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Energy sustainability constitutes an important goal for development, as declared at the global and the European levels. Some conditions decisive for energy performance, as suggested by the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis, may be specified by the sectoral structure of production, as industries vary in the intensity of energy consumption. Nevertheless, sustainability is not automatically induced along with economic development and it is important to identify its determinants. The aim of the study is to empirically verify whether the sectoral structure of an economy differentiates energy sustainability within 28 European Union member states (the EU-28). To fulfil the task, a static approach was adopted and such taxonomic methods as the Ward agglomeration method and linear ordering based on the Hellwig synthetic measure were used. The hypothesis concerning the essential role of structural features in energy achievements was verified by a one-way analysis of variance. Our results do not confirm the decisive role of economic structure in energy performance for the EU-28 states; however, they suggest some complex relationships. The interference between energy performance and sectoral structure mostly concerned primary and final energy consumptions and energy poverty, as well as the shares of agriculture, industry, traditional services and finance in total production. The findings reveal a need for further research into the potential interlinkages between different dimensions of sustainable development (SD).

The paper deals with the issue of living standards being perceived as a compound phenomenon with strong spatial prerequisites. It focuses on rural-urban divide in terms of overall living conditions allowing to meet human needs. The main aim of the study is to identify international differences across the European Union countries concerning living standards of inhabitants in rural areas relative to city dwellers in a dynamic manner. Situation in rural areas in relation to urban ones is focused on and identified in the period of 2010–2019 using international rankings. A taxonomic method based on the Hellwig approach has been used to fulfill the task, and an aggregate measure of the relative living standards in rural areas has been constructed. Two-dimensional attitude to living standards revealed some detailed patterns in development. It appears that in the EU, residents in rural areas are usually poorer, while they live in a more favourable environment. Moreover, the higher the general level of socioeconomic development of a country, the more favourable the relative living standards in rural areas are, especially concerning the income dimension. However, advanced economies more often face problems with the environmental conditions of living. Generally, a strong and growing heterogeneity within the EU countries concerning the relative living standards in rural areas has been identified as a huge challenge for a cohesion policy. • The standard of living in rural areas in the EU cannot be perceived as definitely lower than in the urban areas. • The income dimension appears to be less favourable for rural areas, contrary to the housing and environment dimension. • Heterogeneity within the EU in terms of spatial division in the line rural-urban areas grows with time. • The most favourable relative living standards in rural areas were noted in the highly developed EU economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study focuses on the empirical verification of the influence of rural specificity on energy poverty across European Union countries, in the period 2010–2020. The research aimed at specifying the role of the agricultural character of a country, as well as economic disparities between rural and urban areas, in inducing problems of energy affordability. Based on the literature consensus about the most important determinants of energy poverty, namely income, energy prices, energy productivity, quality of dwellings, and climate conditions, a standard model was constructed concerning the role of the rural character of an economy, with its traditional features such as agricultural employment, and indices of rural–urban divide, in terms of median income and material poverty. Models for panel data with fixed effects were estimated. The results indicate agricultural employment as a factor increasing the subjective energy poverty of households. However, the scale of rural settlement cannot be specified as a factor determining energy poverty, neither concerning energy consumption nor self-reported difficulties. This suggests that only the traditional agricultural character of rural areas negatively influences energy poverty. The processes of gentrification of rural areas observable in many EU countries changes the typical pattern of the identification of villagers with the most excluded group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy sustainability constitutes an important goal for development, as declared at the global and the European levels. Some conditions decisive for energy performance, as suggested by the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis, may be specified by the sectoral structure of production, as industries vary in the intensity of energy consumption. Nevertheless, sustainability is not automatically induced along with economic development and it is important to identify its determinants. The aim of the study is to empirically verify whether the sectoral structure of an economy differentiates energy sustainability within 28 European Union member states (the EU-28). To fulfil the task, a static approach was adopted and such taxonomic methods as the Ward agglomeration method and linear ordering based on the Hellwig synthetic measure were used. The hypothesis concerning the essential role of structural features in energy achievements was verified by a one-way analysis of variance. Our results do not confirm the decisive role of economic structure in energy performance for the EU-28 states; however, they suggest some complex relationships. The interference between energy performance and sectoral structure mostly concerned primary and final energy consumptions and energy poverty, as well as the shares of agriculture, industry, traditional services and finance in total production. The findings reveal a need for further research into the potential interlinkages between different dimensions of sustainable development (SD). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]