Climate Convention Implementation: An Opportunity for the Pacific Island Nations to Move Toward Sustainable Energy Systems

This article does not focus on adaptation or mitigation policy directly but on an allied opportunity that exists for the Pacific Islands via the auspices of the Climate Convention, because the existing very costly energy systems used in the Pacific Island region are fossil-fuel dependent. It is argued here that efforts can be made towards the development of energy systems that are ecologically sustainable because Pacific Island nations are eligible to receive assistance to introduce renewable energy technology and pursue energy conservation via implementation mechanisms of the Climate Convention and, in particular, through transfer of technology and via joint implementation. It is contended that assistance in the form of finance, technology, and human resource development from developed countries and international organizations would provide sustainable benefits in improving the local Pacific Island environments. It is also emphasized that mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions is not the responsibility of the Pacific Islands as they contribute very little on a per capita global scale and a tiny proportion of total global greenhouse gas emissions.     

The global partnership for sustainable development

This paper examines whether foreign aid, together with other economic, social and environmental factors, contributes to sustainable development. It starts with an illustrative theoretical growth model where foreign aid promotes sustainable development by protecting the environment. Using factor analysis and newly developed estimation methods for a dynamic panel data model with endogenous regressors, the empirical section of the paper finds evidence that foreign aid has had a significantly positive influence on sustainable development in aid recipient countries. This effect is very likely to go through channels related to growth and resources as well as a technology channel with respect to energy intensity. This research has important implications for a post‐2015 development framework on international collective action with regard to a sustainable future.     

An integrated strategy for sustainable forest-energy-environment interactions in Nigeria

The Nigerian forests have been subjected to unguarded exploitation over the years. Although there is overwhelming empirical evidence, which show that Nigeria's forest, may soon vanish, available statistics have shown its increasing importance in the energy sector. With increasing population come the attendant demands on the biotic environment through increased land clearing, deforestation, devegetation, decertification, with attendant soil erosion, flooding, sand dune formation, and changes in the micro-climate with consequent loss of biological productivity and associated socio-economic and socio-political problems in the country. There is therefore the need to adopt measures that will shift the attention of the Nigerian populace from the forest to satisfy their energy needs. However, such measures that will address the challenges confronting the forestry, forest-based energy systems and the environment should be consistent with the development needs, resources and priorities of the nation. Hence, for sustainable forest-energy-environment interactions, a holistic and integrated strategy that can be adopted to minimise the observed forest depletion must take cognisance of options from various land use practices, energy and forest sectors. The focus of this paper is on a strategy of options from both the energy and forest sectors. Based on the socio-economic, socio-political and environmental analyses of various options from the energy and forest sectors, the philosophy behind the mosaic approach to sustainable development has been considered in developing the proposed strategy. Policy measures to implement this strategy of options in the national development programs are also suggested.     

Promotion of renewable energy technologies in Tanzania

The United Republic of Tanzania is currently facing energy problems that have seriously affected its socio-economic development and environment. To solve these problems, the country is striving to exploit its renewable energy potential, among other efforts. This publication highlights the prevailing energy situation in Tanzania and provides a short review of potential energy resources. It then discusses current institutional efforts and capabilities in research, development, diffusion and commercialization of renewable energy technologies. The paper also identifies some barriers to promotion of renewable energy technologies. Finally, it outlines the energy policy of Tanzania and actions taken by the government of Tanzania to promote renewable energy technologies.     

Conditions for a 100% renewable energy supply system in Japan and South Korea

In the wake of the Fukushima nuclear accident, alternative energy paths have been discussed for Japan, but except for a few studies the assumption is usually made that Japan is too densely populated to be suited for a near-100% sustainable, indigenous energy provision. The studies emphasizing renewable energy have proposed the use of photovoltaic power as the main source of electricity supply, in combination with diurnal battery storage and supplemented by other renewable sources such as wind, hydro, and geothermal power. Here, an alternative approach is explored, with wind and derived hydrogen production as the main energy source, but still using solar energy, biofuels, and hydropower in a resilient combination allowing full satisfaction of demands in all sectors of the economy, i.e., for dedicated electricity, transportation energy as well as heat for processes and comfort. Furthermore, the possible advantage of establishing a regional energy system with energy interchange and coordinated management of the mix of renewable energy resources across a wider region is discussed. As the closest neighbor, the energy system of South Korea is considered, first regarding the possibility of a similar full renewable energy reliance, and then for possible synergetic effects of connecting the Korean and the Japanese energy systems, in order to be able to better cope with the intermittency of renewable energy source flows.     

Income,environmental considerations,and sustainable energy consumption in Africa

Evidence on income as a crucial driver of renewable energy consumption in Africa is mixed. But hydropower accounts for over 90% of renewable energy in sub-Sahara Africa alone. Yet, empirical evidence suggests that hydropower may not be as environmentally sustainable as believed and, as a legacy source of energy in Africa, may not accurately reflect attitudes on renewable energy motivated by environmental concerns. This paper examines the role played by economic performance in the rising sustainable energy consumption in Africa, focusing on the renewable energy sources that are compatible with sustainable development. The difference generalized method of moments, fully modified ordinary least squares, and dynamic ordinary least squares are employed to estimate the statistical significance of income, environmental sustainability proxy, and prices as important drivers of sustainable energy consumption in a panel of 10 African countries for the period 2000–2011—a time frame characterized by a rapid rise in renewables as a priority in environmental policy. With timing and measurement considerations on sources of renewables, results indicate that in contrast to recent literature, the rise in sustainable energy consumption in Africa is strongly driven by rising domestic incomes. In line with literature, however, there is a generally positive, albeit statistically insignificant relationship between sustainable energy consumption and levels of carbon emissions. Oil prices in real terms also correlate with sustainable energy consumption. Available data also show that countries with low energy security also coincidentally tend to have high small hydropower capacity, providing potential for sustainably reducing energy insecurity.     

Energy for sustainable development: Review of national and international energy policies

This article presents an assessment of the effectiveness of national and international energy policies directed toward the objectives of sustainable development contained in Agenda 21. Following a brief overview of energy and transport sector trends over the past ten years, the article discusses whether and to what extent energy policies for sustainable development have impacted on poverty reduction, energy security, equitable access to energy, and transition to a more efficient and environmentally sound energy system.
The impact of policies is assessed considering that such a transition involves appropriate combinations of energy efficient technologies and usage patterns, wider use of renewable energy, and gradual induction of advanced energy technologies. The article then examines the extent to which such policies have been based on integrated assessments of the needs and priorities in economic growth, social development and environmental protection and identifies some of the main constraints and barriers hampering the implementation of energy for sustainable development. The article also examines whether decision-making processes ensure multi-stakeholder participation in policy development and support a fair sharing of commitments, responsibilities and benefits among the participating stakeholders in policy implementation. Selected case studies of policies that have made a tangible difference in promoting energy for sustainable development are outlined.
Finally the article discusses the challenges facing energy for sustainable development and discusses various options to accelerate the implementation of its goals.     

Municipal solid waste management in South Africa: from waste to energy recovery through waste-to-energy technologies in Johannesburg

ABSTRACT

“Waste-to-energy” (WTE) technologies have been presented as one of the avenues to improve the management of solid waste whilst promoting clean and healthy urban environments through the recovery of waste and generation of energy. Research suggests that with the right investment in technologies and institutional changes, waste can potentially become a resource that can contribute to the socio-economic development of cities. It is in this context that this paper presents a review of the literature on WTE technologies and their implications on sustainable waste management in urban areas. The paper particularly contributes to our understanding of WTE technologies and its potential on Municipal Solid Waste Management (MSWM) in Johannesburg, South Africa. It is estimated that the city of Johannesburg’s landfills airspace will be completely depleted by year 2023. This projection becomes a motivation for the identification of suitable WTE alternative avenues to manage waste in the city. The paper argues that WTE technologies can contribute significantly to sustainable waste management, economic growth, ecological and environmental well-being.     

Evaluating the prospects for sustainable energy development in a sample of Chinese villages

This paper describes the methods used to evaluate the potential for achieving sustainable energy development in six Chinese villages included in the Sustainable Users' Concepts for China Engaging Scientific Scenarios (SUCCESS) Project by examining energy efficiency potential and local renewable energy prospects. The approaches needed to obtain and analyse information on possible energy efficiency measures and renewable energy resources are summarised. Results are presented in terms of cumulative net savings in primary energy consumption, as an indicator of energy resource depletion, and associated carbon dioxide emissions, as an indicator of global climate change. Options for sustainable energy development are ranked in order of likely implementation and practical actions which could be considered in each village are identified.     

Availability and access of financial support for renewables: issues and an illustrative innovation

This paper examines issues related to increasing the market penetration of renewable forms of energy in developing countries. It particularly focuses on availability and access of financial support for investments relating to renewable energy and a case study is presented illustrating innovative financing. While the main focus of the discussion is on renewable energy (RE) attention is also devoted to energy efficiency (EE) projects and investment. An underlying premise is that, if RE projects are to reach their market potential, they must be fiscally sustainable and the appropriate promotion of such fiscally sustainable RE projects yields multiple environmental and developmental synergies. Commercial viability is not primarily a question of technology. There is a broad range of RE products with proven performance and commercial operation in selected market situations. The challenge of extending this market penetration is to establish the institutional, organizational and financial conditions under which a commercial market for these products can develop, particularly in developing countries. This article reflects current emphasis on increased private participation in the energy sector, as well as policy reform at the national level.     

Prospects of localism in community energy projects in Nigeria

A notable feature of development aid since the 1960s has been a paradigm shift from centralised project planning and management to decentralised approaches. The transition from top-down to bottom-up elevates the concept of localism in project management for vulnerable groups. This change resonates well in community-based resource management schemes in privileging the locale in terms of generation of knowledge and how problems and remedies are enunciated. Localism conceptualised as devolving central-level government functions to non-state actors in social service delivery is contradictory and seems to negate state powers. This paper explores this trajectory to explicate the forms of localism and the contradictions from its multiple conceptualisations that influence energy access. Using qualitative methodology and interviews, it analyses renewable energy projects directed at poverty alleviation in rural communities in Nigeria while deploying a political ecology framework of power relations to highlight the dynamics of localism. While localism is touted as a constraint in the development process due to localism of action, the paper demonstrates its prospects and how scaling-up of operations may augur well for altering its conceptualisation and with far-reaching consequences for community sustainable energy projects.     

Indicators for sustainable energy development in Mexico

This article presents a summary of a study on the application to the Mexican energy sector of a core set of indicators for sustainable energy development (ISED), developed by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The study focused on the elaboration of socio‐economic and environmental indicators related to energy production and use, and was aimed at assessing Mexico's existing energy policies and identifying strategies and possible policies that could bring about improvements in major priority areas: energy intensity, atmospheric emissions, energy import dependency and use of renewables. While positive trends have been observed in relation to energy intensity and atmospheric emissions, Mexico is becoming more dependent on imports of gasoline, natural gas and other high‐value secondary energy sources, while exporting significant amounts of primary fuels, such as crude oil. Also, no significant increase has been observed in the use of renewable sources of energy. Social, economic and environmental policies need to be formulated for the energy sector and related investments (public and private) reinforced so that all economic sectors have access to energy from cleaner and more diverse sources.     

Renewable energy programmes in India

Efforts towards the development and deployment of technologies based on renewable energy sources in India are described. A brief review of renewable energy programmes with an emphasis on the specific strengths of the different programmes in the context of India's renewable energy programme is presented. Renewable energy systems which appear to have a significant role to play in the sustainable energy programme of India are identified and their implementation discussed .     

碳边境调节机制：欧盟应对气候变化的新选择与中国因应

近年来,欧盟考虑在气候变化立法中引入碳边境调节机制,旨在消除境外企业由于碳排放成本不对称而获得的价格优势。这一机制对于欧盟对冲减排压力、助力工业回流、增强气候领导力以及推动绿色转型大有裨益。作为一种碳关税政策,该机制确有贸易壁垒之嫌,在国际法上存在较大合法性争议。但未来欧盟可通过制度设计使其符合《关税与贸易总协定》（GATT）第20条,进而获得实施可能性。对我国而言,该机制实施必将会在诸多领域对我国产生不利影响,但某种程度上也可倒逼我国出口结构和贸易方式的调整升级。基于此,今后我国应自上而下完善碳市场建设,适时推动“碳交易+碳税”复合政策双轮驱动;积极开展气候外交;促进我国承接国际产业转移和出口的可持续发展。在法律对策上,积极参与国际谈判与规则制定;完善气候治理体系;促进低碳外贸发展;健全可再生能源激励制度。     

新疆水电资源开发与清洁发展机制(CDM)项目开展

新疆水利资源丰富,具有开发水电的天然资源优势。清洁发展机制是建立在《京都议定书》下的国际合作机制。发达国家和发展中国家可以通过清洁发展机制,实现温室气体的减排和可持续发展。结合目前水电开发面临的实际形势,并根据我区能源开发总体规划布局,对水电CDM项目开发活动进行统筹协调,进一步促进新疆水电的快速、有序、均衡、协调发展。     

The effect of clean energy regulations and incentives on green jobs: panel analysis of the United States, 1998–2007

‘Green jobs’ are often presented as a simultaneous solution for the economic downturn and the environmental crisis, particularly as they relate to sustainable development in energy and climate change. Federal, state, and municipal authorities have employed a variety of policy tools to boost job creation within their jurisdictions. This study focuses on the role that state policies play in creating green jobs. It examines two generic policy tools – regulations and incentives – each of which can be aimed at advancing energy efficiency or renewable energy production, and assesses the relative impact they have had on generating green jobs. In order to measure this impact, we utilize panel data compiled by the Pew Charitable Trusts, which contain a state‐level count of green jobs from 1998 to 2007. The results of the analysis suggest that regulations, particularly those that mandate action on renewable energy, are likely to increase the number of private sector green jobs in states. Regulations with clear guidelines and targets tend to reduce uncertainty in business, and can lead to increased private sector investment and job availability. This study provides practical lessons regarding the type and design of policy instruments and regulations on renewable energy, which effectively encourage green job growth.     

Renewable energy: Biomass power and biofuels as alternative sustainable energy sources

This article describes biomass fuels as renewable and sustainable energy resources in Minnesota as well as across the United States. This country has long benefited from surplus supplies of diverse energy resources, while our dependency on foreign petroleum supplies and domestic coal reserves has only recently prompted Congress to recognize the importance of renewable and alternative fuels such as biomass energy. Our further utilization of biomass power and biofuels can be an important step in altering our dependency on both coal and petroleum while simultaneously reducing carbon dioxide emissions. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

A multi-criteria framework to assess the sustainability of renewable energy development in the Alps

A multi-criteria analysis (MCA) was implemented to assess the best solutions for enhancing the production of renewable energy in the Alps. A set of criteria were selected based on the impacts of four renewable energy sources (forest biomass, hydropower, ground solar photovoltaic and wind power) on the three spheres of sustainability (environmental, social and economic). Three different scenarios are presented, each with a different set of weights for the criteria: the first scenario considers equally all three aspects of sustainability; the second scenario foresees an environmentally-oriented perspective, while the third scenario is more focused on the socio-economic aspects related to the development of renewable energy. Results show that forest biomass and hydropower seem to be the most viable solutions for enhancing the share of renewable energy in the Alps. Ground solar photovoltaic and wind power, on the other hand, seem to be less attractive alternatives due to their high impacts on land use.     

The Governance of sustainable development in Wales

A new institutional architecture is emerging in Wales to govern sustainable development. The National Assembly for Wales (hereafter referred to as the 'Welsh Assembly')1 has a statutory duty to promote sustainable development in the exercise of all its functions; its response has been to design a set of political and organizational arrangements to manage this policy area, and to prepare a Scheme that sets out how it proposes to discharge this duty. Devolved government in Wales has also been the catalyst for the emergence of collaborative relationships and partnerships between different sectors and interests. The Welsh Assembly and the Welsh Local Government Association have published a Compact jointly committing them to promote sustainable development; national non-governmental organizations such as Oxfam and the World Wide Fund for Nature have set up Welsh agencies; local government sustainable development coordinators have formed a national network; a national Sustainable Development Forum has been created; and the Welsh Assembly has taken the lead in establishing a European network of countries interested in sharing best practice on sustainable development. A new Wales-specific structure and system is materializing and the test now is how far this will be effective in delivering sustainable development policies and solutions at local and national levels. This paper examines the challenges in managing sustainable development, and the potential for success of this new governance system, drawing on recent research undertaken by the author on behalf of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. The examination is set in the context of different theories of governance, and sustainable development is conceptualized as a 'wicked issue'—one that cannot be resolved by organizations and agencies acting autonomously, but rather needs concerted focus and action across all sectors.     

The impact of economic activity in Asturias on greenhouse gas emissions: consequences for environmental policy within the Kyoto Protocol framework

Climate change is one of the major worldwide environmental concerns. It is especially the case in many developed countries, where the greenhouse gas emissions responsible for this change are mainly concentrated. For the first time, the Kyoto Protocol includes an international agreement for the reduction of the net emissions of these gases. To fulfil this agreement measures designed to reduce or limit current emissions have to be brought into force. Consequently, fears have arisen about possible consequences on competitiveness and future development of manufacturing activities and the need for support mechanisms for the affected sectors is obvious. In this paper, we carry out a study of the emissions of gases responsible for climate change in Asturias (Spain), a region with an important economic presence of sectors with intensive emissions of CO(2), the chief greenhouse gas. To be precise, in the first place, the volumes of direct emissions of the said gases in 1995 were calculated, showing that the sectors most affected by the Kyoto Protocol in Asturias are iron and steel and electricity production. Secondly, input-output analysis was applied to determine the direct and indirect emissions and the direct, indirect and induced emissions of the different production sectors, respectively. The results derived from the direct and indirect emissions analysis and their comparison with the results of the former allow us to reach some conclusions and environmental policy implications.