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One of the most important questions which has arisen after the pandemic is whether the world is or not turning its face to green energy?International summits, public policymakers, environmental organizations, all have argued that there is no time to lose when it comes to decarbonization and green energy. But how did the world’s most powerful economic countries really react? Have they already started turning green or are they just issuing decarbonization policies without being focused on implementing them? Will the war in Ukraine represent a game changer for the short, mid and long term decarbonization politics?This article will list a number of examples where some of the main actors in decarbonization of the planet are rather doing the opposite instead of doing what they are promoting through their international agenda.
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Urban policy is driven by current trends and ideas. In the 20th century, it was mainly based on modernist views and the most important element of the transport planning policy at that time was the use of the private motor vehicle (car). As a result, transport policies in the 20th century were focused on large-scale road projects, while public transport was marginalized. However, this approach changed drastically at the turn of the 20th and the 21st centuries. Nowadays, the main emphasis is put on environmentally and user-friendly public transport. However, public urban transport often fails to meet the needs of the society. What are the reasons why urban public transport is still not as effective as it should be? The author of this article points in this respect to the poor policy of public bodies responsible for the provision of transport services for the society rather than to the poor quality of the transport law. There are two main areas for improvement - public service planning (defining the service) and cost-effectiveness of providing transport services. The author of the article proposes specific solutions in this regard.
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In this paper, organizational forms, methods of education and suggested, as well as the technical means for the realization of the permanent eco-chemical education of the workers employed in the currently most developed branches of chemical industry in the area of the Novi Sad (oil industry, soap and detergent industry and mineral fertilizer industry). The possibility of combination of the methods of education and their implementation for the purposes of the widening of the existing eco-chemical knowledge and acquisition of the new one is crucial. Methodology that has been suggested could be applied informing the models of the permanent eco-chemical education of the workers in the studied branches of chemical industry. With the creation of the model, the level of the quality of the knowledge and education of the employees would increase. Also, this would enable the workers to keep up with the latest scientific and technological achievements and to put them in the practice. With the adequate model of the eco-chemical education a closer connection between institutes of science and working organizations, and also with the workers engaged in chemical industry should be created.
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Liability of the state for damage caused ex delicto is an acquisition of modern times. Such possibility was exceptional since it contradicted the concept of state sovereignty and constitutionality, that, as a rule, meant that the state, as the highest legal subject in the society, should call other subjects to duty, instead of exposing itself to such liability. However, in times of rapid growth of technical and technological development of modern society, harmful effects of such acting on human society and the environment become evident. In order to successfully overcome such adverse consequences and prevent similar harmful events from happening, the authoress of this paper will first elaborate on the concept and specific nature of environmental tort, its causes as well as the scope and nature of harmful consequences resulting from the environmental accident. Since the right to environment belongs to a group of constitutional rights and freedoms of citizens, this paper shall analyse to what extent Republic of Srpska, as one of two equal constituting entities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, has accorded its laws with the existing needs for protection of the environmental rights and interests of its citizens, and the environment, as a potential „holder“ of rights, and what are the protecting mechanisms the harmed party can dispose of. In conclusion, the authoress shall first draw attention to the extent and scope of civil law regulation of the relation between the pollutant and the injured party, suggesting new legal solutions that would improve the traditional model of civil law liability, and the need for special regulation of conditions of subjecting Republic of Srpska to civil law liability.
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The paper deals with the analysis of the legal principles of international law of climate change. These principles have certain specifics in relating to general environmental law principles, given that climate change has a global character whose impact effects almost all people and аll ecosystems on Earth. The combat with climate change consists of mitigation measures and adaptation measures. These measures are based on the following legal principles which are discussed in this paper: the principle of sustainable development, the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respectively capatibilities, precautionary principle and principle of equity. Analysis was carried out by monitoring these legal principles through international acts which regulating climate change law, above all The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and Kyoto Protocol.
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Armed conflicts within states are becoming increasingly serious. With an increasing frequency of natural disasters, heat waves, floods, while technical progress leads to a disruption of the balance of natural resources.Technological progress, although indirectly during the 20th century, led to many destructions (world wars, Hiroshima, Chernobyl). The risk and protection from ionizing radiation in the world today is very actual. As we know protection of the environment and economic activities are mainly opposed interests and there is no key that will resist to the laws of nature.
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The achievement of short-term energy savings through changes in user consumption behaviour is one of the main directions addressed by the REPowerEU program. This paper investigates the perspective of increasing energy efficiency at the level of domestic consumers in Romania by adopting energy efficiency smart solutions (EESS). The research is based on the extended technology adoption model and analyses the behaviour of Romanian consumers regarding the intention to use EESS solutions, in relation to three main influencing factors (awareness, environmental protection considerations, and public policy) moderated by demographic factors. To validate the research hypotheses, a survey was organised between January and March 2023, and structural equation modelling was used to highlight the effects of the determining factors on adoption intention. The research results suggest that all the predictors considered positively influence the behavioral intention to use EESS, with public policy having the greatest effect, followed by awareness. The results obtained suggest that the behaviour of household energy consumers towards adopting EESS is different depending on their age and average income. Additionally, through the IMPA model, a series of managerial interventions are formulated, mainly targeted at the authorities, in order to align Romanian public policies with the objectives of the REPowerEU program, in the context of promoting voluntary measures geared to the lifestyle and behaviour of household consumers by adopting EESS solutions. The limits of the research mainly refer to the lower familiarity acquired as a result of experience in use, in the context of the still early stage of development of the analysed technologies, but also to the exclusion from the analysis of some constructs of the extended model of technology acceptance, such as hedonic motivation or social influences, which would have allowed a more precise understanding of consumer attitudes.
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The energy system of the European Union has suffered major changes in the recent years. High energy prices, increased energy security concerns and heavy reliance on gas, oil, and main combustibles coming from Russia have the three most important features of the EU energy sector in 2022. The European Commission has presented in the first part of 2022 the REPowerEU Plan which aims to implement measures to economise energy, generate clean energy, and diversify the origin of energy provisions and stocks. This program is supported by economic and legislative actions to shape the additional energy infrastructure and framework that Europe requires. This article focuses on the part related to the green energy transition of the REPowerEU, by investigating the perception of Romanian companies about favourably substituting fossil fuel to decrease emissions and reliance.This research examined the obstacles/challenges that have an impact on the adoption of renewable energy from the point of view of Romanian companies. An econometric model was conceived and it encompassed five variables that were analysed to see how they could impact the decision to accept and implement green energy in Romania. The article applied a quantitative study, with the primary data collected with a survey on managers in companies from five of the most energy intensive industries in Romania. The data was processed with the structural equation modelling (SEM) and the results revealed that market (economic), technological and administrative obstacles affect with a major impact the implementation of renewable energy technologies in Romania. Community (social) and organisational obstacles have been determined to influence with a medium effect on the deployment of renewable energy technologies in Romania. The outcomes of the article contribute to increasing awareness of the imperativeness of substituting fossil fuels by accelerating Romania’s clean energy transition and considering the great potential the country has for making this switch.
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Management commitment and perception of the need to adapt and adjust hotel operations in the face of the energy crisis on the path of reducing energy consumption under the REPowerEU plan have been little addressed in the literature, although it is a very topical issue. This research fills this gap with a qualitative study aimed at analysing the way hotel managers in Bucharest perceive the energy crisis. The research questions were related to how the energy crisis affects their operational activities and what measures were taken to reduce energy consumption and change business behaviour. The method chosen was the semi-structured interview in order to obtain complex and detailed answers based on direct interactions at the individual level, given the profile of the interviewees (top managers). The thematic analysis method was used to analyse and interpret the responses recorded in the interviews. As important results of the study, it is worth mentioning: the highlighting of the perception of the energy crisis and its impact at the level of the hotel units, but above all, the identification of the measures implemented or sought by the management of the hotel units to reduce energy consumption (such as the monitoring of consumption, integrated systems for managing consumption and maintenance, the involvement of employees, but also of customers, and last but not least, the investment in alternative energy sources).
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The Ukraine crisis, the sharp increase in the price of electricity and the excessive dependence of the European Union countries on fossil fuels from Russia have led to a series of actions in the direction of energy saving, clean energy production and diversification of energy sources. The REPoweEU plan, through related financial and legal measures, aims to build a new infrastructure and a new energy system at the EU level. The reduction of energy consumption represents an important orientation of this plan, and in this context, the present study investigates, based on a questionnaire, the behaviour of consumers (households) in Romania towards voluntary measures to reduce electricity energy consumption and identify the behavioural differences between four generations: Baby Boomers, X, Y, and Z. The analysis of the results was performed using ANOVA and Tukey statistical tests, using the SAS Studio software application. The results highlight some differences in the behaviour of generations and the patterns regarding the approach to behavioural integration for responsible energy consumption. The work is useful because it outlines the attitude and behaviour of Romanian consumers toward the national and European objectives of reducing energy consumption, energy waste, and increasing the share of alternative energy sources.
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This paper aimed to evaluate the impact of the current EU energy crisis on Romania’s policies to boost green energy as a solution to balance the national energy mix. Our methodological approach was a mixed one using both bibliometric analysis and qualitative analysis based on experts’ interview. The bibliometric analysis has included 1085 research papers from the WOS database and indicates the main research focus at the international level in the green energy field. The second part of the study was based on 6 interviews with Romanian experts in the energy field (selected from a larger group according to their expertise of more than 10 years in fundamental research and their involvement in public policies and national strategies in the energy field). The interviews aimed to investigate the national opportunities to adopt green energy practices at affordable prices. Our research has highlighted that many of the international research trends investigated by researchers are similar to those indicated by the Romanian experts. Our main finding showed that although Romania has performed better than most European countries in increasing the renewable energy share in the national mix, there is still untapped potential in the field. However, Romania has several particularities, according to the interviews results, such as the national regulation, geographical potential, and the existing infrastructure. To fully develop green energy (according to the objectives of RePowerEU and Green Deal), Romania must better tailor its national policy, while providing a stable and predictable legal framework and increased subsidies for green energy.
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The paper investigates the importance of renewable energy in the energy mix of EU-27 countries, as well as their dependence on imports of gas, oil and petroleum products from the Russian Federation, considering the long-term energy security of the EU-27, as well as the objectives of the RePowerEU plan. The article divides EU countries into two groups using a clustering algorithm, revealing that Central and Eastern European countries share similar characteristics in terms of their reliance on Russian energy imports and energy mix, while Western European countries show significant variation between group members. Cluster analysis is complemented by an investigation using the Random forests methodology based on machine-learning algorithms, which highlights the importance of variables for grouping countries into clusters. Surprisingly, Eastern European countries have a higher proportion of renewable energy sources in their energy mix than most Western European countries, which could be attributed to their recent efforts to find alternatives to Russian energy imports. At the same time, the lack of interconnected infrastructure between EU member states is a significant contributor to the bloc's reliance on Russian Federation energy imports, as evidenced by cases in Finland, Bulgaria, and Hungary.
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The global economy has barely begun to recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, only to be thrown into a new crisis because of the Russian-Ukrainian war. The war exacerbated the energy problem by causing a shortage of energy supplies for the EU and other countries, affecting quality of life. As a result, establishing energy hubs for collecting, processing, storing, and transiting energy resources between producing and consuming countries has become imperative to manage energy supplies efficiently. However, previous studies have not yet addressed the requirements for setting up energy hubs from a practical point of view. Therefore, this paper investigates the requirements for the establishment of energy hubs, particularly for oil and gas, from a practical perspective. The researchers conducted 13 semi-structured interviews with different energy stakeholders. Using the SWOT analysis matrix tool, the findings assessed the current state of the global oil and gas market, and the main practical requirements for the establishment of energy hubs were identified, along with the elements for implementation. Furthermore, the article highlighted the most pressing practical issues confronting the establishment of energy centres. Finally, the paper laid out a comprehensive practical framework based on the industry practitioners’ views to help establish energy hubs. The framework provides a possible guide for countries to establish energy hubs based on the main requirements outlined in this study. It can also improve the diversity, flexibility, and security of energy supply, especially for countries that rely on sole suppliers, such as the EU.
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Energy-intensive sectors face significant challenges in meeting the goals of the new European Industrial Strategy and REPowerEU. This study aims to examine how energy consumption and energy mix in four energy-intensive sectors (primary metals; non-metallic minerals; pulp, paper, and printing; chemicals and petrochemicals) in the European Union evolved over the period 2008-2020 and whether there is a real relationship between changes in energy intensity and labour intensity. The results show positive trends in energy mix and intensity between 2008 and 2020 for all the energy-intensive sectors studied. There has been a shift from high to medium and low carbon energy sources, with the extent of this shift being influenced by the technological characteristics and path dependencies of each sector. The most positive change occurred in the paper, pulp and printing energy mix, where low-emitting energy sources increased by 12.2 percentage points. A strong (around 0.9) Pearson correlation exists between energy intensity and labour intensity evolution in the primary metals, non-metallic minerals, chemicals, and petrochemical sectors. The intensity indicators in the chemical and petrochemical sector show the most favourable improvement (a slight decrease in energy use and employment, with a 23.1% significant increase in value added). Typically, 7 to 8 countries account for 80% of the total value added in the examined sectors in the European Union; the energy mix of these countries’ electricity and heat production can support the clean transition.
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The past year has brought drastic changes to the European energy market. With recent dramatic increases in energy prices, it is of the utmost importance that residential users significantly increase their use of renewable energy. The aim of our study is to understand the complex psychological background of the intention to use renewable energy by applying the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB). We extended the original TPB to include environmental concerns. To collect data, an online survey was conducted in Hungary in November 2022. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was used to analyse data from 400 residential users. The resulting model suggests that subjective norms have the greatest direct influence on intention to use renewable energy; however, attitudes formed by environmental concerns are also important influencing factors. Therefore, campaigns to promote the use of renewable energy should focus on the social acceptance of this behaviour and educate target groups about the connection between the energy problem and the challenges of climate change.
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The European Union is accelerating its transition to energy independence by 2030 in response to new geopolitical realities. This study aims to demonstrate the advantages of blockchain technology for the energy sector and how renewable sources themselves may lower costs and generate significant amounts of electricity. These networks encourage the use of renewable energy sources in place of conventional ones and enable sustainable consumption reduction at the same time. The paper demonstrates how blockchain may connect to renewable energy sources, most often solar and wind, to grow this industry in a sustainable way. New technologies like blockchain have sparked the emergence of contemporary forms of trade and consumption. The collaborative and circular economies represent a nexus of economic, technological, and socio-cultural phenomena brought about by technological advancements and economic disruption. Blockchain technology offers a wide range of non-financial applications, and its use is acknowledged as a brand-new opportunity for sustainability and energy. The goal of this study is to clarify the relationship between the two and determine whether blockchain technology can be sustainable for the development of the energy market. The paper is addressed to all parties involved in the energy, blockchain, and sustainability industries.
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Sustainable development requires implementation of relevant green transformation of countries by providing green policies and extending green technologies and renewable energies. Withal, it requires attracting additional knowledge, human, financial, and natural resources. In this case, countries with higher investment attractiveness have a higher capability to attract additional knowledge and resources to implement mechanisms and policies to achieve sustainable development goals. The effectiveness of public governance is a basic condition for the successful modernization of the economy to develop a positive business climate and attract investment. The paper aims at analysing the impact of institutions’ quality on a country’s investment attractiveness. The objects of research are Ukraine and the EU countries. The study applies correlation and regression analysis to achieve the purpose of the research. The findings show that institutions’ quality has a positive and statistically significant effect on a country’s investment attractiveness in the EU countries. However, in political stability, freedom and quality of governance positively influence a country’s investment attractiveness. Improving political stability by one point promotes the integrated index of a country’s investment attractiveness for the EU country by 0.086 and for Ukraine by 0.016. The impact of the rule of law on a country’s investment attractiveness is not statistically significant. This means that Ukraine has not formed an appropriate and affordable legislation base for attracting investors to the country. Thus, the Ukrainian government should pay attention to legislation for the regulation of social and economic development and energy and resource use.
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Improving energy management has received a lot of attention due to environmental issues, energy crises, and growing energy prices in today’s world. Various digital technologies have been developed to enhance energy management to cover these challenges. This article investigates Blockchain and Artificial Intelligence, which have recently attracted increasing attention. The study applies the software of VOSviewer for providing bibliometric analysis. The data (pull of the scientific documents) was generated from the Scopus and Web of Science. There have been done a critical analysis of the literature for evaluating the research in the proposed area. This paper focuses on possible use cases of blockchain and artificial intelligence technologies and considers aspects of technology used to achieve energy efficiency. The findings showed that the technologies are widely applied in energy management. Besides, it is lack of documents that contain the terms ‘energy efficiency and ‘blockchain’. The results of analysis confirm that artificial intelligence has been rapidly integrating with energy management, helping to develop more efficient and secure energy generation techniques.
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