Greening the state for a sustainable political economy

The intensifying global ecological crisis is, by any measure, among the defining political economy issues of our epoch. Questions concerning the state have recently returned to prominence in the field of environmental politics, offering a productive meeting point for research addressing environmental politics and that addressing the political economy of state transformation. The papers in this section all approach the question of the state and its relationship to ecological crisis from a political-economic perspective, foregrounding its relationship to the broader political-economic model in which it is situated. This short article introduces the four contributions to the special section and situates them amidst the broader contemporary research literature

Process Intensification of Enzymatic Fatty Acid Butyl Ester Synthesis Using a Continuous Centrifugal Contactor Separator

Fatty acid butyl esters were synthesized from sunflower oil with 1-butanol using a homogeneous Rhizomucor miehei lipase in a biphasic organic (triglyceride, 1-butanol, hexane)– water (with enzyme) system in a continuous setup consisting of a cascade of a stirred tank reactor and a continuous centrifugal contactor separator (CCCS), the latter being used for integrated reaction and liquid–liquid separation. A fatty acid butyl ester yield up to 93% was obtained in the cascade when operated in a once-through mode. The cascade was run for 8 h without operational issues. Enzyme recycling was studied by reintroduction of the water phase from the CCCS outlet to the stirred tank reactor. Product yield decreased over time to an average of 50% of the initial value, likely due to accumulation of 1-butanol in water phase, loss of enzyme due to agglomeration, and the formation of a separate enzyme layer

External sources of clean technology: evidence from the clean development mechanism

New technology is fundamental to sustainable development. However, inventors from industrialized countries often refuse technology transfer because they worry about reverse-engineering. When can clean technology transfer succeed? We develop a formal model of the political economy of North–South technology transfer. According to the model, technology transfer is possible if (1) the technology in focus has limited global commercial potential or (2) the host developing country does not have the capacity to absorb new technologies for commercial use. If both conditions fail, inventors from industrialized countries worry about the adverse competitiveness effects of reverse-engineering, so technology transfer fails. Data analysis of technology transfer in 4,894 projects implemented under the Kyoto Protocol’s Clean Development Mechanism during the 2004–2010 period provides evidence in support of the model

Warning signs for stabilizing global CO2 emissions

Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from fossil fuels and industry comprise ~90% of all CO2 emissions from human activities. For the last three years, such emissions were stable, despite continuing growth in the global economy. Many positive trends contributed to this unique hiatus, including reduced coal use in China and elsewhere, continuing gains in energy efficiency, and a boom in low-carbon renewables such as wind and solar. However, the temporary hiatus appears to have ended in 2017. For 2017, we project emissions growth of 2.0% (range: 0.8%−3.0%) from 2016 levels (leap-year adjusted), reaching a record 36.8 ± 2 Gt CO2. Economic projections suggest further emissions growth in 2018 is likely. Time is running out on our ability to keep global average temperature increases below 2 °C and, even more immediately, anything close to 1.5 °C

Simulation of Electrical Characteristics of a Solar Panel

The fast-growing photovoltaic system market leads to the necessity of the informed choice of major energy components and optimization of operating conditions in order to improve energy efficiency. Development of mathematical models of the main components of photovoltaic systems to ensure their comprehensive study is an urgent problem of improving and practical using of the technology of electrical energy production. The paper presents a mathematical model of the solar module implemented in the popular software MATLAB/Simulink. Equivalent circuit of the solar cell with a diode parallel without derived resistance is used for modelling. The serie8s resistance of the solar module is calculated by Newton's iterative method using the data of its technical specifications. It ensures high precision of simulation. Model validity was evaluated by the well-known technical characteristics of the module Solarex MSX 60. The calculation results of the experiment showed that the obtained current-voltage and current-watt characteristics of the model are compatible with those of the manufacturer

Real-time testing of energy storage systems in renewable energy applications

Energy storage systems provide a promising solution for the renewable energy sector to facilitate large-scale grid integration. It is thus very important to explore means to validate their control scheme and their behaviour in the intended application before actual commissioning. This paper presents a reduced-scale hardware-in-the-loop simulation for initial testing of the performance of energy storage systems in renewable energy applications. This relieves the need of selecting and tuning a detailed model of the energy storage element. A low-power test rig emulating the storage element and the power converter is interfaced with a real time digital simulator to allow dynamic experimental tests under realistic conditions. Battery energy storage for smoothing the output power of a variable speed wind turbine is considered in this paper; however the proposed test methodology can be easily adapted for other storage elements in renewable energy, distributed generation and smart grid applications. The proposed HIL simulation is detailed and the experimental performance is shown

The pace of governed energy transitions: agency, international dynamics and the global Paris agreement accelerating decarbonisation processes?

The recent debate on the temporal dynamics of energy transitions is crucial since one of the main reasons for embarking on transitions away from fossil fuels is tackling climate change. Long-drawn out transitions, taking decades or even centuries as we have seen historically, are unlikely to help achieve climate change mitigation targets. Therefore, the pace of energy transitions and whether they can be sped up is a key academic and policy question. Our argument is that while history is important in order to understand the dynamics of transitions, the pace of historic transitions is only partly a good guide to the future. We agree with Sovacool’s [1] argument that quicker transitions have happened in the past and may therefore also be possible in the future globally. The key reason for our optimism is that historic energy transitions have not been consciously governed, whereas today a wide variety of actors is engaged in active attempts to govern the transition towards low carbon energy systems. In addition, international innovation dynamics can work in favour of speeding up the global low-carbon transition. Finally, the 2015 Paris agreement demonstrates a global commitment to move towards a low carbon economy for the first time, thereby signalling the required political will to foster quick transitions and to overcome resistance, such as from incumbents with sunk infrastructure investments

Overcoming Public Resistance to Carbon Taxes

Carbon taxes represent a cost-effective way to steer the economy toward a greener future. In the real world, their application has however been limited. In this paper, we address one of the main obstacles to carbon taxes: public opposition. We identify drivers of and barriers to public support, and, under the form of stylized facts, provide general lessons on the acceptability of carbon taxes. We derive our lessons from a growing literature, as well as from a combination of policy “failures” and “successes.” Based on our stylized facts, we formulate a set of suggestions concerning the design of carbon taxes. We consider the use of trial periods, tax escalators, environmental earmarking, lump-sum transfers, tax rebates, and advanced communication strategies, among others. This paper contributes to the policy debate about carbon taxes, hopefully leading to more success stories and fewer policy failures