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Global Energy Transition and Sustainable Development Challenges, Vol. 1

Models and Regions

Editors: Tessaleno Devezas, João Leitão, Askar Sarygulov, David J. LePoire, Bulat Khusainov

Publisher: Springer Nature Switzerland

Book Series : World-Systems Evolution and Global Futures

Part of: Springer Professional "Business + Economics & Engineering + Technology" , Springer Professional "Engineering + Technology" , Springer Professional "Business + Economics"

Table of Contents

About this book

This two-volume book presents the challenges of the global energy transition, offering a comprehensive exploration of the policies and drivers shaping the pace and trajectory of this transformation. Highlighting regional development, the book shows how different models and scenarios of energy transition emerge. It discusses important factors, such as materials and technologies, shedding light on the opportunities and constraints for the energy transition.

Global warming and climate change influenced the change in people’s consciousness and their awareness of the need for more limited use of hydrocarbon resources. Changes in weather conditions, rising sea levels, and destructive climate events such as hurricanes, forest fires, droughts, floods, etc. have become more frequent. Many countries around the world, reacting to these changes, have developed long-term plans to actively replace fossil fuels - gas, oil, and coal with renewable energy sources, mainly solar and wind. However, the low replacement rates observed in the global energy sector over the past 30 years raise the question of how far the decarbonization scenarios and models being implemented by many countries bring us closer to the ultimate goal of creating an economy with a low carbon footprint.

Seeking answers, the volumes feature 22 chapters split across the two books, which in detail discuss various aspects of the energy transition and their impact on the sustainability of economic development and the future of energy. This first volume, "Models and Regions," focuses on regional disparities and economic drivers, presenting case studies from different regions in 10 chapters.

Frontmatter

Chapter 1. The Greening of the Global South? Analysing World Values Survey and European Values Survey Data on Environmental Movements in 88 Countries and Territories from 2017 to 2021

Abstract

This study focuses on the analysis of public opinion survey data on trust in and participation in environmental movements from the World Values Survey and the European Values Survey, covering 88 countries and territories from 2017 onwards. Are we witnessing a greening of the Global South? Most of the existing, highly influential studies on this topic are based on earlier waves of the World Values Survey and the European Values Survey, with only a limited number of countries from the Global South covered in the surveys.

Our various steps of multivariate analysis seem to suggest that, in today’s world, it is rather the Global South that is “greening” and where environmental movements enjoy the highest levels of participation and confidence. We can also show that, holding human development indices constant, this greening of the Global South has overall positive effects on the socio-economic development of the countries concerned.

Arno Tausch

Chapter 2. Creative Regulatory Environments: Sandboxes at the Intersection of Regulation and Innovation in an Era of Transition

Abstract

Although there is an ever-increasing demand for innovation (disruption, entrepreneurship, etc.) and regulation (product compliance, economic security), we currently are only starting to understand the conditions for simultaneously stimulating operator and regulator creativity in times of emergent technologies. This work addresses a significant gap in the literature by considering the factors that encourage new knowledge by commercial actors while fostering supervision sophistication. We argue that regulatory sandboxes are place-based institutional devices that allow for pre-adaptive congruence of future technology-rules complexes. We draw from examples from the telecommunications and energy sectors.

Sandro Mendonça

Chapter 3. Examining the Behaviour of the Kuznets Curve Under Economic Policy Uncertainty Conditions Using the Stochastic Frontier Analysis: Evidence from 11 Selected Countries

Abstract

This work aims to investigate and validate the Kuznets relationship between carbon dioxide emissions and economic drivers. More specifically, it considers Gross Domestic Product per capita, Transparency Corruption, Revenues from Natural Resources and Renewable Consumption under Economic Policy Uncertainty conditions for 11 countries in two groups, namely the G7 and BRIC, from 1997 to 2020. A stochastic frontier analysis was conducted to validate a functional translog for the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC), considering time-varying and time-invariant models. The results of the stochastic frontier show that for the EKC, the Inverted U Shape form is valid for the relationship between total resource rents and CO₂ emissions per capita, and the relationship between EPU (uncertain economic policy) and CO₂ emissions per capita, according to the results of the one frontier varying model. Regarding the influence of renewable energy consumption on CO₂ emissions per capita, the Inverted U Shape form is validated according to the results of both of the two time-varying boundary models. Alternating with the U-shaped form, the relationship between the Corruption Index and the per capita CO₂ emissions is validated according to both of the two time-varying models.

V. Moutinho, J. Leitão, B. Henriques

Chapter 4. Carbon Intensity of Products Under the EU CBAM: Assessment of Russia’s Competitiveness Based on Inter-Country Analysis

Abstract

The implementation of the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) expands the concept of competitiveness of products in cross-country trade by adding a carbon footprint metric. An assessment of the carbon intensity of products, to which the CBAM will act (hereinafter CBAM products), is possible on the basis of IEA data and national inventories of anthropogenic emissions. The analysis shows that most Russian goods are characterized by a carbon footprint that is not higher than the weighted average level on the market. The only exceptions are building materials: cement, lime, glass. However, Russia’s export of these products to the EU is negligible. Thus, Russia has a worthy position in foreign markets, and the use of only CBAM does not affect the economic attractiveness of Russian goods in the EU.

Andrey Yu. Kolpakov, Timur Z. Maimekov

Chapter 5. Inclusive Growth of National Economies and New Energy Paradigm

Abstract

The aim of the study is to assess and analyze the impact of energy consumption on the inclusive growth of European and Asia-Pacific economies in the context of the new paradigm of energy transition. The novelty of the study consists, firstly, in quantifying the inclusive growth of 55 economies over a 20-year retrospective period. Secondly, it is one of the first studies to assess the impact of consumption of different types of energy resources, reflecting the challenges of the energy transition, on the inclusive growth of the economies of Europe, Central Asia, and Asia-Pacific. The methodology for constructing the inclusive growth index is based on the principal component method, and the assessment of causal relationships between it and energy consumption indicators is based on three econometric models using panel data. Results (a) the main hypothesis of the study on the impact of energy consumption on the inclusive growth of national economies is quantitatively confirmed; (b) the multidirectional impact of six types of energy resources on the inclusive growth of the economies of Europe, Central Asia and Asia-Pacific countries is revealed. Conclusions on the prospects of implementation of the new energy paradigm in the countries of these regions are presented.

Bulat Khusainov, Asset Nussupov, Sholpan Kaimoldina, Baurzhan Temirbayev

Chapter 6. Solutions to the Problems of Transition to Green Energy in Kazakhstan

Abstract

Renewable energy sources such as wind farms and solar panels are technological solutions aimed at mitigating the greenhouse effect caused by modern industry including the coal industry. Coal energy brings about significant environmental damage by occupying vast areas of agricultural land for waste dumps and ash landfills. Opponents of renewable energy sources consider the use of installations working on wind and solar energy to be unacceptable due to a number of reasons: the variability of wind and solar energy; the use of very rare and expensive metals; the impossibility to recycle used blades of wind turbines and photocells of solar panels; the unreasonably high energy consumption at the production of these installations and higher cost of the generated energy compared to traditional energy sources. The chapter shows that there are solutions to all of these problems through the use of more complex energy generation technologies, including those in the coal industry.

Nickolay Buktukov, Yevgeniy Gumennikov, Gulnaz Moldabayeva

Chapter 7. How Natural Resources, Corruption, Globalization, and CO2 Emissions Affect the Economic Growth in Europe?

Abstract

This study investigates the impact of economic, political, social, and environmental variables on economic growth in the Member States of the European Union. A study was carried out based on scoreboard data for the 27 Member States of the European Union from 1995 to 2019, using Panel-Corrected Standard Errors in the first phase and DOLS (Dynamic Ordinary Least Squares), FMOLS (Fully Modified Ordinary Least Squares), PMG (Pooled Mean Group), and DFE (Dynamic Fixed Effect) estimators in the second phase. The static analysis results show that for all coefficients associated with the selected drivers for economic growth, significant statistical evidence is observed. Moreover, according to the results in the second phase, the long-term results of the estimators show that the variables CO₂ emissions and the corruption perception index positively influence the economic growth of different countries. In contrast, the variables Total Incomes of Natural Resources and Jure Political Globalization Index negatively influence it. In the short term, in the DFE estimator, the only variable that negatively influences the economic growth of different countries is Total Natural Resource Rents and referring to the FMOLS and DOLS estimators, the only variable that negatively influences economic growth is the Jure Political Globalization Index.

Victor Moutinho, Henrique Espinosa Oliveira, Helena Santos Oliveira, Filipa Vasco Vaz

Chapter 8. The Problem of Regional Energy Scarcity in Europe

Abstract

Global energy resources are characterized by substantial spatial heterogeneity across continents, countries and regions. Even in globalized world geographic approach to modelling was important, for example, for natural gas. The failure of globalization and coming regionalization put a pressure for some regions, Europe, in particular. It needs ambitious fast transition to green energy. But even here we observe internal regional heterogeneity related to possibilities in regional production of water, solar and wind energy. Stochastic supply calls for building powerful HV network to balance regional demand with supply, and this requires higher integration inside EU. This chapter discusses this issue from theoretical perspective of energy security after green transition, taking into account both physical and economic issues. The influence of geopolitics on natural gas scarcity is also discussed.

Yuri Yegorov

Chapter 9. Policy, Market, and Skills Barriers to Heat Pump Deployment in the United Kingdom

Abstract

UK domestic heat decarbonisation strategy is undergoing rapid policy change. The lag in energy efficiency performance improvements in domestic hot water and space heating—when compared to the electricity sector—is a key barrier to achieving national net zero policy targets. This chapter outlines the key issues raised in domestic space heating and hot water decarbonisation in the UK, with a specific focus on the uptake of air and ground-source heat pumps—a major component of government strategy for future homes. The key policy, market, and skills barriers to the rapid uptake of heat pumps are assessed, including issues of retrofitting older housing stock, encouraging market uptake of subsidised technologies, and retraining fossil-fuel intensive hot water and heating systems professionals to encourage consumer confidence. The key policy recommendations from this analysis are to reframe heat policy through a more holistic approach to both “supply push” and “demand pull” in the heat pump market—not only ensuring new building standards, but improving funding for skills, quality control and compliance in the sector to reduce costs, speed up market growth, improve consumer confidence, and ensure a “just transition” in the heating sector.

M. Cotton

Chapter 10. Paving the Way for Sustainable Development in Small Island Developing States: Insights from Cabo Verde’s Energy Transitions

Abstract

This chapter examines the outlook for energy transitions in Cape Verde, a small island developing state located in the Atlantic Ocean, off the western coast of Africa. It explores diverse dimensions, including energy profiles, national policies, institutional frameworks, and emerging challenges and opportunities. The primary research question we pose is: what challenges does Cape Verde face in its energy transitions, and how can these energy transitions foster overall socioeconomic development? Additionally, the chapter discusses the role of international cooperation. It draws on various sources, including scientific and gray literature, and official national documents, such as development plans and reports. By highlighting the challenges of national transitions in the context of Cape Verde, this chapter contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of energy transitions and sustainable development in small island developing states.

João Simões

Title: Global Energy Transition and Sustainable Development Challenges, Vol. 1
Editors: Tessaleno Devezas
João Leitão
Askar Sarygulov
David J. LePoire
Bulat Khusainov
Publisher: Springer Nature Switzerland
Electronic ISBN: 978-3-031-67583-6
Print ISBN: 978-3-031-67582-9
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-67583-6