Environmental indicators for the assessment of quality of life

This paper deals with quality of life in terms of the environment and develops a system of indicators to assess this. An improvement in quality of life is the main aim of sustainable development and is evaluated by applying various factors and indicators. The environmental dimension is one of the major influences on quality of life, and this can be assessed by applying the following groups of indicators: environmental quality, environmentally responsible behaviour and consumption of environmental services. These groups are related because responsible behaviour has a positive impact on environmental quality and leads to greater consumption of services provided by the environment. This paper presents the concept of assessing the environmental dimension in quality-of-life measurements and the main associated indicators. These dynamics were investigated and compared in Lithuania and other EU member states, with policy recommendations developed

Externalities of Power Generation in Visegrad Countries and Their Integration through Support of Renewables

Moving to 100% renewables scenario in EU requires huge support to renewable energy technologies, however this support needs to integrate positive externalities of renewables, therefore it is important to analyse dynamics of external costs of electricity generation in Visegrad countries and to compare them with support allocated to renewable energy sources in these countries. Therefore, the paper aims to compare the Visegrad countries in terms of reduction of external electricity generation costs due to increased share of renewables in electricity generation and the government support provided for renewables. ExternE methodology and CASES database is applied in this research. The results of study provide guidance for policy makers with regards to promotion of RES for achieving low-carbon energy transition by 2050

Ranking of Baltic States on Progress Towards the Main Energy Security Goals of European Energy Union Strategy

The article is aimed to assess Baltic States in terms of achieved progress towards the goals of European energy union strategy. MCDM tools were applied for ranking Baltic States by applying the most important criteria formed on the basis of the goals of European energy union strategy. The discussion of policies to achieve these goals was performed for Baltic States based on energy policy analysis and National Energy and Climate plans (NAECP) submitted by countries to European Commission. Policy recommendations were developed based on analysis and assessments provided for Baltic States

Assessment of energy technologies in electricity and transport sectors based on carbon intensity and costs

The aim of the paper is to address the EU policy for achieving low carbon economy by assessing energy technologies in electricity and road transport sector based on costs and impact on climate change and to indicate the most competitive electricity and transport technologies taking into account EU policy targets in GHG emission reduction, utilization of renewable and energy efficiency improvements. The main tasks of the paper are: to develop the multi-criteria framework for comparative assessment of energy technologies by applying MCDM methods for the electricity generation and transport technologies assessment. The interval TOPSIS method is employed in order to tackle the uncertain criteria. The assessment framework allows the comparison of electricity generation technologies and road transport technologies in terms of their GHG emission reduction and economic impacts and facilitates decision making process in energy sector seeking to implement EU energy policies. The main indicators selected for technologies assessment are: private costs and life cycle GHG emissions. The ranking of energy technologies based on private costs and GHG emissions allowed prioritizing these technologies taking into account the lowest GHG emission reduction costs

Natural and Built Environments and Quality of Life in EU Member States

The natural and built environment are very important for quality of life. The housing indicators are suitable to address the main issue of built environment. The indicators for assessment of natural environment reflecting the quality of life can be assessed by applying the following groups of indicators: environmental quality, environmentally responsible behavior and consumption of environmental services. The paper presents the concept of evaluation of natural and built environment in overall quality of life assessment and presents trends of the main indicators relevant to these dimensions of quality of life in EU member states

Lithuanian Cultural Policy: Challenges and Achievements

Th e aim of this paper is to review Lithuanian cultural policy system and achieve-ment in its improvement. Th e main tasks to achieve this aim are: to give brief overview of Lithuanian cultural policy and its major developments; to compare Lithuanian cultural indicators with other EU member states; to develop policy recommendations based on analysis conducted. Studies show that adults’ culture consumption habits are influenced by the frequency and the earliness of encounter with culture and whether they are taught to participate in cultural life. Therefore, increasing the accessibility of culture to children regardless of their family and social environment is an important priority of our culture policy. It can take the form of both integrating cultural education disciplines into the curriculum of general education and creating educational programmes adapted to the young generation and the cultural activity centers

Socialiniai energetikos rinkos trūkumai ir būdų juos įveikti tyrimas Lietuvoje

In the pricing of energy there is frequently a conflict between the goals of efficiency and those of equity. Efficiency dictates that the prices should be set at the level of long run marginal cost of supply and all consumers for whom this long run marginal cost is the same should pay the same price. Equity, on the other hand demands that prices should somehow be related to affordability; hence the poor should pay less per unit of energy than the rich.This paper evaluates different mechanisms for ensuring that the supply of energy is affordable by poor and vulnerable households in Lithuania. The schemes looked at are (a) no disconnection of households who do not pay their utility bills, (b) price subsidies to all households funded by higher commercial and industrial tariffs, (c) ‘lifeline’ rates with two or three blocks or with ‘floating blocks’, (c) price discounts for certain categories of customers, e.g. pensioners, (d) a ‘burden limit’ so that households are only required to pay a certain percentage of their disposable income for the service, (e) other “earmarked cash transfers” - i.e. cash for the payment of the utility bill, but based on some household income targets. The schemes are evaluated with respect to criteria of: (i) coverage; (ii) targeting; (iii) predictability; (v) welfare costs; (v) administrative cost and (vi) target consumption.The paper concludes that, the use of lifeline rates and other “earmarked cash transfers” based on some household income targets are the most attractive option for handling the energy affordability issue in Lithuania. Th.e latest scheme is used in neighbouring countries, i.e. Latvia, Estonia and Poland. In Lithuania a ‘burden limit’ scheme is being applied. This scheme is not efficient because is poor in coverage and targeting. Only 6-7% of population received this support in 2000 (the poverty level was 16%). The share of expenses spent on energy amounted to 13,6%, for the richest 10% of population and the poorest 10% spent 15,2% for energy services. The middle class spent 17,2% of their expenses on energy. This means that the evaluation of poverty using this criteria is not appropriate.Rinkos principų diegimas energetikos sektoriuje turi būti siejamas su socialinės apsaugos tinklo plėtra, nes energijos kainų liberalizavimas turi didelę įtaką namų ūkio biudžetams. Daugelyje turtingų Vakarų šalių taikomos paramos gyventojams schemos netinka Lietuvai, nes joms būtinos didelės valstybės pajamos. Skandinavijos šalyse, Vokietijoje, Prancūzijoje ir kt. taikomos netikslinės piniginės įmokas gyventojams, siekiant pakelti jų disponuojamas pajamas iki tam tikro lygio, ir jos nėra siejamos su kokių nors konkrečių paslaugų, pavyzdžiui, su energijos tiekimą, apmokėjimu. Gyventojai tuos pinigus gali išleisti savo nuožiūra.Straipsnio tikslas - išanalizuoti galimas paramos gyventojams sumokėti už energiją schemas Lietuvoje, remiantis tokiais pagrindiniais kriterijais - schemos taiklumas, aprėpimas, administracinės išlaidos, gerovės sąnaudos, prognozavimo galimybė ir socialiai pageidaujamo energijos suvartojimo lygio užtikrinimas

Logistinės funkcijos taikymas ribinių dydžių dėsningumų analizėje

There are several very important economic theories related to the analysis of consumers’ and producers’ behavior under the same laws of diminishing marginal values. The laws of diminishing marginal values associated with limited resources can be mathematically formalized by applying the logistic functions which have been primarily developed for the description of population growth under conditions of limited resources and clearly indicate the limits of this growth. When the use of resources reaches the limit of saturation, the exponential law which is usually applied in economic theory to describe economic growth cannot be applied.The law of diminishing returns, the law of diminishing utility, etc. indicate that under conditions of saturation when we have so many units of some product that an additional unit of that product does not provide for any satisfaction or investments are so huge that additional investment would not provide any increase in output when all other factors are constant, i. e. limited, for the development and forecast of economic systems. the logistic model can be successfully applied. If there are no limits in consumption structure or in the structure of production factors, the law of diminishing marginal values is not valid. In this case, the logistic function can be applied for the description of economic laws, rather than certain restrictions being imposed on the system.Straipsnyje nagrinėjami logistinės funkcijos taikymo ribinių dydžių dėsningumų analizėje klausimai. Terminas “logistika” čia sietinas su aprūpinimu, t. y. tam tikrų išteklių naudojimo galimybe ir jų ribotumu, nes daugelis procesų yra ribojami išorės veiksnių. Ekonomikos teorijoje plačiai taikomi ribiniai dydžiai, kuriems būdingas mažėjimo dėsningumas, tačiau ekonominėje teorijoje pasigendama nustatytos matematinės išraiškos šiems dėsningumams aprašyti. Logistinės funkcijos taikymas leistų šiuos ribinių dydžių mažėjimo procesus formalizuoti ir matematiškai aprašyti, tai palengvintų šių dėsningumų pritaikymą ekonominiams procesams prognozuoti ir valdyti. Ypač svarbu yra rasti prisotinimo, arba pusiausvyros, tašką, išreiškiantį optimalų prekių ar gamybos veiksnių pasirinkimą, po kurio ribinis efektyvumas ar naudingumas ima mažėti