130 research outputs found
More Baskets? Renewable Energy and Energy Security
Energy security increasingly becomes an issue in the face of rising worldwide energy demand and dwindling resources. Threats to energy security are seen in political instabilities of resource exporting countries, decreasing reserves, geostrategic and geopolitical factors and the structure of the relevant energy markets in terms of market power, monopolies, cartels and trusts. The European Commission has issued two Green Papers on a strategy for the security of energy supply, supporting competitive international energy market (European Commission, 2000 and 2008). The large infrastructure and gas pipeline development project Nabucco through Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary and Austria that has recently been launched is motivated by the assumed increase in energy security.Energy, secruity, reneweable, baskets
Equity and Aggregation in Environmental Valuation
Environmental valuation studies aim at the assessment of the social benefits or the social costs caused by some change in environmental quality (in the broadest sense). The most popular field of application of environmental valuation studies is project appraisal where the benefits arising from some environmental project (measured in terms of people's willingness to pay for that project) are assessed and confronted with the costs of the project or with the benefits from some alternative project if a choice has to be made between different projects. A closer look at the results of empirical valuation studies shows that in many surveys a negative correlation between the number auf household members and the willingness to pay (WTP) stated by a household for a project can be observed. These results are rather puzzling because in larger households more people are going to benefit from an environmental improvement than in small households. A plausible explanation for these results is that household budgets are tighter for large households than for smaller households with the same household income. Therefore, large households must state a smaller WTP for a project than smaller households with the same income and the same preferences. This might have consequences for the allocation of public funds in all cases where the realization of a specific environmental project depends on the absolute value of the aggregate social benefits it generates. In order to calculate the social benefits typically the WTPs of the different households affected by that project are added up. In this aggregation process the members of larger households have a lower weight and, therefore, their WTP has a smaller impact on the decision if a certain project is realized or not. The reason for this violation of the principle of horizontal equity is that for the computation of the social benefits not individual but household WTPs are aggregated. In this paper we suggest to use household equivalence scales for the evaluation of WTP data in order to reduce this discrimination of the members of large families. We demonstrate the effects of equivalence scales on the results of environmental valuation surveys using an empirical study carried out in Eastern Germany.contingent valuation; Environmental Valuation; Equity
More Baskets? Renewable Energy and Energy Security
Energy security increasingly becomes an issue in the face of rising worldwide energy demand and dwindling resources. Threats to energy security are seen in political instabilities of resource exporting countries, decreasing reserves, geostrategic and geopolitical factors and the structure of the relevant energy markets in terms of market power, monopolies, cartels and trusts. The European Commission has issued two Green Papers on a strategy for the security of energy supply, supporting competitive international energy market (European Commission, 2000 and 2008). The large infrastructure and gas pipeline development project Nabucco through Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary and Austria that has recently been launched is motivated by the assumed increase in energy security
Advanced Mechanisms for the Promotion of Renewable Energy: Models for the Future Evolution of the German Renewable Energy Act
The German Renewable Energy Act (EEG) has been very successful in promoting the deployment of wind power plants and other renewable energy power generating technologies in Germany. The increasing share of EEG-power in the generation portfolio, increasing amounts of fluctuating power generation, and the growing European integration of power markets governed by competition calls for a re-design of the EEG. This article identifies increasingly important problems and describes three different options to amend the EEG without jeopardising the fast deployment of renewable energy technologies. In the "Retailer Model", it becomes the responsibility of the end-use retailers to adapt the EEG power to the actual demand of their respective customers. The "Market Mediator Model" is the primary choice when new market players are regarded as crucial for the better integration of renew-able energy and enhanced competition. The "Optional Bonus Model" relies more on functioning markets.Regulation, Renewable Energy, Promotion, Policy Design, Feed-In Tariff, Minimum Price Standards
Tax reform in Europe over the next decades
Study for the European Environmental Agency, Copenhagen Tax reform in Europe over the next decades: implication for the environment, for eco-innovation and for household distribution Task A: Eco-innovation Literature review on eco-innovation and ETR Modelling of ETR impacts with GINFOR
Soziale Verteilungswirkungen der EEG-Umlage unter BerĂĽcksichtigung von Einkommensklassen
Der Ausbau der erneuerbaren Energien wird derzeit aufgrund des Anstiegs der EEG-Umlage in den Jahren 2013 und 2014 umfassend diskutiert im Hinblick auf die sozialen Verteilungswirkungen steigender Strompreise. In dieser Studie, die eine aktualisierte und ergänzte Fassung von Lehr & Drosdowski (2013) darstellt, werden modellgestützt die Verteilungswirkungen analysiert, die sich aus dem Vergleich des oberen und unteren Szenario der Mittelfristprognose für 2015 ergeben. Die leicht regressiven Verteilungswirkungen sowie die Einsparungen durch Verhaltensanpassungen beim Stromverbrauch aufgrund von steigenden relativen Preisen aus der Vorgängerstudie werden bestätigt. Die Resultate werden durch eine zusätzliche Berechnung nach Einkommensklassen in ihrer Richtung und Größenordnung plausibilisiert
Soziale Verteilungswirkungen der EEG-Umlage
Die Berechnung der EEG-Umlage fĂĽr das Jahr 2013 durch die Netzbetreiber hat zu einer breiten Diskussion ĂĽber die sozialen Auswirkungen steigender Strompreise gefĂĽhrt. In der vorliegenden Studie werden modellgestĂĽtzt Verteilungswirkungen bei einem Vergleich verschiedener Entwicklungspfade der EEG-Umlage untersucht. Die Entwicklung der Umlage orientiert sich am unteren und oberen Szenario der Mittelfristprognose. Es treten leicht regressive Verteilungswirkungen auf, wie diese bei anderen umweltpolitischen Instrumenten ebenfalls zu beobachten sind. Die durchschnittliche Belastung der Haushalte ist besonders gering, wenn Verhaltensanpassungen beim Stromverbrauch aufgrund von steigenden relativen Preisen modelliert werden
Beschäftigungsstruktur im Bereich Erneuerbarer Energien
Die Beschäftigung in der EE-Branche hat in den letzten Jahren stetig zugenommen. Wenngleich die konsolidierten Zahlen für 2007 noch ausstehen, hat eine erste Abschätzung im Frühjahr 2008 gezeigt, dass wiederum von einer Zunahme von 6% gegenüber dem Vorjahr ausgegangen werden kann (Kratzat et al. 2008). Neben den absoluten Zahlen ist jedoch interessant, wie diese Beschäftigten zusammengesetzt sind. Welche Hindernisse sieht die Branche beispielsweise, geeignete Fachkräfte zu rekrutieren und einzustellen? Wie begegnet sie einem eventuellen Fachkräftemangel durch Ausbildungsaktivitäten? Benötigt sie hierbei eventuell zielgerichtete Unterstützung? Wie unterscheidet sich die Branche von den sonstigen Wirtschaftszweigen in Deutschland
Assessment of green jobs in Dubai
This paper presents an assessment method for measuring green jobs in Dubai. Firstly, we describe the economic structure of Dubai and identify, which part of the economic sectors can be accounted for as green by international standards. Secondly, we describe the labor market in Dubai and assign the green economy’s activities to the respective labor force. Finally we conclude with a comparison with the literature and an outlook on future development
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