Non-CO2 generating energy shares in the world : cross-country differences and polarization.

The aim of this paper is to examine the spatial distribution of non-CO2 generating energy sources in the world for the period 1990–2009, paying special attention to the evolution of cross-country disparities. To this end, after carrying out a classical convergence analysis, a more thorough investigation of the entire distribution is presented by examining its external shape, the intra-distribution dynamics and the long-run equilibrium distribution. This analysis reveals the existence of a weak, rather insignificant, convergence process and that large crosscountry differences are likely to persist in the long-run. Next, as polarization indicators are a proper way of appraising potential conflict in international environmental negotiations, we test whether, or not, the distribution dynamics concurs with the presence of polarization. Our results indicate that two poles can be clearly differentiated, one with high and other with low non-CO2 generating energy shares. In view of these findings, and to ensure a fair transition to a sustainable energy system, the paper calls for the development of an ambitious clean energy agenda, especially in countries with low non-CO2 generating energy shares

Quantification and monetization of employment benefits associated with renewable energy technologies in Greece

This paper formulates and implements an integrated approach for estimating the employment benefits associated with the exploitation of renewable energy sources (RES) in the power sector. It builds up on well-known techniques and makes all the necessary modifications in order to take into account the specific conditions of the RES market. More specific, the proposed approach exploits the input-output methodology for estimating the direct, indirect and induced employment effects associated with the energy technologies in question and the "opportunity cost of labour" approach for expressing these effects in monetary terms. This framework has been implemented to estimate the employment benefits resulting from the development of different RES technologies in Greece, taking into account both the construction and operation phases of the relative projects. The results of the analysis clearly show that the exploitation of RES in the Greek power sector presents significant employment benefits, which are at the same order of magnitude or in several cases even higher compared to the corresponding benefits attributed to the operation of fossil-fueled power plants (e.g. lignite and natural gas). Therefore, the fulfillment of the national target for increasing the penetration of RES into the Greek power sector from approximately 12% today to 40% in 2020, will contribute, apart from the significant environmental improvements, to the overall economic development and the increase of the employment.Employment benefits Renewable energy sources Input-output analysis

From measuring fuel poverty to identification of fuel poor households: a case study in Greece

It is widely recognized that fuel poverty is a multidimensional social problem triggering significant adverse consequences to households. This paper aims at developing approaches and algorithms to identify the fuel poor households in a region, which is a prerequisite to implement effective tackling policies, by utilizing the collected microdata within the framework of the EU-SILC survey. In this context, emphasis is given on the examination of key subjective indicators to monitor the evolution of fuel poverty in Greece over the last decade. Furthermore, they are utilized to formulate composite indicators aiming to describe the problem of fuel poverty, including its depth, more precisely. The results of the analysis showed that 4 out of 10 households in Greece face some type of fuel poverty, while the problem for 1 in 3 of them has more structural characteristics. Based on these findings, two different logistic regression models are developed that seek to correlate the probability of a household suffering from fuel poverty with specific and easily identifiable characteristics. The types of the dwelling, if it is privately owned or rented, the location of residence, the household’s income, the level of education of the head of the household, etc., were identified as the main drivers of fuel poverty in Greece. © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V

A roadmap for selecting host countries of wind energy projects in the framework of the clean development mechanism

This paper presents a stepwise evaluation procedure for assessing the attractiveness of different developing countries to host projects on clean technologies in the framework of the clean development mechanism (CDM) of the Kyoto Protocol (KP). The present analysis focuses on wind energy projects and examines a set of developing countries in Eastern Europe, Middle East and Northern Africa. The proposed approach proceeds to the gradual exclusion of candidate countries that do not satisfy fundamental technical and economic conditions influencing the profitability of the project. In the last stage, the countries presenting the highest return are evaluated with respect to a wider set of criteria denoting the ease of making business in each country. The outcome of the evaluation procedure is to identify the most appealing investment opportunities deserving a more detailed techno-economic analysis following the guidelines of the CDM. The obtained results are also useful in order to highlight the most critical factors influencing the economic return of wind energy projects under the framework of the flexible mechanisms of the KP.Wind energy Clean development mechanism Multicriteria analysis ELECTRE III Baseline emission factor Kyoto Protocol