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Energy Economics, Finance and Policy Towards Sustainable Energy

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 23 January 2025 | Viewed by 3474

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Guest Editor
1. Faculty of Economics, Finance and Business Administration Department, “Danubius” University Galati, Galati Bvd, No. 3, 800654 Galaţi, Romania
2. Women Researchers Council, Azerbaijan State University of Economics (UNEC), Istiqlaliyyat Str. 6, 1001 Baku, Azerbaijan
Interests: finance; public finance; taxation; public spending; fiscal and budgetary policies; social policy; green finance; energy economics; environmental economics; FinTech; stock market; public economics
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

International organizations have set the ambitious target of achieving global carbon neutrality in order to reduce climate change and ensure a fair transition. Previous research documented that the use of fossil fuels since the beginning of the industrial revolution has significantly contributed to carbon emissions, leading to intensive pollution and, ultimately, to climate change and global warming. New sources of energy have been identified in the meantime, and they are intended to be used extensively to replace traditional ones. However, the process of phasing out fossil fuels and transitioning to renewable energy is still in its early stages and remains costly, while renewable energy sources’ efficiency levels are still a matter of debate. The optimism surrounding the environmental benefits of renewable energy sources is tempered by the high costs of the transition, massive investment costs in technological developments, and the fact that the timeline for phasing out coal and oil is still distant and uncertain. Policymakers intensively discussing the need to increase energy efficiency is a significant step forward for accomplishing the phase-out of coal and oil. There is also general agreement that developing countries will need financial assistance to follow the green path and cope with the massive costs involved.

Under these circumstances, finance plays a crucial role in supporting the structural changes needed for the decarbonization process and enhancing the socio-economic resilience of affected communities. In this regard, financial tools connected to environmental goals and social impacts are essential for ensuring a sustainable energy-based future.

Prof. Dr. Alina Cristina Nuta
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • energy economics
  • renewable energy
  • non-renewable energy
  • carbon emissions
  • environmental costs and benefits
  • energy markets
  • sustainable finance
  • green finance
  • just transition
  • climate-related policies

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 1854 KiB  
Article
Do Environmental Tax and Energy Matter for Environmental Degradation in the UK? Evidence from Novel Fourier-Based Estimators
by Kwaku Addai, Souha Hanna Al Geitany, Seyed Alireza Athari, Panteha Farmanesh, Dervis Kirikkaleli and Chafic Saliba
Energies 2024, 17(22), 5732; https://doi.org/10.3390/en17225732 - 15 Nov 2024
Viewed by 653
Abstract
Currently, the UK has ambitious plans to reach net zero by 2050, despite other countries such as Russia and India targeting 2060 and 2070, respectively. Assuming that the UK emissions unceasingly decline at a given rate annually towards achieving net zero by 2050, [...] Read more.
Currently, the UK has ambitious plans to reach net zero by 2050, despite other countries such as Russia and India targeting 2060 and 2070, respectively. Assuming that the UK emissions unceasingly decline at a given rate annually towards achieving net zero by 2050, its economy would need to ensure a reduction of 105 MtCO2 per year of its emissions from the current 2021 levels. Given that global greenhouse gas emissions have not peaked and continue to rise, the UK seeks to implement costly and aggressive emission reduction policies towards fulfilling commitments under the 2021 Glasgow Climate Pact. This paper investigates the effect of environmental taxes on environmental degradation in the UK between 2000Q1 and 2019Q4 using novel Fourier approaches. Using the novel Fourier ARDL estimator, the long-run equilibrium estimates indicate that gross domestic product and environmental tax cause a fall in carbon emissions. However, in trade and primary energy use, a unit change caused rising carbon emissions in the UK. Especially, the results indicate that environmental taxes have a negative effect on environmental degradation in the UK, and ecological tax policy could be considered as an effective channel to attain environmental sustainability. The outcome provides the following policy insights: (i) The government of the UK should support international environmental tax coordination mechanisms, especially on carbon pricing, to avoid relocation of carbon-intensive investments. (ii) The UK government must note that imposing more taxes to encourage emissions reductions could bring complexity to the tax system and unnecessarily bring costly ways to deal with climate change. Higher domestic electricity prices could disproportionately hit low-income households and create distributional cost concerns, which require benefit payouts or compensation schemes. (iii) Switching to electric vehicles simultaneously requires investments in charging infrastructure and battery technologies. To avoid this chicken-and-egg problem, the government of the UK could play a coordinating role, including deploying targeted subsidies, regulations, direct government involvement, or setting higher carbon prices in special cases. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Energy Economics, Finance and Policy Towards Sustainable Energy)
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15 pages, 2724 KiB  
Article
The Significance of Economic Complexity and Renewable Energy for Decarbonization in Eastern European Countries
by Alina Cristina Nuta
Energies 2024, 17(21), 5271; https://doi.org/10.3390/en17215271 - 23 Oct 2024
Viewed by 622
Abstract
Emerging states’ path to enhancing the welfare of their citizens has been strongly accompanied by environmental degradation; climate change effects often abrogate their economic results. This zero-sum game must change, and environmental concerns should be considered when the development of a country is [...] Read more.
Emerging states’ path to enhancing the welfare of their citizens has been strongly accompanied by environmental degradation; climate change effects often abrogate their economic results. This zero-sum game must change, and environmental concerns should be considered when the development of a country is discussed and assessed. In this sense, this study’s objective is to analyze the impact of economic complexity and renewable energy consumption in the presence of economic growth and urbanization in selected emerging European countries from 1995 to 2021. We used a multiple-methodologic approach to highlight the supportive effects of economic complexity and renewable energy consumption in mitigating carbon emissions. Furthermore, the effects of economic growth and urbanization were emphasized by applying the cointegration regression (CCR), fully modified OLS, and dynamic OLS (FMOLS–DOLS) approaches. Additionally, we used Driscoll–Kraay estimation regression to test the robustness of our results. The results reveal the beneficial role of renewable energy consumption and economic complexity in the decarbonization process of selected countries. Furthermore, the study highlighted the detrimental influence of urbanization and economic growth, which were feasible considering the emerging status of the countries included in the panel. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Energy Economics, Finance and Policy Towards Sustainable Energy)
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19 pages, 3527 KiB  
Article
Do the Energy-Related Uncertainties Stimulate Renewable Energy Demand in Developed Economies? Fresh Evidence from the Role of Environmental Policy Stringency and Global Economic Policy Uncertainty
by Chafic Saliba
Energies 2024, 17(18), 4746; https://doi.org/10.3390/en17184746 - 23 Sep 2024
Viewed by 602
Abstract
Despite earlier research on green energy, there is still a significant gap in understanding how energy-related uncertainties affect renewable energy consumption (REN), especially in developed nations. Thus, this study explicitly looks into how the energy-related uncertainty index (EUI) can promote (or diminish) REN [...] Read more.
Despite earlier research on green energy, there is still a significant gap in understanding how energy-related uncertainties affect renewable energy consumption (REN), especially in developed nations. Thus, this study explicitly looks into how the energy-related uncertainty index (EUI) can promote (or diminish) REN in sixteen wealthy nations between 2000 and 2020. Furthermore, we attempt to specify the factors of REN and explore whether environmental policy stringency (EPS) and global economic policy uncertainty (GEPU) could help moderate (or intensify) the EUI-REN nexus. To achieve this, we employ different panel data methods. The results underscore that the EUI significantly impacts REN, denoting that higher uncertainties related to energy markets lead to promoting REN. Additionally, the (EUI × EPS) underlines that EPS has a favorable role in increasing the positive effect of the EUI on REN in sample developed countries while (EUI × GEPU) has a detrimental effect. Remarkably, the findings underline that the effect of the EUI on REN is more positive in high EPS countries and that the positive effect of the EUI is more moderate when GEPU is high. The findings also underscore that the development of the financial market, FDI, personal remittances, and EPS positively stimulate REN whereas CO2, total natural resources rents, economic activity, and GEPU have a detrimental impact. The results are robust, and authorities and policymakers are advised to implement a wide range of policy proposals to accomplish sustainable development goals (SDGs) 7 and 13. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Energy Economics, Finance and Policy Towards Sustainable Energy)
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28 pages, 3727 KiB  
Article
Do Structural Transformations in the Energy Sector Help to Achieve Decarbonization? Evidence from the World’s Top Five Green Leaders
by Shazia Kousar, Amber Pervaiz, Farhan Ahmed and Florian Marcel Nuţă
Energies 2024, 17(18), 4600; https://doi.org/10.3390/en17184600 - 13 Sep 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 682
Abstract
The purpose of this study is to examine the role of structural transformation in the energy sector to accelerate the decarbonization process in the world’s top five green leaders, Germany, Canada, Sweden, Denmark, and Poland. To test this empirically, we collected annual data [...] Read more.
The purpose of this study is to examine the role of structural transformation in the energy sector to accelerate the decarbonization process in the world’s top five green leaders, Germany, Canada, Sweden, Denmark, and Poland. To test this empirically, we collected annual data from a panel of the top five green leaders from 2000–2023. A key contribution of our study lies in assessing multiple critical metrics, including CO2 emissions, carbon intensity, carbon intensity of electricity, production-based carbon emissions, and consumption-based carbon emissions, to capture holistic progress towards carbon neutrality. We applied the augmented mean group (AMG) model to estimate the long-term results. The Dumitrescu–Hurlin test is used to test the causal relationship among the modeled variables. The findings of the AMG model reveal that renewable energy production and consumption significantly reduce CO2 emissions, production-based CO2 emissions, consumption-based CO2 emissions, carbon intensity, and the carbon intensity of electricity. Conversely, fossil-fuel-derived energy exacerbates these metrics. However, the impact of these energy sources varies by country in terms of their magnitude. The outcomes of the Dumitrescu–Hurlin test indicate that a bidirectional causality exists between renewable energy production and CO2 emissions and between renewable energy consumption and carbon intensity. However, a unidirectional causality exists between fossil fuel consumption and CO2 emissions and between renewable energy consumption and the carbon intensity of electricity. Our results indicate the detrimental impacts of continued fossil fuel use and conclude that a structural transformation in the energy sector is critical to decarbonization. Based on our results, we suggest that policy efforts should prioritize structural reforms in the energy sector by emphasizing a shift towards renewable energy sources. Such reforms are essential for achieving net-zero carbon emissions and mitigating broader environmental degradation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Energy Economics, Finance and Policy Towards Sustainable Energy)
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