Renewable energy and greenhouse gas emissions from the waste sectors of European Union member states: a panel data analysis

In the last two decades, there has been a rich debate about the environmental degradation that results from exposure to solid urban waste. Growing public concern with environmental issues has led to the implementation of various strategic plans for waste management in several developed countries, especially in the European Union. In this paper, the relationships were assessed between economic growth, renewable energy extraction and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the waste sector. The Environmental Kuznets Curve hypothesis was analysed for the member states of the European Union, in the presence of electricity generation, landfill and GHG emissions for the period 1995 to 2012. The results revealed that there is no inverted-U-shaped relationship between income and GHG emissions in European Union countries. The renewable fuel extracted from waste contributes to a reduction in GHG, and although the electricity produced also increases emissions somewhat, they would be far greater if the waste-based generation of renewable energy did not take place. The waste sector needs to strengthen its political, economic, institutional and social communication instruments to meet its aims for mitigating the levels of pollutants generated by European economies. To achieve the objectives of the Horizon 2020 programme, currently in force in the countries of the European Union, it will be necessary to increase the share of renewable energy in the energy mix.     

Are renewable energy policies upsetting carbon dioxide emissions? The case of Latin America countries

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The impact of renewable energy policies in carbon dioxide emissions was analysed for a panel of ten Latin American countries, for the period from 1991...     

Exploring the capacity of renewable energy consumption to reduce outdoor air pollution death rate in Latin America and the Caribbean region

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The impact of renewable energy consumption on reducing the outdoor air pollution death rate, in nineteen Latin America & the Caribbean...     

Does energy efficiency and trade openness matter for energy transition? Empirical evidence for countries in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development

Environment, Development and Sustainability - An energy transition is currently underway around the world, in response to the objectives laid out by international agreements. Since the Kyoto...     

Does financial openness cause the intensification of environmental degradation? New evidence from Latin American and Caribbean countries

Environmental Economics and Policy Studies - The impact of financial openness on environmental degradation, mainly via carbon dioxide emissions, was investigated for a panel of 21 Latin American...     

Could alternative energy sources in the transport sector decarbonise the economy without compromising economic growth?

There are numerous challenges that evaluators face when determining the success of urban climate resilience initiatives (e.g., how to attribute impacts to initiatives). Fortunately, a growing body of literature—much of it dealing with climate change adaptation—has emerged which can help address these challenges. This narrative review of academic and grey literature reviews various monitoring and evaluation methods that can assess the inputs, processes, outputs, outcomes, and impacts that result from climate resilience planning and action. Since there is no commonly accepted monitoring and evaluation approach, the literature stresses the importance of acknowledging the context in which resilience is being evaluated, in order to ensure that appropriate methods are chosen. This context includes the ways that the resilience framework and definition chosen for a project constrain and determine the monitoring and evaluation approaches which can be adopted. As a result of this, a blend of quantitative and qualitative approaches is often recommended, with sufficient evidence suggesting that qualitative approaches (e.g., outcome harvesting) are essential. Nuanced approaches to monitoring and evaluation give evaluators additional means of reporting progress, and of demonstrating success, which is especially important as cities begin to implement resilience initiatives in the coming years.