbon neutrality in the Helsinki Metropolitan area and base our analysis on various policy documents and semi-structured interviews. Our findings show that current renewable energy policies in the Helsinki Metropolitan area are weak and many challenges exist. Nevertheless, many options are available for improving existing policies. The cities have many opportunities to adopt various energy policy measures, including small-scale renewable energy production in building premises, renewable energy integration to district heating, demand-side solutions for energy utilization, and increasing budgets and subsidies to renewable energy production and enhancement of the social acceptance of renewable energy. Such additional policies are needed to reach carbon neutrality in the Helsinki Metropolitan area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Novel data-driven platform to predict and evaluate energy transition policies. • Quantitatively evaluate impacts of energy transition policies. • Make effective forecasting and timely adjustment in energy policies. • Powerfulness of platform is demonstrated in representative metropolitan regions. • Adjustment recommendations for different stakeholders in energy industry. To meet widely recognised carbon neutrality targets, over the last decade metropolitan regions around the world have implemented policies to promote the generation and use of sustainable energy. Nevertheless, there is an availability gap in formulating and evaluating these policies in a timely manner, since sustainable energy capacity and generation are dynamically determined by various factors along dimensions based on local economic prosperity and societal green ambitions. We develop a novel data-driven platform to predict and evaluate energy transition policies by applying an artificial neural network and a technology diffusion model. Using Singapore, London, and California as case studies of metropolitan regions at distinctive stages of energy transition, we show that in addition to forecasting renewable energy generation and capacity, the platform is particularly powerful in formulating future policy scenarios. We recommend global application of the proposed methodology to future sustainable energy transition in smart regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since energy-related carbon dioxide emissions represent two-thirds of all greenhouse gases, a transition towards cleaner and renewable energy is imperative. Moreover, the carbon neutrality targets set by countries hinge upon increased uptake of renewable energy and storage. Some of these energy transition (ET) interventions are highly mineral intensive and depend upon critical minerals (CM), which are scarce and face supply challenges. However, what is meant by 'critical' is not uniform and static. The interface between ET and minerals is still an emerging area in policy studies literature. This paper presents a systematic and comprehensive review of 68 studies from a policy perspective studying the critical minerals – ET nexus. Most literature has approached the issue from the perspective of economics or geopolitics, followed by a broad governance approach. Very little attention has been given to legal and institutional aspects and justice in particular. The review suggests that the main challenges associated with the subject relate to the criticality of minerals, raw material security, trade and geopolitics, circular economy strategies, environmental and social impacts, and energy justice. • In-depth review on critical minerals-energy transition relationship from a policy perspective. • Discussion on key issues & challenges around minerals - energy transition interface. • Highlights the need for more research on legal & institutional issues on the subject. • Discussion on complexities in defining 'criticality'. • A review of 68 policy studies on parameters such as geography, intervention, theme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Full decarbonization strategies to achieve a carbon neutrality by 2050. • Microalgae-based hydrogen technologies have high potentials as a renewable energy. • Large-scale hydrogen production is achievable by improving current technologies. • Recent perspectives, future challenges, and key technologies of biohydrogen. The ever-increasing quantity of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere can be attributed to the rapid increase in the world population as well as the expansion of globalization. Hence, achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 stands as a challenging task to accomplish. Global industrialization had necessitated the need to enhance the current production systems to reduce greenhouse gases emission, whilst promoting the capture of carbon dioxide from atmosphere. Hydrogen is often touted as the fuel of future via substituting fossil-based fuels. In this regard, renewable hydrogen happens to be a niche sector of novel technologies in achieving carbon neutrality. Microalgae-based biohydrogen technologies could be a sustainable and economical approach to produce hydrogen from a renewable source, while simultaneously promoting the absorption of carbon dioxide. This review highlights the current perspectives of biohydrogen production as an alternate source of energy. In addition, future challenges associated with biohydrogen production at large-scale application, storage and transportation are included. Key technologies in producing biohydrogen are finally described in building a carbon–neutral future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • H 2 , above all the green H 2 , will play a key role in the future energy transition. • Many countries are adopting hydrogen policies towards the net-zero GHG. • Storage and distribution are key enabling technologies for widespread H 2 deployment. • Hydrogen deployment in a real CCGT proves a remarkable reduction of CO 2 emissions. • H 2 leads to carbon footprint reduction in Power to Gas and Gas to Electricity fields. Hydrogen is gaining momentum in the current global energy transition framework. In fact a great and widespread enthusiasm is growing up towards it, as indicated by the current worldwide economic and political strategies, which endorse the carbon neutrality by 2030 and a fast transition to clean energy. Green hydrogen has the potential to create a virtuous cycle for the future renewables-based electricity grids, as it can provide the much-needed flexibility to power systems, acting as a buffer to non-dispatchable renewable generation. Indeed, the excess energy, provided by conventional and renewable power plants, can be stored as hydrogen and then employed to produce electricity (fuel cells or power systems), heat (combustion) or both (co-generation), abating drastically the greenhouse gas production. In this scenario, it is important to understand what benefits could derive from the use of hydrogen. For this reason, the present work not only aims at reviewing the recent updates on hydrogen economy (in terms of the main advantages and drawbacks) but also focuses on determining the impact that this hydrogen may have in various sectors (transport, industry and power generation). Different assessments have been carried out showing how hydrogen can effectively contribute to the carbon neutrality goal. This work points out that hydrogen can be really sustainable if produced via electrolysis powered by renewable energies. Furthermore, for the mobility, the use of fuel cells currently turns out to be less efficient than the adoption of Li-ion batteries, but at the same time far less polluting ( CO 2 , eq ) and labor intensive. Finally, a near-term solution to contrast the power generation carbon footprint, namely the blending of fossil fuels with hydrogen, has been investigated. Thus, a real Combined Cycle Gas Turbine power plant has been selected as a case study, in order to assess the impact of the hydrogen employment in terms of power output and emissions with respect to the current status of the plant fueled with 100% natural gas. As a result, using a mixture with 70% CH 4 and 30% H 2 a remarkable reduction of CO 2 can be achieved (0.28 Mt CO 2 / year). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to achieve the goal of a carbon neutral EU by 2050 and meet the climate targets of the Paris Agreement, a sustainable, efficient, competitive and secure energy system needs to be developed. This paper presents the synthesis of sustainable renewable energy supply networks within the EU-27, proposing a stepwise energy transition in the transport and power sectors, achieving a carbon net neutral target by 2050. A multi-period mixed-integer programming model is developed, with the objective of maximizing sustainability net present value, considering different biomass and waste resources for the production of biofuels, renewable electricity, hydrogen, food and bioproducts, employing different types of technologies. The results show that, with further development of existing technologies, the goal of a carbon-neutral EU can be achieved without compromising food production. Wind farms have proven to be the most promising solution at present for the rapid expansion of electricity generation from renewable energy sources, while the importance of solar photovoltaics is increasing over the years, reaching the 43% share of electricity generation from RES in 2050. Moreover, the energy transition within the EU could have a significant positive impact on the economic, environmental and also social aspects of sustainability, with more than 1.5 million new job opportunities created across the EU over the next 30 years. [Display omitted] • Mathematical programming approach for the transition to carbon-neutral EU by 2050. • Critical review of technologies and synthesis of renewable energy supply networks. • Sustainable multi-period selection of locations, products and types of technologies. • Large economic, eco and social benefits if optimization is carried out at EU level. • Carbon-neutral EU can be achieved through further development of technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]