23 research outputs found
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The Routledge handbook of energy security
This Handbook examines the subject of energy security: its definition, dimensions, ways to measure and index it, and the complicating factors that are often overlooked. The volume identifies varying definitions and dimensions of energy security, including those that prioritize security of supply and affordability alongside those that emphasize availability, energy efficiency, trade, environmental quality, and social and political stewardship. It also explores the various metrics that can be used to give energy security more coherence, and also to enable it to be measured, including recent attempts to measure energy security progress at the national level, with a special emphasis placed on countries within the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), countries within Asia, and industrialized countries worldwide. This Handbook: ⢠Broadens existing discussions of energy security that center on access to fuels, including "oil security" and "coal security." ⢠Focuses not only on the supply side of energy but also the demand, taking a hard look at energy services and politics along with technologies and infrastructure; ⢠Investigates energy security issues such as energy poverty, equity and access, and development; ⢠Analyzes ways to index and measure energy security progress at the national and international level. This book will be of much interest to students of energy security, energy policy, economics, environmental studies, and IR/Security Studies in general
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Energy, poverty, and development
Incredibly, close to one-quarter of humanity lives without electricity or other modern forms of energy, while as many as one-third of the worldâs population relies (at least in part) on traditional biofuels, such as cow dung or firewood, at great cost to its health, security, and economic welfare. Although these stark facts have only recently been fully acknowledged, energy deprivation is a major obstacle to development efforts around the world, especiallyâthough not exclusivelyâin the âBottom Billionâ economies of sub-Saharan Africa and developing Asia. Indeed, sustainable development cannot succeed without a robust energy-access component. Furthermore, this is not just a ghastly problem for the poor, but rather a global concern. Energy deprivation is a leading contributor to disease epidemics, social discontent, political unrest, and environmental instabilityâit gravely threatens the âenergy-havesâ as well as the âhave-notsâ. Research in and around energy, poverty, and development is now flourishing. But much of the relevant literature remains inaccessible or is highly specialized and compartmentalized, so that it is difficult for many of those who are interested in the subject to obtain an informed, balanced, and comprehensive overview. This new four-volume collection from Routledgeâs acclaimed series, Critical Concepts in Development Studies, meets the need for a reference work to make sense of the subjectâs vast and dispersed literature. The collection includes a full index and is supplemented by a newly written introduction, which places the gathered materials in their historical and intellectual context. Energy, Poverty, and Development is an essential reference work which will be valued as a vital resource by students, academics, policy-makers, and practitioners
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North Korea and illegal narcotics: smoke but no fire?
This article examines the extent to which the North Korean regime has dabbled in the state-sponsored production and distribution of illegal narcotics
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Political economy of low-carbon electricity: governance effects across 198 countries
Which countries best foster low-carbon electricity transitions â authoritarian regimes or democratic societies? Crucial for understanding how transitions unfold is identifying contextual factors conditioning propensity to adopt specific forms of energy production. This research assesses the relationship between quality of governance within 198 countries and domestic electricity production from all major energy sources, across the years 2002â2020. Governance quality is measured via a range of comprehensive, internationally recognised metrics, focusing predominantly on the World Bank's worldwide governance indicators. The data reveal that a future, decarbonised electricity system via wind, solar, and/or nuclear appears most likely in countries where the traditions and institutions by which authority is exercised support good governance. Over the last two decades, the association between electricity from solar and wind and good governance has progressively strengthened globally. Beyond governance, national measures of economic (in)equality are strongly related to electricity production from nuclear and hydropower. These findings offer a point of departure for assessing how governance systems might predispose countries to particular energy choices.</p
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The barriers to the successful development of commercial grid connected renewable electricity projects in Australia, Southeast Asia, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America
The article examines the economic, political, social and technical barriers to renewable energy resource projects with particular focus on the U.S., Great Britain, Australia and Southeast Asia. It explores the social attitudes and institutional challenges that are having an impact on the diffusion of cleaner sources of electricity supply. Moreover, the increasing link of the advancement of renewable energy to climatic law and policy developments is highlighted
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Energy and American society - thirteen myths
Current events related to energy policy â skyrocketing gasoline prices, the 2003 Northeast Blackout, the Kyoto Protocolâs enactment, passage of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, and the influence of recent Gulf Coast hurricanes on energy supplies and prices â demand innovative approaches towards conceptualizing the relationship between energy and American society. This book takes on a central quandary in the study of energy and environmental policy: What myths continue to exist in American culture concerning energy, the environment, and society? It enrolls twenty-four of the nationâs top experts working on energy policy in industry, government laboratories, utilities, nonprofit organizations, and universities to debunk and contextualize thirteen energy myths relating to electric power, renewable energy, energy efficiency, transportation, and climate change. While the book focuses on the American experience, it will be of interest to those working in the fields of energy policy, energy and the environment, and technology assessment worldwide
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Making the ethical and philosophical case for 'energy justice'
A new conceptual framework, âenergy justice,â provides a more comprehensive and, poÂtentially, better way to assess and resolve energy-related dilemmas. This new framework of energy justice builds on four fundamental assumptions and consists of two key principles: a prohibitive principle which states that âenergy systems must be designed and constructed in such a way that they do not unduly interfere with the ability of people to acquire those basic goods to which they are justly entitled,â and an affirmative principle which states that âif any of the basic goods to which people are justly entitled can only be secured by means of energy services, then in that case there is also a derivative entitlement to the energy services.â These two principles are premised on the notion that energy serves as a material prerequisite for many of the basic goods to which people are entitled. They also recognize that the externalities associated with energy systems often interfere with the enjoyment of such fundamental goods as security and welfare. They acknowledge that the structuring of energy systems has profound ramifications for human societies, providing historically unprecedented benefits for some, and taking from others the possibility of living a life of basic human dignity
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The socio-technical dynamics of net-zero industrial megaprojects: Outside-in and inside-out analyses of the Humber industrial cluster
Although energy-intensive industries are often seen as âhard-to-decarboniseâ, net-zero megaprojects for industrial clusters promise to improve the technical and economic feasibility of hydrogen fuel switching and carbon capture and storage (CCS). Mobilising insights from the megaproject literature, this paper analyses the dynamics of an ambitious first-of-kind net-zero megaproject in the Humber industrial cluster in the United Kingdom, which includes CCS and hydrogen infrastructure systems, industrial fuel switching, CO2 capture, green and blue hydrogen production, and hydrogen storage. To analyse the dynamics of this emerging megaproject, the article uses a socio-technical system lens to focus on developments in technology, actors, and institutions. Synthesising multiple megaproject literature insights, the paper develops a comprehensive framework that addresses both aggregate (âoutside-inâ) developments and the endogenous (âinside-outâ) experiences and activities regarding three specific challenges: technical system integration, actor coordination, and institutional alignment. Drawing on an original dataset involving expert interviews (N = 46), site visits (N = 7), and document analysis, the âoutside-inâ analysis finds that the Humber megaproject has progressed rapidly from outline visions to specific technical designs, enacted by new coalitions and driven by strengthening policy targets and financial support schemes. The complementary âinside-outâ analysis, however, also finds 12 alignment challenges that can delay or derail materialisation of the plans. While policies are essential aggregate drivers, institutional misalignments presently also prevent project-actors from finalising design and investment decisions. Our analysis also finds important tensions between the project's high-pace delivery focus (to meet government targets) and allowing sufficient time for pilot projects, learning-by-doing, and design iterations.</p