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Green Economy and Sustainable Development of Regions: Economics, Energy, and Politics—the Essence of Interdependence

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A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073). This special issue belongs to the section "C: Energy Economics and Policy".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2022) | Viewed by 26770

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Paweł Dziekański

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Guest Editor

Department of Economics and Finance, Jan Kochanowski University in Kielce, University 15 str., 25-406 Kielce, Poland
Interests: region; regional policy; endogenous resources; financial situation; financial independence; local and regional development (sustainable development); effectiveness of a territorial unit; infrastructure; natural environment; synthetic measure
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Piotr Prus

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Guest Editor

Department of Agronomy, Faculty of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Bydgoszcz University of Science and Technology, Al. prof. S. Kaliskiego 7 (Building E, Room 302), 85-796 Bydgoszcz, Poland
Interests: sustainable development; sustainable development of rural areas and agriculture; education for sustainable development; rural advisory services; agricultural knowledge and innovation systems (AKIS); diffusion and adoption of innovations in rural areas; multifunctional development of rural areas; entrepreneurship; non-agricultural entrepreneurship in rural areas; horizontal and vertical integration in the food sector and agriculture; formation and operation of agricultural producer groups
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Prof. Dr. Mansoor Maitah

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Guest Editor

Department of Economics, Faculty of Economics and Management, Czech University of Life Sciences in Prague, Kamýcká 129, 16500 Prague, Czech Republic
Interests: fiscal policy; foreign trade policy; international economics; macroeconomics; monetary economics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

It is our great pleasure to invite you to submit your latest research for this Special Issue.

Sustainable development is a concept that has a deep theoretical justification, built on the cause-and-effect analysis of the integration of the economy, society, and the environment. Moreover, it is taken into account in the development of strategies and sectoral policies of states. In turn, the green economy is a practical embodiment of sustainable development. This is mainly due to the implemented measures aimed at introducing structural changes to the economy so that they have a positive impact on the sustainability of society and the environment. Economic development and environmental protection are not contradictory.

The popularization of the concept of the green economy is largely related to numerous crises that have arisen in recent years—be they climate, ecological, food, financial, or economic crises. The development of a green economy means solving environmental problems while ensuring economic security, social stabilization, and creating additional conditions for sustainable economic growth. The transition to a green economy is an inevitable direction of development that requires increased efforts to improve the development of the green economy in all countries around the world. The national interests and capacities of individual economies should be taken into account.

The concept of adaptability, sensitive to the specific, historically conditioned context of regional development, has provided exciting information on the wealth and poverty of regions for several decades. Therefore, it is important that research increasingly serves as a channel for solutions to overcome the negative effects of the COVID 19 pandemic and similar crises in the future. The progress of the green economy includes topics such as indicators and measures to characterize environmental sustainability, methodological issues to identify and present spatial–temporal patterns of resource and energy use and related pollution, a computational framework for comparing environmental management between economies/economic sectors/socioeconomic systems. The results will be discussed to support policies of sustainable development.

Research articles should cover multi-faceted topics related to sustainable development, innovation and performance management, ecological safety, regional competitiveness (attractiveness), the green economy, reduction of gas emissions and pollutants, increasing the efficiency of energy and raw material use, environmental protection, and actions taken in this area simultaneously by states, enterprises, and society, which will contribute to increases in income and employment. Moreover, it should be emphasized that the crisis, contrary to its negative connotations and unfavorable effects on economic practices, may be an opportunity for positive change.

We hope that demonstrating the active role of different places and spaces in the transition to sustainable development will pave the way for significant scientific and practical results. The main topics of this Special Issue are:

The quality of economic development under environmental constraints;
Environmental regulations and green innovations;
Peak carbon emissions and carbon neutrality;
Air pollution and tourism development;
Environmental policy assessment;
Economic resilience;
Ecological footprint;
Coordinated development of the economy and the environment;
Models and patterns of development in the field of green energy transformation of the countries of the world, mitigating the effects of the crisis and creating new directions of development;
Proposals for defining and measuring the relationship between the green transition and sustainable energy financing;
Green economy and sustainable energy financing—how do they work together?;
Green economy, transformation of green energy, and financing sustainable energy—opportunities and challenges;
Methods and measurements for green economy, green energy transformation, and sustainable energy financing;
Theoretical research at the interface of regional adaptability and sustainable transformation;
Regional compromise between adaptation and adaptation in the context of sustainable transformation;
Paths for the development of sustainable socio-technical regimes;
Organizations and industries in the transformation of sustainable development;
Practices of adaptation to sustainable development;
Places and spaces of sustainable transformation;
Participatory processes for sustainable transformation;
Balanced place-based policies;
Contemporary challenges of agriculture and rural areas in the context of sustainable development and energy supply (security, demand, market, and consumption).

Therefore, we invite you to submit papers in various fields that will contribute to the creation of this special edition. We are looking for both scientific articles and comprehensive reviews related to the green economy and sustainable energy financing. Empirical, conceptual, and research articles that use quantitative and qualitative methodology are welcome. Articles selected for this Special Issue will be subject to a rigorous peer-review process in order to disseminate research, development, and application results quickly and widely.

Dr. Paweł Dziekański
Dr. Piotr Prus
Prof. Dr. Mansoor Maitah
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Energies is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

Adaptability, Adaptability, Development paths, Transition to sustainable development
Green economy, sustainable economy
Managing the development of the region
The impact of the natural environment on sustainable development
Sustainable agriculture and rural areas

agricultural energy sources (bio-energy, crop production, energy crops, biomass, livestock production, manure management, solid biofuels, liquid biofuels, biogas)
agricultural policy and rural areas development strategies
energy security, demand, market and consumption
sustainable energy and environmental economics
sustainable logistics and transportation Economics of ecology, influence of ecology on sustainable development

Energy policy
Sustainable development, pro-development activities, modeling of sustainable development, security of sustainable development, indicators of sustainable development (social, economic, spatial, financial, environmental dimensions)
Economic geography
Zero weast
Green infrastructure
Hybridization of the local economy
Internal security (development, energy, social)

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Transformation to a Green Energy Economy—Challenge or Necessity in Energies (4 articles)

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Research

20 pages, 1234 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Local Authority Investments in the Field of Energy Transition and Their Determinants (on the Example of South-Eastern Poland)

by Ryszard Kata and Rafał Pitera

Energies 2023, 16(2), 819; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16020819 - 11 Jan 2023

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1959

Abstract

This article deals with the development of renewable energy sources and their role in the transformation of energy. The main purpose of this article is to analyze the role of local governments in Poland in accelerating energy transformation at the local level through the implementation of municipal investments. The potential activities of the municipalities in the area of local eco-energy were presented, with particular emphasis on their own investment projects. The involvement of municipalities in the implementation of their own projects in the area of energy transformation was assessed, and the sources of financing for such projects were determined. A diagnosis of barriers and limitations to the increase in the participation of communes in this area was also made. This research was carried out in the Podkarpackie and Lublin regions in southern Poland. The research results indicate that local government authorities are willing to accept contributing to eco-energy projects, but only when nonrepayable funds are involved in the financial assembly. In such a situation, they are also willing to seek loans as a source of bridge financing or financing the unit’s own contribution. Financial constraints are of key importance for municipal investments in the area of energy transformation. Among the internal factors that hinder the investments of communes in the area of energy transformation, financial constraints (budget) were definitely dominant. These limitations far exceeded the costs associated with energy planning, as well as the spatial and location barriers felt by local government officials. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Green Economy and Sustainable Development of Regions: Economics, Energy, and Politics—the Essence of Interdependence)

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24 pages, 3871 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Zero Waste as a Determinant of Shaping Green Economy Processes on the Example of Communes of Eastern Poland in 2010–2020

by Paweł Dziekański, Adam Wyszkowski, Piotr Prus, Andrzej Pawlik, Mansoor Maitah and Magdalena Wrońska

Energies 2023, 16(1), 19; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16010019 - 20 Dec 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1777

Abstract

The green economy is a form of economic progress. It promotes environmentally sustainable, low-carbon, and inclusive development. It ensures environmental sustainability and preserves the conditions for social progress. The current model of resource management is not sustainable and puts pressure on the environment. The proposed steps toward a green economy are intended to benefit both the environment, the economy, and society. The aim of the study was to assess the spatial differentiation of the relationship between the green economy and the zero waste concept of Eastern Poland’s municipalities. The assessment was performed using a synthetic measure. The choice of variables was determined by the availability of data in the Bank of Local Data of the Central Statistical Office (BDL GUS) for the years 2010–2020 in spatial terms (709) municipalities of Eastern Poland. The synthetic measure of green economy ranged from 0.28 to 0.56 in 2010 and from 0.28 to 0.59 in 2020; and for the waste management measure, from 0.19 to 0.55 in 2010 and 0.32 to 0.53 in 2020. Spatially, the essence of the green economy or zero waste stems from the desire to reduce the burden on the environment by creating attractive conditions for living and business activities. The development of the green economy is to shape the aspect of the environment, while ensuring economic security and quality of life. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Green Economy and Sustainable Development of Regions: Economics, Energy, and Politics—the Essence of Interdependence)

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25 pages, 1370 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Impact of Sustainable Regional Development Policy on Carbon Emissions: Evidence from Yangtze River Delta of China

by Jinxing Hu, Cuiying Shao and Zhaolong Zhang

Energies 2022, 15(24), 9492; https://doi.org/10.3390/en15249492 - 14 Dec 2022

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1489

Abstract

Urban agglomerations are becoming an increasingly important factor in advancing regional development and reshaping a new pattern of regional competition. However, few studies are focused on the impact of expanding urban agglomerations on reducing carbon emissions and its possible mechanism. Based on 285 city-level panel data from 2006 to 2017, this paper uses a staggered Difference-in-Differences (DID) model to explore the reduction effect and its possible mechanism of sustainable regional development policy, characterized by urban agglomeration expansion policy in the Yangtze River Delta, on carbon emissions with policy shocks in 2010 and 2013. The results are as follows: (1) The urban agglomeration expansion policy shows a significant marginal contribution to the reduction of carbon emissions, especially for the later joined (new) cities, and the reduction effect is particularly significant in the first and third years after the expansion, indicating that there are significant short-term and long-term reduction effects of the expansion policy. (2) The heterogeneities of reduction effect among three provinces are significant. Zhejiang Province enjoys the largest proportion carbon emission reduction effect, followed by Anhui and Jiangsu provinces. To be specific, urban agglomeration expansion in Zhejiang Province reduced carbon emissions and carbon emissions intensity in the overall, incumbent cities and new cities, while it only increased the total carbon emissions of the incumbent cities in Jiangsu province. (3) The heterogeneities of reduction effect brought by 2010 and 2013 are also significant. The urban agglomeration expansion policy in 2010 reduced carbon emissions on the whole cities and the incumbent cities with later joined cities excluded, while it had a significant reduction effect on the total, incumbent cities, and the new cities in 2013. (4) There are two possible mechanisms of this reduction effect. One is the strengthening of economic ties and enhanced environmental synergy between governments, called the market integration mechanism, which only has a significant effect on carbon emission reduction in the incumbent cities. Another is through the upgrade of the structure of regional industries, which has a significant effect in both the incumbent and new cities. These findings suggest that when formulating urban agglomerations polices, governments must take into account the carbon emissions effect, and advance the upgrading of industrial structure in the urban agglomeration. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Green Economy and Sustainable Development of Regions: Economics, Energy, and Politics—the Essence of Interdependence)

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16 pages, 2334 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Air Pollution and Limitations in Health: Identification of Inequalities in the Burdens of the Economies of the “Old” and “New” EU

by Agnieszka Jakubowska and Marcin Rabe

Energies 2022, 15(17), 6225; https://doi.org/10.3390/en15176225 - 26 Aug 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1366

Abstract

The aim of the present research is to assess the scale of the impact of air pollution on the level of burdening EU economies with the consequences of chronic diseases (non-communicable diseases—NCDs) in the context of limiting the potential productivity of human resources. This study attempts to identify inequalities in this area that occur in the territory of the European Union. The scale of the impact of environmental factors, and air pollution in particular, on the level of health limitations in the labor resources of EU countries was measured by the number of the years of healthy life lost (YLL and YLD) as a result of chronic diseases. The verification of the assumption of a persistently high level of dispersion was based on an analysis of the convergence process (β and σ) in the group of EU countries in 1990–2019. The results demonstrate that the level of health restrictions caused by air pollution is diverse in the group of EU-27 countries. The inequalities observed concern, in particular, the relationship between the old and the new EU, indicating a high burden of health consequences for the inhabitants of Central and Eastern Europe (EU-CEE). Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Green Economy and Sustainable Development of Regions: Economics, Energy, and Politics—the Essence of Interdependence)

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28 pages, 2308 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Energy Security as a Premise for Mergers and Acquisitions on the Example of the Multi-Energy Concern PKN Orlen in the Face of the Challenges of the 2020s

by Joanna Toborek-Mazur, Karol Partacz and Marcin Surówka

Energies 2022, 15(14), 5112; https://doi.org/10.3390/en15145112 - 13 Jul 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3078

Abstract

A concern for ensuring energy security is particularly important in the 2020s, a decade significantly marked by economic and political uncertainty: the coronavirus pandemic, the Russian-Ukrainian war, and inflation turning into stagflation in many markets. Additionally, the national and international climate policy promoting the acquisition of energy from non-renewable sources is only a part of the problem that forces a revision of the direction and degree of diversification of energy sources. States, bearing in mind the inevitability of change, in order to maintain energy security, should not only accurately read these phenomena but also effectively prevent them. One of the available solutions is to build a multi-energy concern to ensure energy independence through diversified production and distribution of electricity and non-renewable fuels. To this end, a large international entity centred around the PKN Orlen group has existed in Poland for several years. The construction of this holding is based on M&A transactions, as effective mechanisms for long-term management, and focused around complementary, in terms of economic activity, market entities—Energa, Lotos and PGNiG. This article focuses on the assessment of the phenomenon of capital concentration in M&A transactions by PKN Orlen, with particular emphasis on the changes in the shaping of energy security in the near future and also on the basis of the directions resulting from government guidelines and policies. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Green Economy and Sustainable Development of Regions: Economics, Energy, and Politics—the Essence of Interdependence)

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13 pages, 284 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Environmental and Climatic CAP Measures in Poland vs. Farmers’ Expectations—Regional Analysis

by Ewa Kiryluk-Dryjska, Agnieszka Baer-Nawrocka and Obinna Okereke

Energies 2022, 15(13), 4529; https://doi.org/10.3390/en15134529 - 21 Jun 2022

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1638

Abstract

The Common Agricultural Policy of the European Union remains at the top tier of the union’s legacies with the aim of bequeathing a sustainable future for all. Series of actions geared towards reforming the environmental and climate goals of the CAP are constantly being taken. The objective of this paper is to verify if the environmental and climatic CAP measures proposed in Poland’s Strategic Development Plan for Agriculture, for the years 2023–2027, reflect farmers’ preferences regarding the structure of the CAP support. To achieve this goal, we model a hypothetical strategic game involving farmers from different regions. The outcomes of the game were derived from the ex-post analysis of EU funds, in the application for environmental and climatic CAP measures, in addition to the results of simulations of the partial equilibrium model for the agricultural sector (CAPRI). It was found out that farmers from regions with disadvantaged agrarian structures would find it more difficult to cope with new eco-schemes due to the fact that good agricultural practices are rather low in such regions. For the long-term development of Polish agriculture, the agrarian structures need to be improved, as this affects the emission of greenhouse gases. The varying preferences of farmers from different Polish regions in implementing eco-schemes can be balanced by increasing redistributive payments. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Green Economy and Sustainable Development of Regions: Economics, Energy, and Politics—the Essence of Interdependence)

26 pages, 3386 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Impact of Enterprise R&D Investment and Government Subsidies on Technological Progress: Evidence from China’s PV Industry

by Xiang Cai, Jing Li, Jun Wu, Haijing Zhang, Ping Chen and Xin Huang

Energies 2022, 15(12), 4462; https://doi.org/10.3390/en15124462 - 19 Jun 2022

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2276

Abstract

China has become the major stakeholder in global photovoltaic (PV) technology. However, the existing mechanistic interpretation of “what promotes the technological progress of the Chinese PV industry” is controversial. This paper takes China’s A-share listed PV enterprises from 1999 to 2019 as the research sample and uses a panel fixed-effect regression model to empirically test the impact of research and development (R&D) investment and government subsidies on the technological progress of PV enterprises. The results show that there is an “N”-shaped nexus between R&D investment and technological progress, and most PV enterprises are in the climbing stage of the N-shaped curve. With the development of the PV industry, the nexus will undergo a transformation from inverted U-shaped to N-shaped, indicating that R&D investment is a key driver of PV technological progress. Yet, government subsidies are a “double-edged sword”. They have a significant positive direct effect on PV technological progress but also a negative moderating effect. Tax returns play a positive incentivizing role, while financial subsidies play a negative moderating role. This study provides a policy basis for the timely reduction of financial subsidies and increased R&D investment to promote technological progress in China’s PV industry. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Green Economy and Sustainable Development of Regions: Economics, Energy, and Politics—the Essence of Interdependence)

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17 pages, 739 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Effects of De-Capacity Policy on Steel and Coal Firms’ Profitability: Evidence from China’s Listed Companies

by Yihao Tian, Lijin Ding, Bin Yang and Feng Peng

Energies 2022, 15(12), 4377; https://doi.org/10.3390/en15124377 - 15 Jun 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2266

Abstract

Chinese overcapacity in the steel and coal industry has been on the rise since 2013, which leads to the misallocation of resources and decreases in production efficiency. In 2015, the Chinese central government adopted a series of de-capacity policies to resolve excess capacity and improve corporate profitability. However, there is scant evidence on the impacts of de-capacity policies on the firm profitability. Based on the data from Chinese listed companies in the steel and coal industry, this study constructs the difference-in-difference (DID) method to investigate the effects of the de-capacity policy on the profitability of listed companies in the steel and coal industry empirically. The results show that the de-capacity policy significantly increases the return on equity (ROE) of the experimental group, which is higher than that of the control group by 12.4%. That is partially because of the improvement in gross profit margin, management efficiency, and return on manpower due to the de-capacity policy. This study offers new evidence on the efficiency of China’s de-capacity policy toward the steel and coal industries through data at the enterprise level. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Green Economy and Sustainable Development of Regions: Economics, Energy, and Politics—the Essence of Interdependence)

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20 pages, 1008 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Potential and Development of the Geothermal Energy Market in Poland and the Baltic States—Selected Aspects

by Ewa Chomać-Pierzecka, Anna Sobczak and Dariusz Soboń

Energies 2022, 15(11), 4142; https://doi.org/10.3390/en15114142 - 4 Jun 2022

Cited by 29 | Viewed by 3312

Abstract

The problem of rising energy prices stems from the weakening of economies operating in the realities of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, as well as from the rising cost of CO₂ emission allowances in connection with the European Union’s environmental policy. The outbreak of war in Ukraine has deepened the energy crisis in European countries, which, to a significant extent, benefit from hydrocarbon resources imported from Russia. This problem is particularly acute in countries that are heavily dependent on conventional forms of energy production (e.g., Poland). In light of the problems observed, the need to develop a market for renewable energy has become more urgent than ever. Although this problem affects a number of countries, the authors of the study decided that it is particularly important in the region of the countries neighbouring the line of the ongoing armed conflict in Ukraine, i.e., Poland and the Baltic States (Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia). The choice of the research area was determined by direct proximity to the examined countries, as well as the generally comparable social and economic conditions of Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, which creates the basis for factual comparisons and conclusions. The main objective of the study was to assess the directions of the development of the geothermal energy market in Poland against the background of the Baltic States in the current economic conditions, together with an attempt to determine the most justified direction of geothermal energy development in Poland—with the strongest impact on increasing the share of RES in the energy system and limiting the increase in electricity prices in this country. Identification of solutions practiced in the geothermal energy market in Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia for comparative purposes (Poland region) was helpful in this respect. The subject of this study was oriented towards the diagnosis of the state of the geothermal energy market in the surveyed countries to determine the general directions of its development. Particular attention was paid to the study of needs and preferences in this field on the Polish market concerning individual users, which constitutes the basis of the research. The instruments required for carrying out the research work in the outlined scope were basically drawn from the area of economic analysis and evaluation of phenomena (multifaceted analysis including critical analysis of the literature, comparative analysis of research results, situational analysis of geothermal market), in comparison with the results of our own research (questionnaire survey) carried out on the Polish energy market (individual customers). The research revealed the strong position of Poland in the field of the development of deep and shallow geothermal energy in the area of the countries accepted for the study. The determinant of the above is the abundance in this country of easily accessible heat deposits of the Earth. In general, the actions taken by the surveyed countries in the field of geothermal development are of a similar nature (shallow geothermal heat pumps are the most developed), while, in the field of deep geothermal energy, an interesting observation is the orientation towards solutions based on the energy of crystalline rocks in Lithuania and Estonia, determined by the availability of such deposits in this region. Surveys indicate the growing awareness of the validity of efforts to extract energy from the earth. However, this problem still represents a major challenge (e.g., deep geothermal energy in Estonia), so indicating the role of geothermal energy in the energy market—especially in the area of the countries accepted for the survey—is an important and relevant topic. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Green Economy and Sustainable Development of Regions: Economics, Energy, and Politics—the Essence of Interdependence)

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21 pages, 5266 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Environmental, Social, and Economic Aspects of the Green Economy in Polish Rural Areas—A Spatial Analysis

by Aleksandra Jezierska-Thöle, Marta Gwiaździńska-Goraj and Małgorzata Dudzińska

Energies 2022, 15(9), 3332; https://doi.org/10.3390/en15093332 - 3 May 2022

Cited by 16 | Viewed by 3396

Abstract

The global climate, ecological, and energy crisis has increased the interest in the green economy (GE) concept that aims to resolve environmental problems while promoting economic growth, social stabilization, and creating favorable conditions for sustainable economic growth. The implementation of GE solutions requires an assessment system for evaluating the extent to which business operations are consistent with GE principles. In this study, the environmental, economic, and social dimensions of the quality of life were identified, and agricultural factors were considered to determine the progress in the implementation of GE principles. The correlation between the success of GE implementation and the utilization of environmental funding provided by the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) was analyzed. A composite GE index composed of 19 variables was developed for this purpose with the use of Hellwig’s taxonomic measure of development. The strength of the correlation between GE implementation and the utilization of green payments under the CAP was evaluated by calculating Pearson’s correlation coefficient. Polish rural areas were analyzed at the level of Local Administrative Units (LAU). The study revealed spatial variations in GE development, and it demonstrated that local projects financed from EU funds had a positive impact on the environment. However, the utilization of EU support schemes differs considerably across Polish regions. The analysis revealed that agri-environmental-climate measures (spending per ha) were most strongly correlated with the economic dimension of the quality of life. Southern Poland and suburban areas differed considerably from Eastern Poland where green payments were less effective in promoting GE development. The results of this study are useful for planning, land management, and the development of socioeconomic development strategies at the municipal, regional, and local level. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Green Economy and Sustainable Development of Regions: Economics, Energy, and Politics—the Essence of Interdependence)

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16 pages, 1619 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Casual Nexus between Income and Energy Poverty in EU Member States

by Alfonso Carfora, Renato Passaro, Giuseppe Scandurra and Antonio Thomas

Energies 2022, 15(8), 2822; https://doi.org/10.3390/en15082822 - 12 Apr 2022

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 1762

Abstract

This paper investigates the presence of a causal relationship between energy poverty and income poverty in the EU Member States through a Panel Vector Autoregressive specification, and controlled with a set of explanatory variables collected from the Eurostat energy database and the OECD environment database for 2007–2018. Deepening the nexus between energy poverty and income poverty is a relevant issue for tailoring policies to tackle poverty and improve the well-being of citizens, supporting the policy makers in the allocation of planned funds provided by the Recovery plan, “Next Generation EU”. The results of the panel VAR model estimation and Dumitrescu and Hurlin test suggest that there will be no change in the long-run equilibrium when income poverty remains constant. Moreover, the reduction in energy poverty is expected to have a positive effect in terms of overall economic poverty reduction. Finally, there is evidence that substituting fossil fuels with renewables helps to reduce energy poverty and widespread poverty due to the leverage effect on economic development as well as to support the achievement of some of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals addressed by United Nations. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Green Economy and Sustainable Development of Regions: Economics, Energy, and Politics—the Essence of Interdependence)

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