Towards a science of climate and energy choices

The linked problems of energy sustainability and climate change are among the most complex and daunting facing humanity at the start of the twenty-first century. This joint Nature Energy and Nature Climate Change Collection illustrates how understanding and addressing these problems will require an integrated science of coupled human and natural systems; including technological systems, but also extending well beyond the domain of engineering or even economics. It demonstrates the value of replacing the stylized assumptions about human behaviour that are common in policy analysis, with ones based on data-driven science. We draw from and engage articles in the Collection to identify key contributions to understanding non-technological factors connecting economic activity and greenhouse gas emissions, describe a multi-dimensional space of human action on climate and energy issues, and illustrate key themes, dimensions and contributions towards fundamental understanding and informed decision making

Making the ethical and philosophical case for 'energy justice'

A new conceptual framework, “energy justice,” provides a more comprehensive and, po­tentially, 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 “energy 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,” and an affirmative principle which states that “if 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.” 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

Energy security, equality, and justice

This book applies concepts from ethics, justice, and political philosophy to five sets of contemporary energy problems cutting across time, economics, politics, geography, and technology. In doing so, the authors derive two key energy justice principles from modern theories of distributive justice, procedural justice, and cosmopolitan justice. The prohibitive principle states that "energy 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." The affirmative principle states that "if 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." In laying out and employing these principles, the book details a long list of current energy injustices ranging from human rights abuses and energy-related civil conflict to energy poverty and pervasive and growing negative externalities. The book illustrates the significance of energy justice by combining the most up-to-date data on global energy security and climate change, including case studies and examples from the electricity supply, transport, and heating and cooking sectors, with appraisals based on centuries of thought about the meaning of justice in social decisions

Trash to Hryvnias: The economics of electricity generation from landfill gas in Ukraine

Utilization of landfill gas for electricity generation should be an attractive option for Ukraine in light of the country’s rapidly growing municipal solid waste problem, the influx of intermittent renewable electricity into the national grid, and renewable energy adoption commitments. However, the deployment of landfill gas power plants has been slow vis-à-vis other alternative energy technologies despite the existing government incentives. This article aims to help understanding this trend by investigating the economic feasibility of landfill gas power plants. The research focuses on determining the Levelized Cost of Electricity of these electricity generation facilities and comparing it to the feed-in tariff available to landfill gas electricity producers. The results show making an investment into a landfill gas-fired power plant is an appealing strategy due to a potential high and quick return on investment in 5.1 years. This leads to the ultimate conclusion that economic feasibility is not a cause for the slow adoption of landfill gas as a source of renewable electricity generation in Ukraine. In addition, the article identifies several potential barriers to landfill gas electricity generation deployment to be investigated in future researc

Maintaining Ukraine’s grid reliability under rapid growth of renewable electricity share: challenges in the pre-war, war-time, and post-war periods

The paper deals with the problems of maintaining Ukraine’s grid reliability under high renewable electricity penetration and improving state policy measures to accelerate sustainable energy transition in the post-war period. Promoting renewable energy in Ukraine increased renewable electricity share in the country’s electricity mix to 13.8% in 2021. However, such growth became critical for Ukraine’s electric power system. Due to its inflexibility, the lack of balancing and energy storage capacities, adding significant amounts of renewable electricity to the grid created severe problems. Further renewable energy development required serious reforming policy measures, but the Russian invasion prevented introducing relevant legislative changes. At the same time, the war had an unprecedented impact on the Ukrainian energy sector, resulting in the damage of more than 50% of the energy infrastructure. Considering global trends towards decarbonisation and achieving climate neutrality, reconstructing Ukraine’s electric power sector will be based on the large-scale involvement of renewable energy technologies. Given this, based on the study of the trends in renewable energy development in the pre-war and war-time periods and the analysis of the shortcomings of the state energy policy, the paper examines the required measures for fostering resilient reconstruction of Ukraine’s electric power sector.У статті розглядаються проблеми підтримки надійності енергомережі України в умовах високого рівня проникнення відновлюваної електроенергії та вдосконалення заходів державної політики щодо прискорення сталого енергетичного переходу в післявоєнний період. Просування відновлюваної енергетики в Україні збільшило частку відновлюваної електроенергії в структурі електроенергії країни до 13,8% у 2021 році. Однак таке зростання стало критичним для електроенергетичної системи України. Через її негнучкість, відсутність балансування та потужностей для зберігання енергії додавання значної кількості відновлюваної електроенергії до мережі створило серйозні проблеми. Подальший розвиток відновлюваної енергетики вимагав серйозних реформаторських заходів, але російське вторгнення завадило запровадити відповідні законодавчі зміни. Водночас війна мала безпрецедентний вплив на українську енергетику, внаслідок чого було пошкоджено понад 50% енергетичної інфраструктури. Враховуючи світові тенденції декарбонізації та досягнення кліматичної нейтральності, реконструкція електроенергетики України базуватиметься на масштабному залученні технологій відновлюваної енергетики. З огляду на це, на основі дослідження тенденцій розвитку відновлюваної енергетики у довоєнний та воєнний періоди та аналізу недоліків державної енергетичної політики, у статті розглядаються необхідні заходи щодо сприяння динамічній відбудові електроенергетики України. сектора