Types of Corruption in Small and Micro Enterprises (SMEs) in Ibadan, Nigeria

Corruption is a phenomenon that manifests in various types and forms especially among operators of Small and Micro Enterprises (SMEs). Many actions of the operators which constitute corrupt practices often tend to be overlooked in spite of their grave consequences for the success SMEs in Nigeria. The fight against corruption in Nigeria is more concentrated in the formal sector. This study was, therefore, designed to investigate various forms in which corrupt practices are carried out among Small and Micro Enterprises in Ibadan, Nigeria. Business owners, their employees, apprentices and consumers constituted the study population. Primary data were collected using questionnaire administered on 200 business owners, 150 employees and 150 apprentices randomly chosen in five business districts in Ibadan; and the conduct of 10 in-depth interviews with purposively selected participants. Quantitative data were analysed at uni-variate level using simple percentages and frequencies while qualitative data were content analysed. Findings from the study revealed that corrupt practices were rampant among actors in SMEs and the common types of corrupt practices included stealing (60%), deception of customers (78.4%), tax evasion (62%), sale of fake products (76%), sale of expired products (65.2%), tampering with measurement scales (69.6%), bribery (82.4%), and poor service delivery (73%). The study concludes that the level of corruption in SMEs calls for concern and government should extend the fight against corruption to the informal sector in Nigeria

Will climate mitigation ambitions lead to carbon neutrality? An analysis of the local-level plans of 327 cities in the EU

Cities across the globe recognise their role in climate mitigation and are acting to reduce carbon emissions. Knowing whether cities set ambitious climate and energy targets is critical for determining their contribution towards the global 1.5 °C target, partly because it helps to identify areas where further action is necessary. This paper presents a comparative analysis of the mitigation targets of 327 European cities, as declared in their local climate plans. The sample encompasses over 25% of the EU population and includes cities of all sizes across all Member States, plus the UK. The study analyses whether the type of plan, city size, membership of climate networks, and its regional location are associated with different levels of mitigation ambition. Results reveal that 78% of the cities have a GHG emissions reduction target. However, with an average target of 47%, European cities are not on track to reach the Paris Agreement: they need to roughly double their ambitions and efforts. Some cities are ambitious, e.g. 25% of our sample (81) aim to reach carbon neutrality, with the earliest target date being 2020.90% of these cities are members of the Climate Alliance and 75% of the Covenant of Mayors. City size is the strongest predictor for carbon neutrality, whilst climate network(s) membership, combining adaptation and mitigation into a single strategy, and local motivation also play a role. The methods, data, results and analysis of this study can serve as a reference and baseline for tracking climate mitigation ambitions across European and global cities

National Energy System Modelling for Supporting Energy and Climate Policy Decision-making : The Case of Sweden

Energy system models can contribute in evaluating impacts of energy and climate policies. The process of working with energy system models assists the understanding of the quantita¬tive relationships between different parts of the energy system and between different time periods, under various assumptions. With the aim of improving the ability of national energy system models to provide robust and transparent input to the decision-making process, a three-step energy modelling process is introduced based on the literature on system analysis and energy modelling. This process is then used to address five different research questions, which are based on (but not identical to) six embedded papers. In the first step (step 1) the ‘real’ system is simplified and conceptualised into a model, where the main components and parameters of a problem are represented. In order to attain robust results, it is important to focus not only on what needs to be included in the model, but also on what can be left out. In order not to add noise to the analysis, there is a trade-off between what is desired and what can be included in terms of data. In the second step (step 2), all assumptions are sorted within a mathematical model and the algorithms solved. The structure of the model is found crucial for the possibility to trace the results back to the assumptions (transparency). In the last step (step 3), the model results are interpreted together with aspects not captured in the model (e.g. non-economic preferences, institutional barriers), and discussed in relation to the direct assumptions provided to the model (step 1) and to the implicit assumptions due to the choice of model (step 2). All three steps are essential in order to achieve robust and transparent policy analyses, and all three steps contribute to the learning about the ‘real’ system.The embedded papers (Paper I-VI) deal with issues of particular relevance for long-term analysis of the Swedish energy system. The results of Paper I illustrate the importance of capturing the seasonal and daily variations when representing cross-border trade of electricity in national models; a too simplified representation will make the model overestimate the need for installed power capacity in Sweden. Paper II presents a methodology for estimating the ‘useful demand’ for heating and cooling based on national statistics, which is useful as most energy system models are driven by ‘useful demand’, while national statistics are based on the measurable ‘final energy consumption’. Paper III compares the technical potential of com-bined heat and power (CHP) from different approaches and calculates the economic potential of CHP using a European energy system model (EU-TIMES). The comparison the technical potential of the different approaches reveals differences in definitions of the potential as well as in the system boundary. The resulting economic potential of CHP in year 2030 is shown to be significantly higher compared to today’s level, even though conservative assumptions regarding district heating were used. Paper IV assesses the impacts of district heating on the future Swedish energy system, first by a quantitative analysis using TIMES-Sweden and then by discussing aspects that cannot be captured by the model. Paper V compares different climate target scenarios and examines the impacts on the resulting total system cost with and without the addition of ancillary benefits of reductions in domestic air-pollution. The results reflect the fact that carbon dioxide emission reductions abroad imply a lost opportunity of achieving substantial domestic welfare gains from the reductions of regional and local environmental pollutants. Paper VI presents and discusses an iteration procedure for soft-linking a national energy system model (TIMES-Sweden) with a national CGE model (EMEC). Some aspects of the way in which we perform the soft-linking are not standard in the literature (e.g., the use of direction-specific connection points). By applying the iteration process, the resulting carbon emissions were found to be lower than when the models are used separately.Upprättat; 2015; 20150706 (kroann

Energisystem och klimatförändringar: Vad kan vi påverka och vad ska vi styra? Hur systemanalys kan stödja politiska beslut kring energiomställningen

Anförande på Riksdagens forskningsdag den 8 juni 2023 med temat: Att möta komplexa utmaningar med hjälp av forskningFORMAS: Modellstöd i klimatpolitiskt beslutfattande: att hantera osäkerhet och komplexitet (019-01550)MESAM: Den svenska stadens omställning till ett hållbart energisystem – Kan modeller stötta beslutsprocessen? (46240-1)

Modelling ambitious climate targets and long-term strategies for Sweden – Describing the main the challenges : Presentation at The 5th Asian Energy Modelling Workshop Achieving a Sustainable 2050: Insights from Energy System Modelling

The aim is to share insights from modeling net zero CO2-emission pathways for Sweden from an energy system analysis approach, both with respect to results (how to get to net zero) and to modeling needs (what to include and how to link models). Sweden is a European country rich in biomass and energy intensive industries, thus rich in energy resources but also with challenging freight transports and industries to decarbonize. The model results shows that an increased use of biomass residues and waste heat significantly increase the possibility to meet the targets. TIMES-Sweden, an energy system optimization model of the comprehensive Swedish energy system, was used to explore different low carbon and net zero emission pathways until 2030 and 2045. In order to do so, the model has (and currently is) being updated to include fossil free alternatives to all energy conversion and production processes within the model. When doing so we take a process-oriented approach, thus describe important energy intensive industries (e.g. pulp & paper, iron & steel and cement) in detail. The model is driven by the demand of energy intensive products and services (e.g. heating of single-houses, production of ton steel and person-km in cars). The demand projections were determined by soft-linking TIMES-Sweden with a national CGE model, in which we relied on multiple direction-specific connection points

Modelling ambitious climate targets and long-term strategies for Sweden – Describing the main the challenges : Presentation at The 5th Asian Energy Modelling Workshop Achieving a Sustainable 2050: Insights from Energy System Modelling

The aim is to share insights from modeling net zero CO2-emission pathways for Sweden from an energy system analysis approach, both with respect to results (how to get to net zero) and to modeling needs (what to include and how to link models). Sweden is a European country rich in biomass and energy intensive industries, thus rich in energy resources but also with challenging freight transports and industries to decarbonize. The model results shows that an increased use of biomass residues and waste heat significantly increase the possibility to meet the targets. TIMES-Sweden, an energy system optimization model of the comprehensive Swedish energy system, was used to explore different low carbon and net zero emission pathways until 2030 and 2045. In order to do so, the model has (and currently is) being updated to include fossil free alternatives to all energy conversion and production processes within the model. When doing so we take a process-oriented approach, thus describe important energy intensive industries (e.g. pulp & paper, iron & steel and cement) in detail. The model is driven by the demand of energy intensive products and services (e.g. heating of single-houses, production of ton steel and person-km in cars). The demand projections were determined by soft-linking TIMES-Sweden with a national CGE model, in which we relied on multiple direction-specific connection points

Fjärrvärmen och de långsiktiga klimatmålen : En analys av olika styrmedel och styrmedelskombinationer

Godkänd; 2013; 20130620 (patriks