ALBERT

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 World Development, Volume 123〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Adriana Camacho, Emily Conover〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Small-scale farmers in developing countries often make production and sale decisions based on imprecise, informal, and out-of-date sources of information, such as family, neighbors, or tradition. Lack of timely and accurate information on climate and prices can lead to inefficiencies in the production, harvesting, and commercialization of agricultural products, which in turn can affect farmers’ revenues and well-being. We did a Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) experiment with 500 small-scale farmers in a rural area of Colombia where there is nearly full mobile phone usage and coverage. Treated farmers received around 8 text messages per week with prices in the main markets for crops grown in the region, and customized weather forecasts. Compared to a control group, we find that treated farmers were more likely to report that text messages provide useful information for planting and selling, and more likely to always read their messages, indicating an increase in appreciation and use of this type of technology. We also found heterogeneous effects by farmer size. Smaller farmers try to make use of the intervention by planting more crops for which they have price information. Larger farmers seek new markets and increase conversations with other producers. Despite these positive effects, we do not find a significant difference in farmers reporting a price, price differential with the market price, or sale prices received. Our results indicate that farmers are amenable to learning and using new technologies, but that the introduction of these technologies do not always translate into short-run welfare improvements for them. Given the increased interest in incorporating information and communication technologies into agriculture, our findings indicate that prior to a large-scale implementation it is necessary to better understand what prevents farmers from more directly profiting from this new information.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: October 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Sustainable Cities and Society, Volume 50〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Zhengrong Li, Haowei Xing, Godfried Augenbroe〈/p〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉 〈p〉Although there have been numerous studies on the evaluation of models that estimate sky diffuse radiation on inclined surfaces, it is still difficult for investigators to select from available sky diffuse radiation models for urban microclimate and building performance simulation. This is due to the fact that results from different studies are not consistent, or even contradictive, which indicates the fact that the evaluation criterion itself has a great effect on the performance of the model.〈/p〉 〈p〉To explore the effect of different evaluation criteria on the performance rating of the models, four evaluation methods are applied in this paper: diffuse irradiance on facades with respect to sky condition, diffuse irradiance on facades with respect to orientation, diffuse irradiance distribution among sky dome with respect to sky condition and diffuse irradiance on buildings in obstructed environment. Based on a statistical test on available data, Igawa model is considered to be the most accurate and appropriate model for urban and building energy simulation. Besides, an evaluation criterion appropriate for screening sky diffuse models for urban and building energy simulation is proposed. Furthermore, potential errors that may occur in the measurement and the corresponding quality control is presented.〈/p〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: October 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Sustainable Cities and Society, Volume 50〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): D. Koteswara Rao, D. Chandrasekharam〈/p〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Sustainable conservation of natural resources has become a primary concern for urban cities, globally as they are centers of consumption and economy. Due to population growth, cities depend more on imports of food, energy, water, and services from all over the globe, and consume more virtual water than direct water, because of their food habits and lifestyle. Most of the imported goods are water intensive and pose challenges in tracing the source of virtual water. The goal of this research is to develop a general framework to assess the water footprint (WF) of a typical city in India using existing databases. A consumer-centric approach has been adopted for assessing WF in Hyderabad Metro Development Area (HMDA). The variation of the WF across economic classes of consumers is also analyzed. The WF is estimated based on four broad categories: 1) food consumption, 2) fossil fuels based energy, 3) electric power, and 4) direct water. Average WF of HMDA region is 1041 m〈sup〉3〈/sup〉/cap/year (2852 LPCD), in which 70% (1986 LPCD) of WF was consumed by food, 25% (744 LPCD) by electric power, only 4% (121 LPCD) is from direct water consumption and surprisingly the contribution from fossil fuel WF to total per capita WF of HMDA area is less than 1%.〈/p〉〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: Available online 5 July 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Sustainable Cities and Society〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Shuqin Chen, Xiyong Zhang, Shen Wei, Tong Yang, Jun Guan, Wenxiao Yang, Lijuan Qu, Yunqing Xu〈/p〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Accurate grasp of district power demand is of great significance to both sizing of district power supply and its operation optimization. In this study, an index system has been established and visualized through a Geographic Information System, for revealing both temporal and spatial characteristics of district power loads caused by heating/cooling systems, including load level and fluctuation characteristics, spatial distribution of electric loads, and load coupling relationships between individual buildings and the district. Principal component analysis was applied to identify the buildings with significant impact on district load management. Using this method, the spatial-temporal characteristics of electric loads caused by heating in one university campus in China were analyzed. The results showed that building type and the operation modes had great effects on the level and volatility of the district electric load caused by heating. Buildings with high load levels and strong coupling with the peak district electric load, such as academic buildings, often had a major impact on the power demand of the district. Therefore, they were considered as key targets for energy-saving renovation and operation optimization. Buildings with large load fluctuation, such as teaching buildings, could contribute to the peak load shaving by adjusting the heating systems’ operation.〈/p〉〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: October 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Sustainable Cities and Society, Volume 50〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Shuo-Jun Mei, Zhiwen Luo, Fu-Yun Zhao, Han-Qing Wang〈/p〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Urban ventilation is important for building a healthy urban living environment. 2-D CFD simulation has been used widely for street canyon ventilation due to its high computational efficiency, but its applicability for a 3-D simulation has never been studied. This paper tried to answer the question: if and under what conditions, the widely-adopted 2-D CFD simulations on street canyon ventilation can represent a 3-D scenarios? 3-D simulations on street canyons with various street lengths and corresponding 2-D simulations are carried out with RNG 〈em〉k〈/em〉-〈em〉ε〈/em〉 model. Our study identified two important ventilation mechanism for controlling ventilation and dispersion in a 3-D street canyon, i.e., canyon vortex on the canyon top and the corner vortices at the street ends. The relative importance of these two driving forces will change with the street length/street width ratio (〈em〉B/W〈/em〉). For isolated street canyon, when 〈em〉B/W〈/em〉 is higher than 20 (for 〈em〉H/W〈/em〉 = 1) and 70 (〈em〉H/W〈/em〉 = 2), the street canyon ventilation will be dominated by canyon vortex, and 3-D street canyon ventilation could be simplified as a 2-D case. For multiple street canyon, the threshold of 〈em〉B/W〈/em〉 will become 20 when 〈em〉H/W〈/em〉 = 1, and 50 when 〈em〉H/W〈/em〉 = 2. The findings in this study could improve our approaches for simulating urban ventilation.〈/p〉〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: October 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Sustainable Cities and Society, Volume 50〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Gaofeng Gu, Dujuan Yang, Tao Feng, Harry Timmermans〈/p〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The increasing shift of individuals to use new electric mobility tools like electric cars (EV) and electric bikes has changed household energy expenditure. It may also affect households’ investments in renewable energy equipment, i.e. solar panels, heat pumps. Relatively little research has been conducted on how the decision to purchase electric vehicles affects the decision to invest in home renewable energy equipment. This paper, therefore, aims to examine the effects of mobility tools decisions on the intention to invest in solar panels and heat pumps, based on the data collected through a stated choice experiment. A mixed logit model is estimated to capture unobserved heterogeneity among individuals. Results show that mobility tools significantly influence the choice of home renewable energy equipment. Households who prefer to purchase electric vehicles have a higher probability to invest in solar panels and heat pumps than households who prefer other mobility tools. In addition, EV adopters’ intention to invest in solar panels are stronger than the intention to invest in heat pumps. This suggests that electric vehicle users are likely the early adopters of solar panels.〈/p〉〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: October 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Sustainable Cities and Society, Volume 50〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Heictor Correia Maioli, Raíssa Corrêa de Carvalho, Denise Dumke de Medeiros〈/p〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The increase in population concentration in large cities is a trend in the world, which brings several problems. In the context of urban mobility, bicycle sharing systems deserve special mention due to the impact and growth worldwide. The dissemination and success of these systems are also linked to aspects related to quality in their provision. Thus, this paper aims to conduct a study in the context of bicycle sharing to help managers to stimulate the use of this service and contribute to the development of sustainable cities. The SERVPERF tool was adapted and used to assess the quality of bicycle sharing service, in addition to identify which aspects impact on users’ satisfaction. This approach is innovative since there is a gap in the literature about customer satisfaction analyzes and aspects related to the quality of bicycle sharing service. In this way, this study can contribute to the dissemination of this service and to the solution of urban mobility problems by identifying the aspects considered as most important for the customers and thus improving these aspects. Therefore, the bicycle sharing system may have the increasingly use and will help to reduce urban mobility problems.〈/p〉〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: Available online 5 July 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Technological Forecasting and Social Change〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Sorin M.S. Krammer, Alfredo Jiménez〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉We posit that the investments in political connections made by a firm in an emerging market will impact differently its propensity to introduce radical and incremental innovations. In addition, we argue that this effect will be moderated by alternate non-market firm strategies, such as bribery. Using a dataset of more than 9000 firms in 30 emerging economies from Eastern Europe and Central Asia we find that political connections increase the probability of radical innovation but have no significant impact on incremental innovation. Moreover, larger bribing reduces the positive impact of political connections on radical innovation. Our results confirm the importance of political connections for firm activities, but also caution firms on their heterogeneous impact on various types of innovations, and their detrimental interplay with other non-market strategies.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 World Development, Volume 123〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Alwin Keil, Archisman Mitra, Amit K. Srivastava, Andrew McDonald〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Sustainable intensification (SI) approaches to agricultural development are urgently needed to meet the growing demand for crop staples while protecting ecosystem services and environmental quality. However, SI initiatives have been criticized for neglecting social welfare outcomes. A recent review found that better-off farmers benefitted disproportionately from SI and highlighted the dearth of studies assessing the equity of outcomes. In this study, we explore the social inclusiveness of zero-tillage (ZT) wheat adoption in Bihar, India. ZT is a proven SI technology for enhancing wheat productivity while boosting profitability and reducing greenhouse gas emissions from agricultural machinery in the densely populated Indo-Gangetic Plains. With an average landholding size of 0.39 ha, most farmers in Bihar depend on custom-hiring services to access the technology. While service provision models should foster inclusive growth by reducing financial barriers to technology adoption, early evidence suggested that smallholders remained at a disadvantage. Building on this previous research, we use a panel dataset from 961 wheat-growing households that spans a six-year period to analyze ZT adoption dynamics over time while accounting for the role of social networks and access to service provision. Using a heckprobit approach to correct for non-exposure bias, we compare determinants of ZT awareness and use in 2012 and 2015. We apply a multinomial logit model to identify determinants of early adoption, recent adoption, non-adoption, and dis-adoption. Furthermore, we explore the quality of ZT services as an additional dimension of socially-inclusive technology access. We find that the strong initial scale bias in ZT use declined substantially as awareness of the technology increased and the service economy expanded. Land fragmentation replaced total landholding size as a significant adoption determinant, which also affected the quality of ZT services received. Hence, farmers with small but contiguous landholdings appear to have gained a significant degree of access over time. We conclude that early-stage assessments of SI may be misleading, and that private sector-based service provision can contribute to socially inclusive development outcomes as markets mature.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 World Development, Volume 123〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Chiara Ravetti, Mare Sarr, Daniel Munene, Tim Swanson〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉This paper analyses the ways in which ethnic identity and labour institutions shape favouritism and discrimination among workers. We conduct a lab experiment in the field with South African coal miners from various ethnic groups and with different trade union membership status. Our analysis suggests that union identity and ethnic identity are two social constructs that operate in a distinct and opposite fashion. Unionization acts as a factor of workers solidarity beyond the confine of union membership. Conversely, ethnicity operates as the linchpin through which discrimination among workers is infused not only between ethnic majority and minorities, but also within the majority group itself. We find that the widespread practice of subcontracting in the mining sector exacerbates ethnic discrimination among workers both between and within ethnic groupings.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 World Development, Volume 123〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Vanesa Jordá, Miguel Niño-Zarazúa〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Despite the growing interest in global inequality, assessing inequality trends is a major challenge because individual data on income or consumption is not often available. Nevertheless, the periodic release of certain summary statistics of the income distribution has become increasingly common. Hence, grouped data in form of income shares have been conventionally used to construct inequality trends based on lower bound approximations of inequality measures. This approach introduces two potential sources of measurement error: first, these estimates are constructed under the assumption of equality of incomes within income shares; second, the highest income earners are not included in the household surveys from which grouped data is obtained. In this paper, we propose to deploy a flexible parametric model, which addresses these two issues in order to obtain a reliable representation of the income distribution and accurate estimates of inequality measures. This methodology is used to estimate the recent evolution of global interpersonal inequality from 1990 to 2015 and to examine the effect of survey under-coverage of top incomes on the level and direction of global inequality. Overall, we find that item non-response at the top of the distribution substantially biases global inequality estimates, but, more importantly, it might also affect the direction of the trends.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 World Development, Volume 123〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Ben Siegelman, Nora Haenn, Xavier Basurto〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉This paper relates how fishermen in San Evaristo on Mexico’s Baja peninsula employ fabrications to strengthen bonds of trust and navigate the complexities of common pool resource extraction. We argue this trickery complicates notions of social capital in community-based natural resource management, which emphasize communitarianism in the form of trust. Trust, defined as a mutual dependability often rooted in honesty, reliable information, or shared expectations, has long been recognized as essential to common pool resource management. Despite this, research that takes a critical approach to social capital places attention on the activities that foster social networks and their norms by arguing that social capital is a process. A critical approach illuminates San Evaristeño practices of lying and joking across social settings and contextualizes these practices within cultural values of harmony. As San Evaristeños assert somewhat paradoxically, for them “lies build trust.” Importantly, a critical approach to this case study forces consideration of gender, an overlooked topic in social capital research. San Evaristeña women are excluded from the verbal jousting through which men maintain ties supporting their primacy in fishery management. Both men’s joke-telling and San Evaristeños’ aversion to conflict have implications for conservation outcomes. As a result, we use these findings to help explain local resistance to outsiders and external management strategies including land trusts, fishing cooperatives, and marine protected areas.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: Available online 5 July 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Space Policy〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Bergit Uhran, Catharine Conley, J. Andy Spry〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Planetary protection, or the protection of celestial bodies from potentially harmful contamination, has been required by international law since the ratification of the Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space in 1967. At that time, scientists were concerned about the potential of contaminating the Moon or bringing back a life form of lunar origin when astronauts returned to Earth with samples. The evidence is that the Moon does not contain indigenous life, but other celestial bodies may. Mars is of particular concern because of its habitability and plans to carry out a robotic sample return mission and even potentially human crewed missions in the near future (next 20–30 years). This article (recognizing that other national and international tasks are ongoing with detailed studies of technical aspects of containment and sample analysis) provides an overview of the policy aspects of planetary protection and sample return, discussing the history of planetary protection, lessons learned from the Apollo missions, and a potential strategy to ensure prevention contamination if a robotic sample return mission is carried out. It is recommended that the capability performed in the 1960s by the Interagency Committee on Back Contamination be reestablished, that regulations be developed to allow quarantine of anyone exposed to the samples, that scientific and technical personnel be trained in a receiving laboratory for at least 2 years prior to sample return, and that a test protocol be established for examining the samples. This will protect our biosphere while enabling groundbreaking research into conditions on Mars and any possible signs of life.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: Available online 5 July 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Space Policy〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Harald Köpping Athanasopoulos〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉This article discusses the Moon Village concept within the context of the increasing momentum to return human beings to the surface of the Moon. The article follows a dual objective. Firstly, the Moon Village is probably the most misunderstood among the plethora of ideas to explore the Moon scientifically and commercially. The article is therefore intended to explore what the Moon Village actually is. Secondly, the article explores the strengths and weaknesses of the Moon Village. The article is divided into three sections. The first section reviews the current Moon projects of public and private space actors, including the United States, Russia, China, SpaceX and Blue Origin. It sets the scene for the argument that the Moon Village has entered global discourse on space within a positive political environment. The second section discusses the premises of ESA chief Jan Wörner’s Moon Village concept, putting forward that the Moon Village is intended as an open concept rather than as a concrete plan. It is a process rather than a project and it is meant to initiate a global conversation on humanity’s future on the Moon. As such, the world café is an appropriate metaphor to illustrate the idea behind the Moon Village. In the third and final section a SWAT/PEST analysis is conducted to assess the feasibility of the Moon Village, highlighting that one of the major opportunities of the project is to promote international cooperation. The article concludes by supporting the institutionalist hypothesis that the Moon Village is arguably a translation of the ESA system to the global level, as participation is voluntary and as it builds on the strengths of each cooperation partner. As such, the Moon Village in indeed a new way of doing space on the global level.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: Available online 10 April 2018〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Technological Forecasting and Social Change〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): John Rice, Nigel Martin〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Smart Information and Communications Technology (ICT) is envisaged to provide the capabilities to plan, design, construct, operate and manage Australia's key infrastructure. With over 75% of Australia's population living in cities and accessing public and private goods and services, ICT is positioned as a strategic resource for smart infrastructure developments. In this study, international and domestic stakeholder inputs on the future role of smart ICT in advancing Australia's infrastructure development and operations were crowdsourced for analysis. The study identifies several forms of smart ICT (e.g. building information modelling software) enabled infrastructure that possesses potential to deliver over A$9 billion per annum in domestic economic improvements, with commensurate advancement of communities, regions and urban environments. However, to be effective these smart ICT require enablement through open and interoperable data, sound governance and policy, and government leadership and coordination using dedicated resources. While smart infrastructure development is presently slow and lumbering, the identified smart ICT present as valuable strategic technologies for change and development in domestic communities.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: Available online 24 April 2018〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Technological Forecasting and Social Change〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Rahat Iqbal, Faiyaz Doctor, Brian More, Shahid Mahmud, Usman Yousuf〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Big Data has significant impact in developing functional smart cities and supporting modern societies. In this paper, we investigate the importance of Big Data in modern life and economy, and discuss challenges arising from Big Data utilization. Different computational intelligence techniques have been considered as tools for Big Data analytics. We also explore the powerful combination of Big Data and Computational Intelligence (CI) and identify a number of areas, where novel applications in real world smart city problems can be developed by utilizing these powerful tools and techniques. We present a case study for intelligent transportation in the context of a smart city, and a novel data modelling methodology based on a biologically inspired universal generative modelling approach called Hierarchical Spatial-Temporal State Machine (HSTSM). We further discuss various implications of policy, protection, valuation and commercialization related to Big Data, its applications and deployment.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: Available online 12 April 2018〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Technological Forecasting and Social Change〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): F.W. Geels, A. McMeekin, B. Pfluger〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Social acceptance and political feasibility are important issues in low-carbon transitions. Since computer models struggle to address these issues, the paper advances socio-technical scenarios as a novel methodological tool. Contributing to recent dialogue approaches, we develop an eight-step methodological procedure that produces socio-technical scenarios through various interactions between the multi-level perspective and computer models. As a specific contribution, we propose ‘transition bottlenecks’ as a methodological aid to mediate dialogue between qualitative MLP-based analysis of 〈em〉contemporary〈/em〉 dynamics and quantitative, model-generated 〈em〉future〈/em〉 pathways. The transition bottlenecks also guide the articulation of socio-technical storylines that suggest how the social acceptance and political feasibility of particular low-carbon innovations can be improved through social interactions and endogenous changes in discourses, preferences, support coalitions and policies. Drawing on results from the 3-year PATHWAYS project, we demonstrate these contributions for the UK electricity system, developing two low-carbon transition pathways to 2050 commensurate with the 2 °C target, one based on technological substitution (enacted by incumbent actors), and one based on broader system transformation (enacted by new entrants).〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: October 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Volume 147〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Emrah Karakilic〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The transition from industrial capitalism to cognitive capitalism and the rise of the digital revolution have brought the subject of intellectual property rights to the forefront as a controversial issue. This paper holds that the theoretical apparatus and concepts belonging to the industrial phase of capitalism largely fall short with respect to the repercussions that intellectual property rights regime yields. Embracing the methodological precept that social theory must be moulded in order to address the contours of contemporary social reality, this paper engages in an autonomist Marxist update on the concept of intellectual property rights. It ultimately challenges the “intellectual property rights are a socio-economic need” thesis and speculatively argues that the current system of intellectual property rights, directed politically towards the enclosure of commons, constitutes a structural contradiction by i) forming a basis for a social crisis in terms of the established relations of production, and ii) curtailing a part of the socio-economic opportunities for innovation, profit-making, and growth.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: Available online 9 April 2018〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Technological Forecasting and Social Change〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Daniela Maresch, Johannes Gartner〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Disruptive technological change can contribute to a more abundant world. However, potentially disruptive technologies often struggle to significantly influence practice. One prominent example is additive manufacturing (AM). Although AM is often regarded as the next great technological revolution in waiting, it has not yet established itself on a large scale in many fields of application. We investigate the reasons behind those challenges by looking at the various fields in which AM is applied and relating them to the specific challenges AM faces, as well as the opportunities it offers in those fields. Our findings rely on a multi-perspective technology foresight process that is based on a discourse analytic approach and that comprises data tomography covering the biggest German-language online magazine on AM and qualitative interview data collected from a range of AM stakeholders. The findings provide an empirically well-founded evaluation and explanation of the link between the challenges and opportunities offered by AM and the extent to which this disruptive technology is leveraged in specific fields. The findings prompt recommendations on how new potentially disruptive technologies can foster abundance in traditional, well established market economies based on the example of the well-developed but traditional market economy of Austria.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: Available online 24 April 2018〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Technological Forecasting and Social Change〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Måns Nilsson, Adis Dzebo, Georgia Savvidou, Katarina Axelsson〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Quantitative models of transitions, such as energy systems models and integrated assessment models, do not usually represent social processes, institutions and politics. Their view of societal transitions, along with the governance required to drive them, is therefore limited. Socio-technical systems approaches, in contrast, represent the social side but lack a quantitative view of the future system. This paper addresses this by bridging an energy systems model with socio-technical systems analysis and a local action study, analysing the future transition of the residential heating system in Sweden. The paper focuses on demand-side shifts that would drive a transition to a highly efficient, low-carbon heating system until 2050. A conceptual framework for bridging three approaches is introduced and applied. For example, niche-innovations identified in the socio-technical study are implemented as scenario options in the model. Landscape signals are external drivers of the scenario, and the regime study identifies barriers and governance requirements. The local action study provides insights into community attitudes affecting niches and regime change. Our results indicate that the linking of approaches is meaningful, in that it provides an enriched understanding of future systems change in many dimensions. Further research is required using a variety of models on a variety of domains or sectors to draw more generalizable lessons about bridging modelling and social science-based approaches for transition studies.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 World Development, Volume 123〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Sara Geenen〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉By zooming in on the concept of ‘local content’, this article speaks to the debate on extractive industries and development. It challenges two fundamental assumptions of the mainstream local content literature: that production linkages will develop if an enabling environment is created, and that local content is beneficial for local people. Based on almost 600 interviews and focus groups in four mining concessions in Ghana and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) it focuses on how local content policies are translated into concrete practices – more particularly around the granting of contracts and employment. In doing so it unravels the 〈em〉political〈/em〉 dimensions of local content policies and their 〈em〉structural embeddedness〈/em〉 in large-scale extractivist projects. It is argued that local content policies are implemented in complex political arenas, where the power holders use them as political instruments to enhance profit accumulation and control rents. Moreover they are embedded in the structural dynamics that permeate large-scale extractivist projects, producing (new) patterns of exclusion.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: September 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Energy Policy, Volume 132〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Jeoung-Sik Min, Seul-Ye Lim, Seung-Hoon Yoo〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The combined heat and power (CHP) generation, which can produce both heat and electricity at the same time, is so efficient that it can reduce energy use and even mitigate CO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 and air pollutants emissions. For this reason, the share of CHP generation worldwide is increasing and the optimal share of CHP generation in electric power generation is a serious concern in South Korea. This article attempts to estimate the optimal share by modeling the plausible relationship between CHP generation and national output in the Cobb-Douglas production function setting and then deriving the output-maximizing share of CHP generation. The production function is estimated for annual data from 1995 to 2017 using several quantile regressions. The optimal share is computed to be 13.8%. Therefore, it is recommended that South Korea should increase the share of CHP generation slightly, given that the share was 8.6% in 2017. If the optimal CHP share instead of the actual CHP share had been achieved in 2017, GDP in 2017 could have increased by 0.82%.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: September 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Marine Policy, Volume 107〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Alicia Said, Ratana Chuenpagdee〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Since the launch of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015, several countries, funding organizations, environmental groups and research communities have pledged support and made commitment to help achieve these goals. SDG14: Life Below Water, for instance, has been embraced as the global goal for conservation and sustainable uses of the oceans, seas and marine resources. Among its many targets, SDG14b speaks directly to small-scale fisheries, calling for secured access to resources and markets for this sector. We argue that achieving SDG 14b requires a holistic approach encompassing several SDGs, including livelihoods, economic growth, community sustainability, strong institutions and partnerships. It is also important to align the SDG targets with the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries (SSF Guidelines), as the mutuality that exists between the scope and nature of the two instruments can help guide the formulation of appropriate governance tools. Yet, the alignment of these two instruments alone does not guarantee sustainability of small-scale fisheries, especially without an official mandate from the governments. The case in point is the European Union where small-scale fisheries are not sufficiently recognized within the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), despite being the largest sector (75% of the fleet). Through an examination of the CFP in the context of the SSF Guidelines and the SDGs, we discuss options and possibilities for inclusive consideration of small-scale fisheries in the upcoming policy reform, which might then lead to both achieving fisheries sustainability and the SDGs in the EU.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: September 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Energy Policy, Volume 132〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Ekundayo Shittu, Bruno G. Kamdem, Carmen Weigelt〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉While the role of organizational learning in improving firm performance is well documented, there are still questions on what drives technological learning. This is evident in the electricity industry where the growth of renewable energy technologies has been pervasive. Vicarious learning contributes to the adoption of emerging technologies through successful inter-firm knowledge sharing and transfer. However, there is hesitation to adoption that characterizes vicarious learning especially in the context of intra-firm learning. This paper investigates the differences in knowledge acquisition within and across electricity firms in the U.S. The learning curve model is applied to a longitudinal study of 5573 plants belonging to 1542 U.S. electricity firms between 1998 and 2010. This study finds: (i) The capacity growth of the solar photovoltaic technology is positively associated with intra-firm knowledge acquisition; (ii) The effect of financial incentives on the adoption of solar and wind technologies is higher under inter-firm learning; (iii) The higher the stringency of policy mandates, the more varied is the progress on technological change across technologies; (iv) Knowledge sharing between firms are higher for wind technology than for solar technology. These findings combine to show disparities in the learning trends of technologies across and within firms’ boundaries.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: September 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Energy Policy, Volume 132〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Mette Talseth Solnørdal, Sverre Braathen Thyholdt〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Increased energy efficiency (EE) in manufacturing firms is important for confronting climate challenges. However, the information barrier is considered a major restriction on EE innovation. Building on the theory of absorptive capacity and the current EE literature, we argue that this barrier relates to firms' ability to assimilate and exploit information. Thus, this study's objective is to analyse firms' knowledge characteristics as determinants of EE innovation. We perform logit regressions using a Norwegian panel dataset for the period 2010–2014. The results are based on statistical correlations between data points that have potential uncertainties. Still, the main implications from our study are that prior knowledge, in terms of higher educated workforce, knowledge development, in terms of R&D capacity, and external knowledge cooperation, such as cooperation with universities and competitors, increase firms' pursuit of EE innovation. Further, the results also imply that there is an interaction effect between higher educated workforce and collaboration with universities. These results suggest that policy makers should consider firms' ability to assimilate and exploit information. This can be done by providing information according to firms' needs and absorptive capacity, and offering possibilities for firms to increase this capacity.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: September 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Energy Policy, Volume 132〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Paul Neetzow, Roman Mendelevitch, Sauleh Siddiqui〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Distributed photo-voltaic (PV) generation is one of the pillars of energy transitions around the world, but its deployment in the distribution grid requires costly reinforcements and expansions. Prosumage – consisting of a household-level PV unit coupled with a battery storage system – has been proposed as an effective means to facilitate the integration of renewable energy sources and reduce distribution grid stress. However, tapping its full potential requires regulatory interventions; otherwise, system costs could rise despite increasing flexibility. We analyze the effectiveness of different policy schemes to mitigate the need for distribution capacity expansion by incentivizing beneficial storage operation. Our novel top-down modeling approach allows analyzing effects on market prices, storage dispatch, induced distribution grid requirements, system costs, and distributional implications. Based on German power system data, numerical results indicate that distribution grid requirements can be reduced through simple feed-in policies. A uniform limit on maximum grid feed-in can leave distribution system operators better off, even if they fully compensate prosumage households for foregone revenue. Policies imposing more differentiated limits at the regional level result in only marginal efficiency improvements. Complete self-sufficiency (autarky) is socially undesirable, as it confines important balancing potential and can increase system costs despite adding storage.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: October 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Sustainable Cities and Society, Volume 50〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Zhijian Liu, Di Wu, Yuanwei Liu, Guangya Jin, Qiaomei Wang, Zhonghe Han, Hancheng Yu〈/p〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Low energy buildings are an efficient approach to meet space heating requirements and saving energy. Studies of low energy buildings mainly focus on cold climate regions. However, there is less research on the feasibility of low energy buildings on Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau located in a severely cold climatic region. Therefore, a low energy building equipped with an integrated heating system was built on Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. The performance of the low energy building was quantitatively evaluated by field measurement and dynamic TRNSYS simulation. To be specific, the indoor temperature and relative humidity were measured, and further served as the data to verify the accuracy of the simulated results. The results show that the temperature and humidity were above 20 °C and 40% in the heating season, in accordance with the regulated low energy building standard (DB63/T1682-2018). According to the TRNSYS simulation, the hourly indoor temperature and relative humidity were generally in the range of 20–24 °C and 34–56%, respectively, in the heating season, with an energy demand of 16.1 kW h/(m〈sup〉2〈/sup〉 year). Overall, the building performance meets the local low energy building standard (DB63/T1682-2018). Therefore, a passive building with integrated heating system assistance is feasible for pleasant indoor comfort on Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. These findings could explore the application potential of low energy buildings in severe cold climate areas.〈/p〉〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: September 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Volume 146〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Marco Capasso, Teis Hansen, Jonas Heiberg, Antje Klitkou, Markus Steen〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Governments in countries across the world increasingly adopt the “green growth” discourse to underline their ambition for the greening of their economies. The central tenet of this narrative is the economic opportunities rather than challenges arising from the pursuit of environmental sustainability. Our paper synthesises insights from 113 recent scientific articles, dealing with both environmental issues and economic growth, as well as innovation. Our ambition is exploratory in attempting to take stock of heterogeneous contributions across the spectrum of social science. The articles have been reviewed with a focus on six themes, derived from current discussions in economic geography and transition studies: skills, technology, physical resources, markets, institutions and policies. Four major implications emerge from the review. First, green growth requires competences that allow for handling complex, non-routine situations – in both the private and the public sector. Second, technological progress should be directed towards greener technologies, to avoid investments funds being channelled to brown technologies for short-term returns. Third, our knowledge of the opportunities for achieving green growth must base upon a joint assessment of market failures, structural system failures and transformational system failures. Finally, greater attention should be devoted to the geography of green growth processes at different scales.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: September 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Marine Policy, Volume 107〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Carmen Pedroza-Gutiérrez〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Lake Chapala's fisheries have been an important economic activity for hundreds of years. However, the introduction of carpe and tilapia forced a change in the market structure, including the processing-value-adding-activities. Currently, filleting-fish is a successfully growing industry, which employs mostly women from the coastal communities. This paper aims to identify the factors influencing the division of labor in fish-processing and the determinants of bargaining-power for women. Fieldwork was carried out between 2015 and 2017 in three communities bordering Lake Chapala, Mexico (Jamay, Petatán, LaPalma), using a survey strategy based on questionnaires and formal and informal interviews to obtain qualitative and quantitative data. Findings show that fish-processing as a labor market opportunity for women is a source of bargaining power, working hours are flexible, and it is a constant and reliable source of income, unlike fishing. In each community the gender division of labor is constructed according to the local culture and the gendered-social-norms. In Petatán, fish-processing is a woman dominated activity, highly valued, with the largest average income, complementary to household income. Jamay has male (20%) and female (80%) fish-processors, fish-processing is their only source of income, and is considered an activity for single mothers (35%) or those who do not have access to better jobs. In both communities, married women's contribution to household income depends on their husband's daily earnings ranging between 25 and 75%. In LaPalma, fish-processing is a male-dominated activity, where women do not dare to work among the young filleting workers, who are breadwinners.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: October 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Sustainable Cities and Society, Volume 50〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Abdelkader Dairi, Tuoyuan Cheng, Fouzi Harrou, Ying Sun, TorOve Leiknes〈/p〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are sustainable solutions to water scarcity. As initial conditions offered to WWTPs, influent conditions (ICs) affect treatment units states, ongoing processes mechanisms, and product qualities. Anomalies in ICs, often raised by abnormal events, need to be monitored and detected promptly to improve system resilience and provide smart environments. This paper proposed and verified data-driven anomaly detection approaches based on deep learning methods and clustering algorithms. Combining both the ability to capture temporal auto-correlation features among multivariate time series from recurrent neural networks (RNNs), and the function to delineate complex distributions from restricted Boltzmann machines (RBM), RNN-RBM models were employed and connected with various classifiers for anomaly detection. The effectiveness of RNN based, RBM based, RNN-RBM based, or standalone individual detectors, including expectation maximization clustering, K-means clustering, mean-shift clustering, one-class support vector machine (OCSVM), spectral clustering, and agglomerative clustering algorithms were evaluated by importing seven years ICs data from a coastal municipal WWTP where more than 150 abnormal events occurred. Results demonstrated that RNN-RBM-based OCSVM approach outperformed all other scenarios with an area under the curve value up to 0.98, which validated the superiority in feature extraction by RNN-RBM, and the robustness in multivariate nonlinear kernels by OCSVM. The model was flexible for not requiring assumptions on data distribution, and could be shared and transferred among environmental data scientists.〈/p〉〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: September 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Energy Policy, Volume 132〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Monika Papież, Sławomir Śmiech, Katarzyna Frodyma〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉 〈p〉The study uses the two-stage bias-corrected DEA approach of Simar and Wilson (2007) to assess the efficiency of the EU countries in terms of their wind power investment in 2015. The set of input variables includes installed wind power capacity and average wind power density, while output variables include wind-generated electricity and three additional aspects: environmental, economic and energy security. Next, the study examines the effect of renewable energy policy regarding wind energy, the energy mix, and the offshore wind power utilisation on the wind power efficiency of the analysed countries.〈/p〉 〈p〉The results obtained reveal that the United Kingdom, Sweden, Denmark, and Ireland are the most efficient countries in terms of wind power investment. The inclusion of additional aspects demonstrates the greatest improvement of efficiency in Belgium, Cyprus, the Netherlands, Estonia and Germany.〈/p〉 〈p〉The results seem to indicate that economic instruments used within renewable energy policy have a positive effect on wind power efficiency, while policy support and regulatory instruments might negatively impact. Moreover, the results show that the energy mix explains the variation of the efficiency of the EU countries when their economic and environmental aspects are considered. The analysis of the geographic location indicates that countries with a high share of offshore wind capacity are the most efficient.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: September 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Energy Policy, Volume 132〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Jian Chai, Zhaohao Wei, Yi Hu, Siping Su, Zhe George Zhang〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The rise of the shale gas industry and the need for clean, low-carbon energy transformation in China has meant that the relationship between domestic and foreign natural gas markets has become closer. Therefore, identifying the changing relationships between the major global natural gas markets and China's natural gas market has important practical value for the current Chinese domestic natural gas pricing system. This paper used the DCC-GARCH-NARDL-ARDL-ECM as the analytical framework to study these relationships, from which it was found that there was no unified global natural gas market and that China's natural gas market was not yet aligned with this market. It was shown that there was no significant asymmetry in the impact of international gas prices on China's gas prices as no flexible adjustment measures were found in China's imported natural gas pricing mechanism. Moreover, while international natural gas prices were found to have a significant impact on China's natural gas prices over the long term, there were obvious regional differences over the short term. Accordingly, new pricing policies should be designed to promote market-oriented natural gas pricing reforms in acknowledging features such as asymmetry, the difference between imported gas sources and the periodicity of price adjustment.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: September 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Energy Policy, Volume 132〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Alexander Vinel, Ebrahim Mortaz〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Tapping into a large amount of renewable generation considering the inherent variability of renewable energy sources (RES) can greatly increase the risk of supply and demand imbalances in electric power delivery. One of the major components of this risk is the intermittency of both wind and solar power generation. In this paper, we show that by strategically planning for geographical and technological diversification of renewable generation capacity it is possible to reduce such risk in a RES-only US energy portfolio. We consider wind and solar as the sole sources of generation and use risk-averse stochastic optimization with Conditional Value-at-Risk (CVaR) to optimize energy generation locations and capacities in an idealized case study. The optimal RES portfolios demonstrate a significant improvement in generation profile compared to non-pooled or non-optimized alternatives. This confirms that with smart policy planning one can push the limits of the risk of imbalances in RES-only portfolios within continental United States, and highlights the need for system-wide thinking when designing a large-scale energy portfolio.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: September 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Energy Policy, Volume 132〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Rebecca Lordan-Perret, Austin L. Wright, Peter Burgherr, Matteo Spada, Robert Rosner〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉To what extent can energy infrastructure become a tool for insurgents? Non-state, insurgent actors have increased attacks on critical energy infrastructure over time (Giroux et al., 2013). As critical energy infrastructure becomes more complex and interconnected, attacks on this infrastructure can have far reaching consequences not only for the economy but also for social institutions. Leveraging exogenously scheduled elections in Colombia and microlevel energy infrastructure attack data, we use multivariate linear regression to show that insurgent groups, 〈em〉Las Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC)〈/em〉 and 〈em〉Ejército de Liberación〈/em〉 (ELN), time attacks on critical energy infrastructure in the months before an election. We find that the likelihood of an attack on electricity transmission lines and substations increased by 34% in the lead up to election months and that the number of attacks increased by 37% during election months. We further find these attacks are correlated with reduced voter turnout, indicating that infrastructure attacks may undermine participation in democratic institutions. These findings are particularly interesting as democratic societies—burgeoning and established—try to identify the unintended vulnerabilities to society that accompany the benefits of increased interconnectedness.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: September 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Energy Policy, Volume 132〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Simone Tagliapietra, Georg Zachmann, Ottmar Edenhofer, Jean-Michel Glachant, Pedro Linares, Andreas Loeschel〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Over the last decade, the EU has pursued a proactive climate policy and has integrated a significant amount of renewables into the energy system. These efforts have proved successful and continuing along this pathway, increasing renewables and improving energy efficiency, would not require substantial policy shifts. But the EU now needs a deeper energy transformation to decarbonise in line with the Paris agreement and to seize the economic and industrial opportunities offered by this global transformation. A full-fledged energy transition is becoming economically and technically feasible, and its cost would be similar to that of maintaining the existing system, if appropriate policies and regulations are put in place. In short, the EU could benefit from deep decarbonisation irrespective of what other economies around the world do. The transition can also be socially acceptable, if the right policies are put in place to control and mitigate the distributional effects of deeper decarbonisation. The time to act is now, as policy choices made up to 2024 will define the shape of the EU energy system by 2050. This article outlines the key priorities that, in our view, should drive the EU energy and climate policy making for the new institutional cycle 2019–2024.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈h3〉Abstract〈/h3〉 〈p〉How has ecological knowledge been applied in Norwegian management of hydropower and protected areas? By recognizing a diversity of environmental ‘knowledges’ and science as potentially subordinated to political and economic interests, we explain the link between ecological knowledge and management by the state and scale of knowledge, political conflict and international commitments. The analysis is guided by case-study methodology. We find that ecological knowledge has had weak impact in the management reform of protected areas and been reduced as a decision-making premise in hydropower management. Differing combinations of case-specific factors have produced these outcomes. In the case of protected areas, ecological knowledge was suppressed mainly by opposing economic interests. The hydropower case showed how competing environmental knowledge and international commitments related to renewable energy and climate change overshadowed nature management concerns. These observations highlight the importance of differentiating between types of environmental knowledge and between knowledge and interests in the study of nature management.〈/p〉

Beschreibung: 〈h3〉Abstract〈/h3〉 〈p〉Importance of the indicator-based neighborhood sustainability assessment (NSA) systems is widely accepted. The requirement of NSA systems for assisting and monitoring neighborhood sustainability is evident. Development of such systems needs analysis, frameworks, methods, expertise, etc. However, due to the large geographical area and regional variations, international application of these systems is an issue. Similarly, there lie contextual differences in developing and developed countries. Here, we derive a framework for formulating sustainability assessment system for developing countries. The available literature shows scarce research on NSA systems in developing countries. The study classifies the popular sustainability assessment systems from both context (developed and developing countries), presenting their approaches. Our results help in knowing the focus of NSA systems in each context. The classification is based on parameters (input, evaluation and output) and indicator distribution. The study finds that 〈em〉energy〈/em〉, 〈em〉water and wastewater,〈/em〉 and 〈em〉transportation〈/em〉 themes are given emphasis in NSA systems of developing countries, whereas the social theme is given attention in developed countries. We anticipate the results to be useful for classifying NSA systems. Furthermore, the framework can be a starting point for researchers to formulate new assessment systems for developing countries.〈/p〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Sustainable Cities and Society, Volume 51〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Neng Zhu, Daokun Chong〈/p〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Hyperthermal environments in public or industrial buildings impose substantial heat stress on the human body. To ensure human health in built environments, research has focused on the interactions between the heat tolerance and environments. This paper summarizes the progress in the literature concerning the evaluation and improvement of heat tolerance in three areas: environmental and physiological parameters, heat tolerance evaluation indexes, and heat acclimation (HA). This review leads to four conclusions: (1) Future indexes should give top priority to subjective perceptions to diminish individual differences; (2) machine learning techniques based on big data should be adopted to deal with complex correlations between hot environments and heat tolerance; (3) an optimal HA training regimen should be determined for workers to improve their heat tolerance and HA should be considered in the design and control strategies of indoor thermal environments for energy conservation; and (4) more field investigations should be conducted to modify laboratory-based findings. This review provides a comprehensive understanding of built environments and health and guidelines for future research.〈/p〉〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Sustainable Cities and Society, Volume 51〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Sophie A. Nitoslawski, Nadine J. Galle, Cecil Konijnendijk van den Bosc, James W.N. Steenberg〈/p〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉 〈p〉Smart cities are increasingly part of urban sustainability discourses. There is a growing interest in understanding how citizen engagement, connected technology, and data analytics can support sustainable development. Evidence has also repeatedly shown that green infrastructure such as urban forests address diverse urban challenges and are critical components of urban sustainability and resilience. Nevertheless, it is unclear whether green space and urban forest management are gaining significant traction in smart city planning. It is thus timely to consider whether and to what extent urban forests and other green spaces can be effectively integrated into smart city planning, to maximize green benefits for all city dwellers.〈/p〉 〈p〉We address this gap by exploring current and emerging smart city trends and technologies, and highlight practical applications for urban forest and green space management. Current “smart urban forest” projects reveal a focus on novel monitoring techniques using sensors and Internet of Things (IoT) technologies, as well as open data and citizen engagement, particularly through the use of mobile devices, applications (“apps”), and open-source mapping platforms. We propose a definition and promising approach to “smart urban forest management”, emphasizing both the potential of digital infrastructure to enhance forest benefits and the facilitation of citizen stewardship and empowerment in green space planning. Cities are getting faster and smarter – can (and should) the trees, and their managers, do the same?〈/p〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Sustainable Cities and Society, Volume 51〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Jun Bao, Yu Wang, Xinjie Xu, Xiaoyi Niu, Jinxiang Liu, Lanlan Qiu〈/p〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The development of big data leads to the increasing heat dissipation of data center chips. As an efficient pattern to remove high heat flux, spray cooling has huge potential for data center cooling. Spray cooling system was established combined with PIV (Particle Image Velocimetry) system. The PIV was used to measure the flow pattern distribution of different nozzle sprays, while the surface heat flux and heat transfer coefficient were obtained by the thermocouples. The results show that as the spray diameter decreases, the outlet pressure and outlet velocity of the droplet increase, and the spray cone angle increases, causing only a small amount of droplets actually participate in the heat exchange, resulting in a higher velocity and a smaller heat transfer coefficient. It is also inferred that better uniformity of droplets velocity is beneficial for the heat transfer performance. Moreover, to further enhance the heat transfer performance, nano-alumina solution with five different fractions was applied to the experimental system. It is found that the heat transfer coefficient of the surface reaches an optimum value with a maximum velocity obtained by the PIV when the mass fraction of the solution is 0.08%.〈/p〉〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Sustainable Cities and Society, Volume 51〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Peleg Kremer, Annegret Haase, Dagmar Haase〈/p〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉In this paper, we introduce the special issue “The future of urban sustainability: Smart, efficient, green or just?” the special issue aims to explore the relationships, conflicts and connections between different approaches to urban sustainability and begin to build a shared understanding of the roles, synergies and tradeoffs between them. Papers in this special issue emphasize the multidimensionality of urban sustainability and its integration of social, ecological, economic, and technological systems.〈/p〉〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Sustainable Cities and Society, Volume 51〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Sabah Abdul-Wahab, Ziyad Alsubhi〈/p〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Despite the small quantities of hydrogen fluoride (HF) that are emitted from aluminum smelters compared with the other gaseous emissions, HF is one of the most dangerous gases to be considered when studying the environmental impact of these smelters. Therefore, modeling HF dispersion is essentially important to make sure that concentrations do not exceed threshold limit, especially for buildings, which are located close to the emission source. The objective of the current study was to examine the dispersion of atmospheric HF emitted from an aluminum smelter located in Oman. The results of the study indicated that the concentrations were found to be well below the allowable concentrations. Results in winter showed that the highest hourly HF concentration (0.104 〈math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" altimg="si3.svg"〉〈msup〉〈mrow〉〈mtext〉 〈/mtext〉〈mtext〉μ〈/mtext〉〈mtext〉g〈/mtext〉〈mo〉/〈/mo〉〈mtext〉m〈/mtext〉〈/mrow〉〈mn〉3〈/mn〉〈/msup〉〈mo stretchy="false"〉)〈/mo〉〈/math〉 was occurred at 18:00 h local standard time and was found to be at a location −9.5 km west and 2.5 km north of the plant. Conversely, the simulation in summer indicated that the highest hourly HF concentration (0.374 〈math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" altimg="si4.svg"〉〈msup〉〈mrow〉〈mtext〉μ〈/mtext〉〈mtext〉g〈/mtext〉〈mo〉/〈/mo〉〈mtext〉m〈/mtext〉〈/mrow〉〈mn〉3〈/mn〉〈/msup〉〈mo stretchy="false"〉)〈/mo〉〈/math〉 was obtained at 22:00 h and was found to be at a location -8.5 km west and 3.5 km north of the plant. The results of the study will have significant importance to the residents, stakeholders, and related permitting authorities in the area.〈/p〉〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: October 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Marine Policy, Volume 108〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Maurice Beseng〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉This article removes the lid on fisheries crime in Cameroon by providing empirical evidence of criminal practices along the maritime fisheries value chain. To achieve this, the study relied on both primary and secondary data. Primary data was collected from direct observation, informal group discussions and semi-structured interviews involving state officials, coastal community groups and other civil society organisations in the west maritime district of Southwest Cameroon. The article reveals a plethora of fisheries-related crimes encompassing corruption (i.e. bribery and abuse of office), document and identity fraud, illegal exploitation of fish maws and endangered marine mammals. Other crimes associated to the fisheries sector included: smuggling of contraband goods, arms smuggling, illegal migration, illegal recruitment and abuse of workers' rights. Through these examples, this research empirically demonstrates the interrelationship of the different criminal practices and their organised and transnational dimension. The study also paints a complex picture of criminality perpetuated by a sophisticated network of both local and foreign industrial fisheries stakeholders. Consequently, addressing illicit activities in the maritime fisheries sector requires cooperation from a wide range of both state and non-state actors in investigating and analysing the nature of fisheries crime practices, the agents involved and their modes of operation. This approach is necessary to gain a better understanding of the problem and enable actors design appropriate and targeted management responses.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: October 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Marine Policy, Volume 108〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): André S. Afonso, Leonardo L. Fidelis, Pedro L. Roque, Renato Galindo, Wanderson Dionisio, Leonardo B. Veras, Fábio H.V. Hazin〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are potentially effective conservation and management instruments yet they often produce socioeconomic conflicts which may challenge their success. Knowledge and perceptions about environmental subjects among MPA residents were examined to identify possible effects of conservation policies upon local communities. Sharks were used as a proxy for wildlife given their local relevance and socioenvironmental context. Self-administered questionnaires were used to collect data from 134 randomly-selected residents of Fernando de Noronha (FEN), Brazil. Affinity towards nature tended to decrease among people 〉44 years old, whereas 〉10 years residents were more associated with negative feelings about sharks. Homogeneity in knowledge was noticed but perceptions decreased conspicuously across residence time-classes. Only 33% of respondents reported unarguable MPA benefits to local welfare, while several problems pertaining to infrastructure, management and resources were mentioned. These results are worrisome because they might translate into growing frustration along with residence time, which could potentially jeopardize the success of conservation policies. Wildlife conservation and at least partial improvements to welfare being positively signalized by a relevant proportion of respondents suggest an encouraging potential for relationship improvement between MPAs and stakeholders. Nonetheless, the long-term sustainability of inhabited MPAs could depend on properly integrating human users and ensuring their support and compliance, which must be considered while designing management strategies. Given the prestige of FEN in the South Atlantic and worldwide, it is important that this MPA delivers successful, sustainable outcomes that can be representative of efficient conservation trajectories to be replicated elsewhere.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: October 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Marine Policy, Volume 108〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Sara Hornborg, Ingrid van Putten, Camilla Novaglio, Elizabeth A. Fulton, Julia L. Blanchard, Éva Plagányi, Cathy Bulman, Keith Sainsbury〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Ecosystem-based fisheries management (EBFM) is a globally mandated approach with the intention to jointly address ecological and human (social-cultural, economic and institutional) dimensions. Indicators to measure performance against objectives have been suggested, tested, and refined but with a strong bias towards ecological indicators. In this paper, current use and application of indicators related to the human dimension in EBFM research and ecosystem models are analysed. It is found that compared to ecological counterparts, few indicators related to the human dimension are commonly associated with EBFM, and they mainly report on economic objectives related to fisheries. Similarly, in the most common ecosystem models, economic indicators are the most frequently used related to the human dimension, both in terms of model outputs and inputs. The prospect is small that indicators mainly related to profitable fishing economy are able to report on meeting the broad range of EBFM objectives and to successfully evaluate progress in achieving EBFM goals. To fully conform with EBFM principles, it is necessary to recognise that ecological and human indicators are inter-dependent. Moreover, the end-to-end ecosystem models used in EBFM will need to be further developed to allow a fuller spectrum of social-cultural, institutional, and economic objectives to be reported against.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈h3〉Abstract〈/h3〉 〈p〉This paper provides empirical evidence regarding the effect of energy based taxes on economic growth. The analysis is based on a panel dataset of 31 OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) member countries from 1994 to 2013, using multiple imputation algorithm to address missingness pattern. Employing the instrumental variables with two-stage least squares instrumental variable estimator, we found that energy based taxes have a negative effect on economic growth rate. This effect may rely significantly on the level of the economy’s dependence on polluting energy use as a share of total energy used in the production process. In addition, our study shows that an increase in energy based taxes can enhance significantly the economic growth rate, as the initial level of country’s richness increases.〈/p〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Energy Policy, Volume 134〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Yang Zhang, Da Yan, Shan Hu, Siyue Guo〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉A rapid rise in China's construction scale due to urbanization has resulted in a large amount of energy consumption and carbon emission. In order to achieve carbon emission reduction and energy security, it is important to assess the energy use of and emissions from the building construction sector. This paper presents a China Building Construction Model (CBCM) based on a process-based life cycle assessment (LCA) approach and discusses the trends in energy consumption of and carbon emission regarding China's building construction sector from 2000 to 2016. In 2016, the total energy consumption of the building construction sector was 411 million tce, accounting for approximately 9% of the country's total energy consumption. The construction activities of urban residential, public, and commercial buildings have replaced rural residential buildings as the main source of energy consumption and emission. Construction scale, building structure type, and material production efficiency are the three important driving factors. A decline in China's building construction scale, promotion of new low carbon building structures, and improvement in production efficiency may reduce future energy use and carbon emissions related to the building construction sector.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: December 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 World Development, Volume 124〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Kwabena Krah, Hope Michelson, Emilie Perge, Rohit Jindal〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Though problems related to low and declining soil fertility continue to impede agricultural production and food security in Sub-Saharan Africa, smallholder farmers in this region – those cultivating two hectares or less – have shown reluctance to adopt practices at scale that help conserve or enhance soil quality. Employing a discrete choice-based experiment, we find evidence that farmers’ propensity to adopt soil fertility management (SFM) practices increases with improved access to mineral fertilizers, and when farmers receive relevant technical training on soil fertility improving technologies. A unique aspect of our study is our focus on understanding how smallholders’ stated SFM preferences relate to their perceptions of recent local climatic variation. We find that farmers who perceive that rainfall amounts are decreasing are less willing to adopt crop rotations to improve soils. Our findings suggest that policies designed to increase adoption of SFM practices are more likely to succeed when they provide farmers with inputs that farmers perceive as complementary to SFM, including mineral fertilizer, and when they are built around an understanding of farmers’ perceptions of climatic variability.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: December 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 World Development, Volume 124〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Olivier J. Walther, Michel Tenikue, Marie Trémolières〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The objective of this article is to measure the effects of income and gender on informal social networks in the rice value chain. Using primary data collected on 490 entrepreneurs in Benin, Niger and Nigeria, the paper first demonstrates that the monthly profit of entrepreneurs is determined by their structural position within the rice value chain. The most prosperous actors are simultaneously deeply embedded in their community through numerous ties and capable of building connections with other communities outside their own ethnic groups and countries. The paper then analyses to what extent gender is a strong predictor of social ties. An econometric analysis shows that women are less central than men and that their income is much lower after controlling for age, experience, education, religion and matrimonial status.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: December 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 World Development, Volume 124〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Khan Islam, Melanie O’Gorman〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉There is now a vast literature investigating the impact of microcredit on poverty in the developing world. Such studies are by and large at the micro-level – investigating the impact of the provision of microcredit loans or a feature of microcredit contracts for a specific microfinance institution (MFI) on measures of well-being such as poverty or female empowerment. While these studies are crucial for understanding the effectiveness of microcredit in various contexts, very little analysis has been at the macroeconomic level with a view to understanding the general equilibrium effects of microfinance. This paper does this, by providing a comprehensive theory that allows the relative importance of the various factors influencing microcredit’s impact to be quantified. We build on Buera et al. (2012) and develop a model of financial intermediation which highlights the roles of credit market imperfections, MFI efficiency and occupational choice. We exploit the large cross-country variation in microcredit features to decipher the important features of microcredit contracts, calibrating the model to data for 21 countries in the early 2000s. We then use the calibrated model to investigate the impact of a number of counterfactual scenarios which may lend insight into microcredit policy, such as training for microcredit clients, credit information-sharing and microcredit itself. We investigate the impact of each policy experiment on poverty, income per capita and entrepreneurship. This paper highlights that the impact of credit policies differs significantly across countries, and therefore that no credit-based policy is a panacea for improving welfare.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 World Development, Volume 123〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): 〈/p〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: December 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 World Development, Volume 124〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Pamina Koenig, Sandra Poncet〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉This paper studies the effect of social responsibility scandals on the imports of consumer products, by focusing on an event which generated massive consumer mobilization against neglecting firms, namely the collapse of the Rana Plaza building affecting the textile industry in Bangladesh. We investigate the import repercussions of this major shock in the perceived quality of clothing producers sourcing in Bangladesh. In line with the well-documented home bias in trade and home-country media slant, we assume that consumers’ reaction will be stronger when domestic firms are named and shamed. Our empirical strategy uses a difference-in-difference approach that compares imports from Bangladesh of countries according to whether some of their companies were directly associated with the collapse of the Rana Plaza. Our results are consistent with demand being sensitive to social responsibility scandals. While aggregate imports from Bangladesh continue to increase during the whole period (2010–2016), there is a marked disruption that affects countries whose brands were named and shamed by activists and the media after the disaster. In addition, the decline in imports is all the greater as the number of NGO campaigns on the misbehavior of national textile retailers is high.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: September 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Energy Policy, Volume 132〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Markus Thimmel, Gilbert Fridgen, Robert Keller, Patrick Roevekamp〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The increasing share of renewables confronts existing power grids with a massive challenge, stemming from additional volatility to power grids introduced by renewable energy sources. This increases the demand for balancing mechanisms, which provide balancing power to ensure that power supply always meets with demand. However, the ability to provide cost-efficient and eco-friendly balancing power can vary significantly between locations. Fridgen et al. (2017) introduce an approach based on geographically distributed data centers, aiming at the spatial migration of balancing power demand between distant locations. Although their approach enables the migration of balancing demand to cost-efficient and/or eco-friendly balancing mechanisms, it will come up against limits if deployed on a global scale. In this paper, we extend Fridgen et al. (2017)'s approach by developing a model based on geographically distributed data centers, which not only enables the migration of balancing demand but also compensates for this migration when it is contradictory between different balancing power markets without burdening conventional balancing mechanisms. Using a simulation based on real-world data, we demonstrate the possibility to exploit the potential of compensation balancing demand offered by spatial load migration resulting in economic gains that will incentivize data center operators to apply our model.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Sustainable Cities and Society, Volume 51〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Ayman Faza, Amjed Al-Mousa〈/p〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Advances in the technologies of smart grids has made it possible to monitor and control the demand side of the power grid in ways that were not possible in the past. Thanks to the advances in information and communication technologies (ICT), Demand Side Management (DSM) is now possible, and promises more efficient and reliable power grids. This paper presents a study of different dynamic pricing techniques that are used as means to shape the demand in ways that minimize generation cost or maximize profit. This is achieved by using a fuzzy logic model that takes into account the different types of customers in the system. The paper further uses Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithm to generate the parameters that can achieve optimal grid operation. Results show that when customers are actively engaged in DSM schemes, and with the proper Dynamic Pricing scheme, optimal results can be obtained that benefit both the customers and the utility company, not to mention the savings in energy production and its impact on the sustainability of our cities. The results show that savings up to 12% in generation cost and a three times increase in profit can be achieved using an optimized DSM scheme.〈/p〉〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: October 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Marine Policy, Volume 108〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): J. Ford, D. Clark〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The Arctic is undergoing transformative climate change, with profound implications for transportation safety in marine areas. Circumpolar marine risks are growing due to ship traffic increases linked to more ice-free open water, as well as increases in hazards for individuals that frequently travel on ice and trails in the region. While recent Government of Canada policies have attempted to respond to the growing risk of marine and coastal emergencies, there is strong evidence that the federal government and communities along Canada's Arctic coast are minimally prepared for the emerging risks. In this Short Communication, we argue that Canada is falling short of its international and national obligations to provide timely search and rescue across the Arctic, to the detriment of Arctic communities. Drawing from recently published reports and literature, we argue that providing additional training, resources, and support for volunteer SAR groups across the region is critical, along with increasing federal air and marine resources committed to the region. Such investments need underpin Canada's approach to climate change adaptation in the North.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Energy Policy, Volume 134〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Wasantha Athukorala, Clevo Wilson, Shunsuke Managi, Muditha Karunarathna〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉This paper examines residential demand for electricity in Sri Lanka using survey data collected over a five-year period between 2011 and 2015. The study finds that the major determinants of demand for residential electricity are the result of price or market distortions (i.e. subsidies), socioeconomic variables and energy saving technology. The effects of these variables are particularly relevant to competition policy. Estimated elasticities with respect to average price, subsidies under marginal cost pricing, subsidies under average cost pricing and income are found to be −0.015, 0.021, 0.036 and 0.046 respectively. We find that demand for electricity is inelastic and is categorised as a normal good. However, elasticities with respect to subsidy variables are found to be higher than the price variable. This implies, that under an increasing block rate system any price change used as a policy measure to control electricity consumption will not be effective. This is because price changes could alter the subsidy received by the consumer and therefore reverse the objective of the price change. Further, results of this study find that price and elasticities with respect to subsidy variables are relatively higher for low income groups while income elasticity is relatively larger for high income groups.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: December 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 World Development, Volume 124〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Valentina Zuin, Caroline Delaire, Rachel Peletz, Alicea Cock-Esteb, Ranjiv Khush, Jeff Albert〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Worldwide, 892 million people practice open defecation, most of whom live in rural areas of South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) is the most widely deployed approach to generate demand for, and use of sanitation facilities. CLTS relies on behavioral change and community self-enforcement to end open defecation. Since its genesis in Bangladesh in 1999, CLTS has spread to approximately 60 countries, mostly in Asia and Africa, and is employed by the majority of development organizations operating in rural sanitation. This paper uses a qualitative approach to analyze the reasons and processes that drove the wide diffusion of CLTS. We show that CLTS was embraced because it was perceived as a fast and effective solution to the problem of open defecation, one which was in line with the decentralization and community participation paradigms, at a time when donors and governments were looking for strategies to meet the MDG for sanitation. CLTS spread under the leadership of influential donors, NGOs, persuasive practitioners, and academics. Face-to-face interactions among members of this network and local governments at conferences and workshops played a central role in the diffusion of the approach. The use of experiential learning during study tours and workshop field visits has been crucial to persuade government actors at different levels, NGOs, and donors to use the CLTS approach. Notably, robust scientific evidence played little role in the diffusion of CLTS. We conclude by making suggestions to strengthen the evidence base for rural sanitation policies.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: December 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 World Development, Volume 124〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Youngwan Kim, Hyuk-Sang Sohn, Bokyeong Park〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉A majority of people in developing countries suffer from chronic hunger due to food crises and poverty. This has attracted humanitarian organizations specializing in addressing hunger, food security and poverty to set up efforts aimed at reducing hunger and poverty among vulnerable communities. This study aims to evaluate the achievements of the Saemaul Zero Hunger Communities Project (SZHCP) of the World Food Program (WFP) implemented by Good Neighbors International (GNI) in partnership with Tanzanian and Bangladesh local governments, which ran from 2014 to 2018 in selected local communities in Tanzania and Bangladesh. The project targeted the most vulnerable communities to improve their livelihood and rural development programs in terms of food security, income generation, education, and infrastructure improvement through community-based activities. To collect information and data for evaluation, we conducted field research such as in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, and household surveys in the target villages of the SZHCP in Tanzania and Bangladesh. Using qualitative analysis, difference-in-difference estimation, and linear regression on surveys of 1142 respondents, we show that the SZHCP significantly improved the livelihoods of beneficiaries in relation to zero hunger, and also increased income generation and promoted positive social changes. It has also helped to strengthen the capacity of communities to run development projects themselves. This study provides evidence-based analysis that could allow stakeholders and researchers to more fully engage with future community-based projects.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Energy Policy, Volume 134〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Yeong Jae Kim, Charlie Wilson〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉A systemic perspective on energy innovation is required to design effective portfolios of directed innovation activity. We contribute a standardised set of technology-specific indicators which describe processes throughout the energy technology innovation system, ranging from patents and publications to policy mixes, collaborative activity, and market share. Using these indicators, we then conceptualise and develop benchmark tests for three portfolio design criteria: balance, consistency, and alignment. Portfolio balance refers to the relative emphasis on specific technologies. Portfolio consistency refers to the relative emphasis on related innovation system processes. Portfolio alignment refers to the relative emphasis on innovation system processes for delivering targeted outcomes. We demonstrate the application of these benchmark tests using data for the EU's Strategic Energy Technology (SET) Plan which spans six technology fields. We find the SET Plan portfolio generally performs well particularly in areas over which portfolio managers have direct influence such as RD&D funding. However we also identify potential areas of imbalance, inconsistency, and misalignment which warrant further attention and potential redress by portfolio managers. Overall, we show how energy innovation portfolios can be analysed from a systemic perspective using a replicable, standardised set of measures of diverse innovation system processes.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Energy Policy, Volume 134〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Pedro L. Castro Verdezoto, Jorge A. Vidoza, Waldyr L.R. Gallo〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉A forecast model for the Ecuador energy sector was elaborated, by using LEAP model, this study aims to analyze the behavior of the energy matrix depending on energy forecast and efficiency policy scenarios, applying a bottom-up analysis and considering the latest politics/infrastructure planning background in Ecuador. The model and considerations proposed will result in a final energy consumption of 158 million BOE in 2030, in which the transportation sector is the main energy consumer. Regarding Ecuador energy planning, of which a critical point is the hydroelectricity available due to the commissioning of new hydro power plants, estimated at 63,513 Gwh in 2030, this value is 3.25 times that generated in 2010. In addition, the energy saving of 15 million BOE is forecast, as well as the reduction in GHG emission related to that saving due to the energy efficiency program PEC, which replaces LPG stoves with induction stoves in Ecuadorian households. Results point out that energy efficiency policies for the transportation sector would reduce oil products (2.97% in the high growth scenario), which could be reallocated to the industrial sector. Finally, another critical point is the rapid decline in the oil self-sufficiency, estimated at 15 years counted from 2030.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Sustainable Cities and Society, Volume 51〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Suman Majumder, Krishnarti De, Praveen Kumar, Ramesh Rayudu〈/p〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Economic growth in the emerging countries has led to rapid urbanization and expansion of existing cities. As a result, major cities in the emerging nations experience traffic congestion and deteriorating air quality. One of the solutions to overcome these problems is to develop a comprehensive public transportation system based on clean fuel. This work proposes a public transportation system based on electric buses that can be used in the cities. Here, the proposed system is studied and analyzed for Indian scenario. High capacity batteries and distributed solar PV generation has been used to ensure that no additional burden is put on the existing distribution network. These batteries are placed at each bus stop to store energy from the grid during the off-peak hours, and the supercapacitor in the buses will be flash charged from these batteries. In this work, the architecture of the proposed system has been presented along with initial sizing of the subsystems, for understanding the operation of the system for various scenarios, and to investigate its interaction with the grid. The results show that such a system, if carefully designed, is feasible and is capable of meeting the transportation needs without adding additional burden to the grid.〈/p〉〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Sustainable Cities and Society, Volume 51〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Saghar Mokhtarmanesh, Mohammad Ghomeishi〈/p〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Our environment is an essential factor in designing a user-preference-based place. This study investigates the effects of the environment on users in determining their preferences for schools. The school environment/surroundings affect students in terms of their behaviour and achievements. It can be an advantage if students’ take a liking to their school building, as this emotion can motivate them to attend the school eagerly. Consequently, since a child’s view of a space is different from an adult’s view, a school space should be built according to the requirements and factors that are specific to the children and important for them in this environment. In this study, female elementary schools located in District 1 of Tehran, Iran have been investigated qualitatively using card sorting techniques followed by semi-structured interviews in order to determine their preferences regarding their school buildings’ attributes. The results were analyzed using content analysis. It was revealed that students preferred having 〈em〉playgrounds〈/em〉, 〈em〉colourful buildings〈/em〉, 〈em〉big interior spaces〈/em〉, 〈em〉wide windows〈/em〉, 〈em〉curvy shaped facades〈/em〉, 〈em〉articulated facades〈/em〉, and 〈em〉stairs〈/em〉 in school buildings; they did not express a preference for 〈em〉tall buildings〈/em〉 and 〈em〉being near streets〈/em〉. The results reveal that having these spaces could influence the student’s evaluation of the school.〈/p〉〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Volume 148〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Juan A. Martínez-Román, Javier Gamero, María de Loreto Delgado-González, Juan A. Tamayo〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Innovation is essential to the knowledge economy and requires organizations to open to external markets. This paper delves into the influence of product innovation on internationalization in SMEs and elaborates an explanatory model of their innovative behavior. Analysis of the data of 123,395 surveys of firms in 13 European countries demonstrates that product innovation drives the firm's commercial expansion and favors its exportation activity, though with a non-linear relationship and decreasing performances as innovation level increases. It is also demonstrated that, in general terms, risk in geographic market extension does not vary in a relevant way when firms are more innovative. Significant differences were detected between countries in regard to the impact of innovation and its marginal utility, and in the evolution of risk in said market extension with increasing innovation. The comparative analysis reveals differences between more and less technological industries, and, on an aggregate level, between more developed economies in the Western and Eastern European transition economies, with less marked disparities from north to south. Analysis of the model reveals the prominence of internal variables in innovative behavior, as well as a certain disconnect between firms and the institutional context in the set of countries.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: September 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Energy Policy, Volume 132〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Ricardo Abranches Felix Cardoso, Alessandra Schwertner Hoffmann〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The electricity sector planning in Brazil aims to promote a reliable and safe supply of electricity to society. There are risks associated with planning out these projects in regard to environmental licensing (particularly with Transmission Systems). This paper presents a conceptual model for a solid analysis of the electricity sector by providing a regulatory and procedural assessment; it aims to connect issues with environmental licenses to those ventures. The results show that delays and uncertainties are related to the concession of energy transmission projects, which have not conducted any previous studies on the possible environmental impacts and have not applied the Environmental Impact Assessment as an instrument for decision-making. In order to minimize these uncertainties, studies on environmental planning should be conducted in the early stages of the project, prior to concession, as the venture is granted only once the projects have been demonstrated to be environmental viable.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Sustainable Cities and Society, Volume 51〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Gholamreza Heravi, Mohammad Mehdi Abdolvand〈/p〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The growing global water crisis highlights the importance of the assessment of the amount of virtual water consumption -water consumed during production of material and construction- in residential building projects. The purpose of this research is: (1) to assess the virtual water consumption of residential building projects in Iran; (2) to compare the amount of virtual water consumption in Iran with other countries; and (3) to assess sustainability impacts of the virtual water consumption on the national level. To do so, life cycle analysis method using process analysis for gathering data is implemented. Moreover, the results are generalized to evaluate virtual water consumption on a national level. In this way, the virtual water consumption of six residential buildings in Tehran, the capital of Iran, is assessed. The findings of this study showed that the virtual water consumption of residential buildings is 20.8 〈math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" altimg="si1.svg"〉〈msup〉〈mi〉m〈/mi〉〈mn〉3〈/mn〉〈/msup〉〈/math〉 per 〈math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" altimg="si2.svg"〉〈msup〉〈mi〉m〈/mi〉〈mn〉2〈/mn〉〈/msup〉〈/math〉. Assessing the sustainability impacts of the virtual water consumption on the national level in 2017 resulted in: (1) the energy of supplying water consumed in the residential building construction releases about 13,700,000 Ton of greenhouse gases; and (2) the per capita virtual water consumption is about 20% of the country’s drinking water consumption per capita.〈/p〉〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: Available online 20 August 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 World Development〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Daniel C. Miller, Reem Hajjar〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The role of forests in supporting current consumption and helping people cope with seasonal, climatic, and other stressors is increasingly well understood. But can forests help rural households climb out of poverty? And can forests provide a pathway to prosperity that includes more widely shared economic benefits and improvements in other aspects of human well-being? This introduction to the Special Issue on “Forests as Pathways to Prosperity” reviews the literature on forest livelihoods in developing countries to synthesize evidence relating to these questions. We find that available research primarily examines poverty mitigation aspects of forests rather than the potential role of forest conservation, management, and use in alleviating poverty or promoting broader prosperity. To increase understanding of forest-livelihood relationships we propose a framework based on the concept of prosperity, which draws particular attention to human well-being beyond economic and material dimensions. We argue that explicitly taking a more expansive view can enable better accounting for the diverse ways forests contribute to human welfare, expand the constituency for forests, and inform policies to more sustainably manage forests within wider landscapes. Together, our review and the other articles in this volume advance these objectives by providing new analytical frameworks, empirical insights, and theoretical understanding to build knowledge on linkages between forests, poverty, and broader prosperity.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: October 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Energy Policy, Volume 133〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Sunbin Yoo, Kyung Woong Koh, Yoshikuni Yoshida, Naoki Wakamori〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉While the fuel economy of Japanese automobiles has improved by 40% in the past decade, gasoline consumption in the transportation sector from 2007 to 2016 only decreased by 4%. We seek to explain this discrepancy by investigating Japanese fuel economy standards and the financial incentives given to consumers of fuel-efficient cars. To do so, this study explores whether Japanese policies caused such a rebound effect, by employing the difference-in-difference framework. We find that these policies contribute to energy rebound effect, by enabling higher fuel consumption at lower costs and thus causing higher energy usages. We provide evidence that policies can increase not only fuel usage but also fuel costs. The main driving force behind the rebound effect is the increase in the sales of hybrid vehicles, induced by financial incentives.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Energy Policy, Volume 134〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Zhongwen Xu, Liming Yao, Qiaoling Liu, Yin Long〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉In Japan, the National Intended Determined Contributions (INDCs) towards post-2020 GHG emission reductions indicates a reduction of 26.0% is expected by the fiscal year 2030. However, regional emissions allowances have not been fully discussed based on Japan's INDCs target, which considers the regional socio-economic features. Given this, this study points out a soft-path for a fair and efficient quota allocation by proposing an integrated bilevel equilibrium model within a hierarchical structure consisting of the national government and 47 prefectural governments. This proposed model can be changed into a single level solvable equilibrium model, which can be solved by Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) method. The major findings show that Hokkaido, Tokyo and Osaka were allowed the largest emissions quotas, while Tottori, Saga and Okinawa had the lowest emissions quotas. And the equity is necessary to be considered along with improving the emissions efficiency when reallocating carbon emission quotas, otherwise, the initiative to reduce emissions will not take place in prefectures with higher efficiency performance. Based on the findings, energy policy implications can be generated based on the above quantitative analysis to form a fair and efficient emission quota system at a sub-national level.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Energy Policy, Volume 134〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Eric O'Shaughnessy, Gregory F. Nemet, Jacquelyn Pless, Robert Margolis〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Solar photovoltaic (PV) prices have fallen significantly over the past two decades. These price reductions have relied primarily on falling system hardware costs. Future reductions in PV prices—which are needed to ensure that enough PV will be deployed to meet global clean energy objectives—will require reductions in non-hardware or “soft” costs, particularly in markets with relatively high soft costs such as the United States. In this article, we draw insights from the literature on which factors affect soft costs for small-scale PV systems in the United States. The literature shows that soft costs tend to be lower for systems that are larger, installed during new construction, installed by more experienced installers, installed in more concentrated markets and in more competitive markets, installed in markets where customers receive more quotes, or installed in markets with less onerous permitting requirements. We identify three marketplace design strategies that policymakers could pursue to address the soft cost challenge in the United States and similar markets: encourage the expansion of quote platforms; encourage or require that PV system installation be integrated into the new construction and roof replacement process; and encourage the expansion of customer aggregation models such as Solarize campaigns and community solar.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: December 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 World Development, Volume 124〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Grant Alan Burrier, Philip Hultquist〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Hydroelectric power is the world’s largest source of renewable energy. It can encourage economic development while reducing carbon emissions, but large hydroelectric projects have serious social and environmental consequences. Democratic Developmental and Ecological Modernization theorists counseled the adoption of new regulations and institutions to increase citizen participation and socioenvironmental protection. Environmental impact assessments (EIAs) and public audiences are considered best practice, but do these new protections and procedures alter government behavior when it makes critical development decisions? We argue scholars have paid too little attention to how bureaucratic hierarchies and weak cross-agency harmonization weaken environmental regimes. To highlight these issues, we provide an in-depth case study of hydroelectric dam construction in India, a country simultaneously confronting widespread underdevelopment and an energy matrix overwhelmingly reliant on carbon-based sources. Our multi-method analysis includes: innovative ArcGIS techniques to create an original database of large hydroelectric projects, field research, and a longitudinal analysis of three distinct periods of dam construction. We find the Indian government gradually shifted from large, multipurpose impoundment dams to smaller run-of-the-river (ROR) projects. ROR dams maintain a smaller footprint by requiring less flooding, but they are less efficient and versatile. Facing greater constitutional protections, concerns about resettlement costs, and past social mobilization, the Indian government is prioritizing smaller projects in remote locations to mitigate the social consequences of dam projects. Nevertheless, environmental concerns have been perfunctory. No fish ladders, exposed riverbeds, compromised waterflow regimes, and minimal riparian rehabilitation mean the environmental consequences of ROR dams remain extremely severe. These findings can be attributed to bureaucratic hierarchies, which limit the power of environmental agencies. Additionally, EIAs have been largely cursory and public audiences have not tangibly improved environmental outcomes because civil society generally prioritizes the social impacts of projects. In conclusion, our study finds India is better reconciling economic development with greater social protection and inclusion. The continued negative environmental externalities of contemporary hydroelectric projects highlight significant space for improving environmental protection.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Energy Policy, Volume 134〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Mehmet Balcilar, Rıza Demirer, Shawkat Hammoudeh〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉This study extends the literature on the asymmetric effect of oil price fluctuations on emerging and frontier stock markets via a quantile-on-quantile approach that allows to capture normal and extreme states in each respective market. We find that oil risk exposures are heterogeneous across the emerging and frontier stock markets and indeed display quantile-specific characteristics. Observing uniform patterns of oil risk exposures within groups of countries that include both importers and exporters, we argue that oil price risk serves as a systematic risk proxy, capturing the market's concerns regarding global growth expectations, rather than a simple import/export commodity. Our findings suggest that signals from the oil market, either via measures of trading activity in oil futures or changes in basis values, could be utilized by policy makers to improve models of stock market volatility.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: September 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Energy Policy, Volume 132〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Eric O'Shaughnessy, Jenny Heeter, Julien Gattaciecca, Jenny Sauer, Kelly Trumbull, Emily Chen〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Community choice aggregation (CCA) is an emerging model of energy procurement that allows local governmental entities to procure electricity on behalf of retail electricity customers. Through CCA, local governments can control local electricity portfolios while investor-owned utilities remain responsible for transmission and distribution. In this article, we use a combination of publicly-available data, data obtained directly from CCAs, and stakeholder interviews to explore the rise of CCAs, the current and potential future impacts of CCAs on demand for renewable energy, and the factors that will determine future CCA expansion. We estimate that CCAs procured about 42 million megawatt-hours of electricity on behalf of about 5 million customers in the United States in 2017. We estimate that CCAs already procure about 8.9 million megawatt-hours more renewable energy than required by state mandates, and that CCAs could procure as much as 28.9 million megawatt-hours of voluntary renewable energy if the CCA model is permitted in more states. The ongoing expansion of CCAs could significantly affect electricity markets, electricity portfolios, and the future role of utilities. We explore various challenges associated with the further expansion of CCAs.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: September 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Energy Policy, Volume 132〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Alessandra Schwertner Hoffmann, Gabriel Henriques de Carvalho, Ricardo Abranches Felix Cardoso Jr.〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The demand for solar sources of electrical energy is increasing in the Brazilian electricity market. Investments in the sector are expected to significantly increase, thereby creating a demand for a reliable environmental licensing process. Analysis of the international regulatory frameworks allows for a critical comparison to national- and state-level frameworks. The results obtained via this comparison have helped to identify different assessment criteria that can be used to define the typologies for environmental studies for the Brazilian states included in this study, and to show the subjectivity of the process. The development of guidance regulations is also recommended to establish more universally applicable criteria. The proposed adjustments aim to reduce the risks of delays, unexpected costs, and availability of the projects, thereby increasing reliability for electricity sector planning, the investors, and the consumers.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: September 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Energy Policy, Volume 132〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Raphaël-Homayoun Boroumand, Stéphane Goutte, Khaled Guesmi, Thomas Porcher〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Our article provides a better understanding of risk management strategies for all energy market stakeholders. A good knowledge of optimal risk hedging strategies is not only important for energy companies but also for regulators and policy makers in a context of climate emergency. Indeed, the electricity sector is key to achieve energy and ecological transition. Electricity companies should be on frontline of climate change struggle. Taking the perspective of electricity retailers, we analyze a range of portfolios made of forward contracts and/or power plants for specific hourly clusters based on electricity market data from the integrated German-Austrian spot market. We prove that intra-day hedging with forward contracts is sub-optimal compared to financial options and physical assets. By demonstrating the contribution of intra-day hedging with options and physical assets, we highlight the specificities of electricity markets as hourly markets with strong volatility during peak hours. By simulating optimal hedging strategies, our article proposes a range of new portfolios for electricity retailers to manage their risks and reduce their sourcing costs. A lower hedging cost enables to allocate more resources to digitalization and energy efficiency services to take into account customers’ expectations for more climate-friendly retailers. This is a virtuous circle. Retailers provide high value-added energy efficiency services so that consumers consume less. The latter contributes to reach electricity reduction targets to fight climate warming.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Energy Policy, Volume 134〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Junqing Yu, Kaile Zhou, Shanlin Yang〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉This study aims at investigating regional heterogeneity of China's energy efficiency in the “new normal”. A model combining meta-frontier method and super SBM is proposed, which has higher discriminatory power under the group frontier. The energy efficiencies of the eastern, central, western and northeastern China and each provinces were estimated during 2006–2016. We also discussed the technology gaps of different regions, the changes in energy efficiency, and the main influencing factors of energy efficiency. The results show that the highest energy efficiency lied in eastern China. Surprisingly, the technology levels of central and western China have improved rapidly. Furthermore, as China enters a “new normal” period, more regions showed a strong decoupling relationship between energy consumption and economic growth. Meanwhile, the regression results indicate that both state intervention and market openness had negative impacts on energy efficiency in different study periods. Finally, according to the local conditions of different regions, several policy recommendations to promote China's regional energy efficiency improvement are proposed.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Sustainable Cities and Society, Volume 51〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Marjan Ilbeigi, Azadeh Mahmudi KohneRoudPosht, Mohammad Ghomeishi, Emad Behrouzifard〈/p〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The aim of this study is to define aesthetic differences between architects’ and non-architects’ perspectives by considering the cognitive properties of residential buildings’ facades located in Iran. Accordingly, in order to observe perceptional similarities and differences between designers and users, the aesthetics of residential facades is investigated in Tehran, Iran, through a comprehensive case study. A quantitative method was used in the form of a questionnaire, and the corresponding data is further analyzed by SPSS software. Although architects’ and non-architects’ perspectives are somewhat similar in selecting and evaluating the chosen facade, corresponding findings reveal significant differences as well. The results further show that the classic architectural style was not appealing for the architects. Moreover, non-architects and architects think that ‘uniqueness’ is the most effective parameter; while architects believe that ‘pleasantness’ has the highest influence among the presumed six parameters in selecting the best facade. Furthermore, the outcomes indicate that the studied groups have some conflicting viewpoints about aesthetics, while there would be some similarities about the unfavorable facades. In this regard, the non-architects’ standpoints, preferences, and satisfaction should be assumed during the design procedure. This research can open a new perspective on the architect’s perception in the early design stage.〈/p〉〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: October 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Energy Policy, Volume 133〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Stephen Essex, Jiska de Groot〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉There is increasing recognition that the prospects of a post-networked city challenges the myth of the modernist ideal of a networked city and offers a more realistic proposition for energy transitions in the global south. This paper examines the energy transitions involved in the development of South Africa's versions of the modern infrastructural ideal for electricity provision since the nineteenth century. Four phases of South Africa's energy transition are identified, consisting of colonial, apartheid, post-apartheid and low-carbon phases. The paper argues that the agendas influencing the generation, distribution and consumption of electricity in South Africa are multiple and potentially conflicting, which are emblematic of the limitations of the modern infrastructure ideal, particularly in relation to the formation of an ‘energy underclass’. Recognition and consideration of the potential uneven and differentiated spatial effects of energy transitions will continue to be integral to the planning and management of any transformations towards a post-networked city.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: October 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Energy Policy, Volume 133〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Fateh Belaïd, Maha Harbaoui Zrelli〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉In this article, we develop an empirical model to investigate the causal link amid renewable and non-renewable electricity consumption, GDP and carbon emissions by using a panel of 9 Mediterranean countries over the period 1980–2014. Using the PMG panel ARDL and panel econometric technics, heterogeneity and cross-sectional dependence among the panel were considered to explore the long and short-run dynamic relationships as well as the validity of a proposed model. The results provide panel empirical evidence that there is short-term bidirectional causality between GDP, renewable electricity consumption and CO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 emissions and between non-renewable electricity consumption, GDP and renewable electricity consumption. For the long-term causal relationship, the result indicates that there is bidirectional causality between non-renewable electricity consumption and CO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 emissions. However, there is evidence of unidirectional causal relationships from GDP to CO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 emissions and non-renewable electricity consumption and from renewable electricity consumption to CO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 emissions. The findings imply that non-renewable electricity consumption and economic growth stimulate CO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 emissions in southern and northern Mediterranean countries, while renewable electricity reduces them. This empirical evidence suggests that expansion of renewable energy sources is a viable strategy for addressing energy security and reducing carbon emissions to protect the environment for future generations.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: October 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Energy Policy, Volume 133〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): R. Inglesi-Lotz〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉 〈p〉The literature has always shown that there are two important factors in the improvement of a country's research output: Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and R&D Expenditures. Taking the discussion a step further, and in an effort to provide policy recommendations on what is needed to boost research capacity, this paper aims at decomposing the change in energy research papers of five countries (Australia, Canada, Germany, UK and US) into four factors: GDP, R&D intensity (ratio of total R&D to GDP), energy R&D rate of return or productivity (number of energy-related papers per unit of energy R&D expenditure), and energy R&D priority (share of energy R&D to total R&D expenditure).〈/p〉 〈p〉The findings show a general trend in the sign of the four effects on research for all five countries: energy R&D productivity, energy R&D priority, and GDP are mostly found to be positive contributors, while the R&D intensity a negative one. This pattern has exceptions that are more prominent during periods where economic growth is constrained, for example during 2008/09. The results have policy implications not only for these five countries but also for developing countries (low GDP) that aim at contributing more to the energy-related research output globally.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: October 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Energy Policy, Volume 133〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Evangelos Kyritsis, Jonas Andersson〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉In this article we investigate the dynamic relations between crude oil price returns and a set of energy price returns, namely diesel, gasoline, heating, and the natural gas. This is performed by means of Granger non-causality tests for US closing spot prices over the period from January 1997 to December 2017. In previous studies this has been done by testing for the added predictive value of including lagged returns of one energy price in predicting the conditional expectation of another. In this paper we instead focus on different ranges of the full conditional distribution, and thus market states, within the framework of a dynamic quantile regression model, and identify the quantile ranges from which causality arises. The results constitute a richer set of findings than what is possible by just considering a single moment of the conditional distribution, which can be useful for implementing better substitution investment strategies and effective policy interventions. We find several interesting uni-directional dynamic relations between the employed energy price returns, especially in the tail quantiles, but also bi-directional causal relations between energy price returns for which the classical Granger non-causality test suggests otherwise. Our results are robust to alternative measures of the price of oil and different data frequencies.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Energy Policy, Volume 134〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): George Halkos〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉During the recent decades, the energy sector has undergone thoughtful structural changes, getting towards a more competitive environment, a process that is highly controlled and monitored by regulatory authorities. The differences in the pace and extent of market reforms are mainly related to the starting point of each reform and the problems associated with the internal environment of the market. The applied theoretical and analytical contributions provide guidance to policy-makers and government officials in designing new policy scenarios for the investigation of the role of competition in the energy sector. The empirical contributions provide evidence to support and inform current policy debates and should be of benefit to policy-makers and researchers worldwide.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Sustainable Cities and Society, Volume 51〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Ning Xu, Qiong Zhang, Haoran Zhang, Minsung Hong, Rajendra Akerkar, Yongtu Liang〈/p〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Disasters pose a serious threat to people’ lives and urban environment, affecting the sustainable development of society. Then it's crucial to quickly develop an efficient rescue plan for the disaster area. However, disaster rescue is rather difficult due to the requirement to develop the optimal rescue plan as quickly as possible according to the information of trapped people and rescue teams, and the amount of information will continue to increase as the rescue proceeds. At present, most of the rescue plans are manually made based on previous rescue experience. But obviously these plans might be the not optimal one. Considering the real-time location data of trapped people, this paper develops a Mixed Integer Non-linear Programming (MINLP) model to find the highest efficient rescue plan To solve the model accurately and efficiently, a bi-level decomposition (BLD) algorithm is presented to iteratively solve a discretized Mixed Integer Linear Programming (MILP) model and its nonconvex Non-linear Programming (NLP) model until a converged solution is obtained. In addition, since more trapped people could be found over time, the built rescue units should also be considered when making a rescue plan for a new stage. To further improve the solving efficiency, an accelerated bi-level decomposition (ABLD) algorithm is also proposed. Finally, a real-world disaster rescue is given to validate the superiority of the proposed ABLD algorithm relative to particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm and BLD algorithm.〈/p〉〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Sustainable Cities and Society, Volume 51〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Ghaffar Ali, Sawaid Abbas, Yanchun Pan, Zhimin Chen, Jafar Hussain, Muhammad Sajjad, Aqdas Ashraf〈/p〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The aim of achieving stable economic growth and development deter the pathways of being a low carbon society in developing countries. Nonetheless, it is imperative to understand and analyze the long-term goals of such societies to upgrade and redirect priorities towards the low-carbon structure. Therefore, this study is carried by applying a novel multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) approach and the Bilan Carbone model to examine the different possibilities for cost/benefit analysis from direct reductions in carbon emission levels in the Lahore Metropolitan Area (LMA) of Pakistan. The LMA is a metropolitan city in the developing country and is marked with a huge spike in energy demands and carbon emissions due to increasing population. Three scenarios including one current (2010), and two future (business as usual—2050BaU and low carbon scenario—2050LCS), were developed. Our findings show no evidence of renewable energy use—such as solar, wind, and biomass—in the current energy mix of LMA. Furthermore, an increase in carbon dioxide (CO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉) emissions from 3.5 in 2010 to 14 million tonnes (mt) in 2050 is found. Mitigation potential analysis of different sectors showed that the industrial sector of the city has the biggest mitigation capacity (13%) until the year 2050, whereas, the smallest proportion may come from the commercial sector (4%). The carbon emissions in LMA would be reduced as much as 50% as compared to the BaU scenario until 2050. Moreover, this mitigation potential study would also serve as a ripple effect in the data deficient cities of low-income countries.〈/p〉〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: December 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 World Development, Volume 124〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Thang T. Vo, Pham Hoang Van〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉This study provides new evidence on the impact of health insurance coverage on household vulnerability using the Vietnam Access to Resources Household Surveys (VARHS) for 2010 and 2012. We apply propensity score matching to address the non-random selection of households into health insurance status. The VARHS data allow us to include risk preference as a predictor of health insurance propensity, an important source of endogeneity between health insurance coverage and vulnerability. We estimate that health insurance helps rural households in Vietnam reduce the idiosyncratic component of utility loss by 81 per cent and the probability of becoming poor by 19 per cent. Our results are robust to alternative statistical specifications. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first paper measuring the impact of health insurance coverage on household 〈em〉ex-ante〈/em〉 vulnerability. Our findings suggest that expanding access, reducing costs and improving efficiency in health care would have big benefits of reducing vulnerability for the poor.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: Available online 16 July 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Energy Policy〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Stephen P.A. Brown, Marilyn A. Brown, Reinhard Madlener, Stephen Thomas, Peng Zhou, Carlos Henggeler Antunes, Sonia Yeh〈/p〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Energy Policy, Volume 134〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Federico Maria Butera, Paola Caputo, Rajendra Singh Adhikari, Renata Mele〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉This paper presents the results of a survey on two informal settlements in Rio De Janeiro: Reta Velha (Itaboraí) and Jardim Bom Retiro (São Gonçalo). A detailed analysis of energy access and energy poverty level has been accomplished by questionnaires carried out in 400 households. The questionnaire was based on a detailed multi-tier approach. It was aimed at exploring the actual energy access and energy poverty in 〈em〉favelas〈/em〉, in addition to draw the local living conditions and the availability of the basic services. The outcomes of the research underline the problem of outages and low tension, and illegal connections. Furthermore, electricity consumption is very high compared to the service provided, and expenditures are generally disproportioned to the households’ income. Many interesting outcomes emerge from the survey. Referring to energy poverty, it is a status in which 50% of households are in Jardim Bom Retiro and 20% in Reta Velha. Due to the representativeness of the treated case, the results permit the definition of the state of the art and of enhancing guidelines suitable also for other contexts, at least in the universe of informal settlements in Latin America and Caribbean.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: October 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Energy Policy, Volume 133〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Immanuel Stieß, Anja Umbach-Daniel, Corinna Fischer〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉An important share of developed countries’ energy consumption is used for heating. In the past decades, increasing living space has been one of the main drivers for energy demand in the housing sector. Based on a social innovation framework and drawing on two case studies from Germany and Switzerland, this paper explores options to reduce living space in the residential sector. Both cases focus on senior owners of single family houses (SFH), an important target group, as they remain in large family dwellings after their children have moved out. In the paper, we present the results of empirical work conducted in both projects, exploring how living in large dwellings is perceived by SFH-owners and which alternative options seem feasible and promising. These insights are linked to an intervention perspective, drawing on targeted workshops for homeowners in Switzerland. The findings show that options such as densification, letting out or moving to a smaller apartment, can be appealing to senior SFH-owners, if they are linked to attractive and positive visions about living in old age. Drawing on these empirical insights, we discuss how senior SFH-owners can be made aware of the advantages of managing with less space, and how they can be motivated and enabled to do so. Based on the social innovation approach and the findings from the surveys, we add suggestions on a broader supportive policy framework.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Energy Policy, Volume 134〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Boris R. Lukanov, Elena M. Krieger〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The rapid growth of distributed solar adoption in California provides an opportunity to lower electricity bills for the adopters and realize additional community benefits, including grid resilience and lower grid emissions. It is unclear, however, whether this transition is occurring equitably across the state's various demographic and socioeconomic groups and whether historically disadvantaged environmental justice (EJ) communities have been able to exploit the bill savings and other associated benefits of rooftop solar. Here we analyze the cumulative and annualized (spatial and temporal) rates of PV adoption across California and compare those with data from the state's cumulative impact EJ methodology (CalEnviroScreen). We find persistently lower levels of PV adoption in disadvantaged communities, suggesting clear distributive and equity impacts of existing PV support policies, and indicating that the benefits bypass some of the state's most vulnerable populations. The analysis reveals strong correlation of solar adoption with not only socioeconomic variables, but also with health, environmental and demographic indicators, contributing to our growing understanding of the role these factors play in household clean-energy adoption trends. The results provide a baseline from which to develop more effective policies, strategically design incentives, and track the efficacy of existing solar programs that target disadvantaged communities.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: January 2020〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Sustainable Cities and Society, Volume 52〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Andrea Patricia Cuesta-Mosquera, Matthew Wahl, Jansen Gabriel Acosta-López, José Agustín García-Reynoso, Beatriz Helena Aristizábal-Zuluaga〈/p〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Distinct times of sulfur dioxide concentration (SO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉) were observed in the main square of a tropical Andean city, revealing strong meteorological control of SO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉. Concentrations were measured by UV fluorescence at 5-minute intervals, and compared to local meteorological forcing. A consistent morning peak of SO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 (4.32 μg∙m⁻³ at 7:40 AM) was concurrent with peak traffic, and occurred 10 minutes into an 80-minute period of calm (wind velocities ˂ 0.3 m s⁻1). Instead of accumulating, SO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 decreased 54%, due an expanding mixing layer. Peak evening SO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 (5.2 μg∙m⁻³ at 8:15 PM) was observed 2:15 hours after flow reversal, and consistent with travel-times of an air parcel descending from industrial facilities. The consistent anthropogenic emissions formed a pattern of daily SO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 concentration that aided in identifying more random volcanic SO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉. Manizales (pop. 400000) is located on the western slope of the Cordillera Central in proximity to the Nevado del Ruiz volcano. The complex trajectory necessary for volcanic SO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 to arrive in the main square was simulated for the highest observed concentration (114 μg•m⁻³), using Hysplit and Aura-OMI information. This type of analysis can be applied to urban planning - from locating industrial zones to managing transportation - particularly in tropical montane cities.〈/p〉〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Sustainable Cities and Society, Volume 51〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Paola Lassandro, Silvia Di Turi〈/p〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Global warming increases the probability of extreme events and heat waves, intensified by Urban Heat Island phenomenon, triggering severe impacts on both human health and economy. The paper aims at developing a new methodological approach for the assessment of building ability to face rising temperatures, also considering the effects on the surrounding urban areas. It focuses on resilient retrofitting strategies need for building envelope according to three macro-categories: reliability, adaptability and mitigation ability. A set of indicators is defined to achieve a Response Index to cope with heat waves. The method is tested on reference building and its neighborhood. The selected strategies are investigated through an integrated and multilevel analysis with EnergyPlus and ENVI_met, in three different cities with increasing summer temperature. The final comparative analysis is carried out through a multi-criteria analysis according to the identified indicators. The best responsive solutions result the green ones combined with high albedo, but the research highlights also some controversial aspects. The method can be a valid tool to support the decisional process about heat waves mitigation in the roadmap towards a more responsive built environment.〈/p〉〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: December 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 World Development, Volume 124〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Kelvin Mashisia Shikuku, Julius Juma Okello, Stella Wambugu, Kirimi Sindi, Jan W. Low, Margaret McEwan〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉This study examined the nutrition and food security impacts of a project that was designed to improve availability of disease-free planting materials of biofortified orange-fleshed sweetpotato (OFSP) in rural Tanzania. Difference-in-difference and matching techniques were employed to estimate causal effects using panel data. Participation in the project increased agronomic and nutritional knowledge of households, raised uptake rate for OFSP varieties, and improved food security status. Effects on nutrition are, however, weak. These results suggest that timely access to quality seeds accompanied by a transfer of skills is important to reduce barriers to adoption of biofortified crops with resulting positive effects on the welfare of rural households. Adequate promotion of both agronomic and nutrition aspects of the technologies may enhance nutrition effects.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: December 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 World Development, Volume 124〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Guenwoo Lee, Aya Suzuki, Vu Hoang Nam〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉In developing countries, social networks play a critical role in the transmission of information about new technologies and influence an individual’s decision to adopt the technology. Thus, this study considered a case of shrimp farmers in Vietnam to identify whether the farmers’ networks have positive effects on diffusing accurate agricultural information to the treated farmers and their neighbors. To explore the effects, we invited farmers selected using network-based targeting to a workshop held in December 2017 and estimated it using data obtained before and after the treatment. We found that: 1) the targeting has a positive effect on the treated farmers’ knowledge level about a good aquaculture practice; 2) The treated farmers selected using the network-based targeting share information with more neighbors when they get new information; and 3) The targeting has a positive spillover effect on untreated farmers' knowledge level, but its effect is lower than other randomly selected. These findings can conclude that network-based targeting appears to be a method to disseminate information to many people. Nevertheless, the methods are less likely to deliver accurate information to a wider group of farmers than random sampling.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: October 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Marine Policy, Volume 108〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): A.V. Krøvel, B. Gjerstad, K. Skoland, K.M. Lindland, S. Hynes, E. Ravagnan〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉In order to achieve sustainable growth of the aquaculture industry, factors such as environment, economy and public opinions need to be accounted for. In this paper, we explore and compare attitudes towards the aquaculture industry in a statistical representative sample of Norwegians with attitudes in a representative sample from a local area where the aquaculture is highly present, also in Norway. Analysis of the national and local samples allows for investigation of how opinions towards aquaculture vary according to both demographical variables and geographical setting. Our findings suggest that being from an area where the industry dominates does not give one a more negative view of the environmental threat of the industry, but does make one less likely to believe that aquaculture activity creates local employment. In addition, the results show that in a community where the aquaculture industry dominates, negative attitudes towards aquaculture are not primarily due to its perceived environmental impact, but rather due to conflicts of interest and to whether aquaculture activity is perceived to create jobs locally or not.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: October 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Energy Policy, Volume 133〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Xiongfeng Pan, Md. Kamal Uddin, Umme Saima, Zhiming Jiao, Cuicui Han〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Nowadays, multifaceted interdependence between macroeconomic variables results in an extended list of factors that have diverse impacts on energy intensity. Thus, sustaining energy intensity at a desired level demands advanced studies to investigate the multifarious influences of its factors and ensure proactive measures to deal with them. This paper aims to set up a path model to analyze the direct and indirect impacts of industrialization and trade openness on energy intensity in Bangladesh. The results corroborate that industrialization has a direct positive influence on energy intensity where trade openness shows a direct negative effect on it; and both industrialization and trade openness have negative indirect impact on energy intensity through technological innovation and economic growth respectively. In case of individual total impacts, only industrialization affects energy intensity positively, where trade openness, technological innovation and economic growth negatively do. Based on the empirical results, some policy implications regarding energy intensity and effects of its factors on it are also presented.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: October 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Energy Policy, Volume 133〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Enrico Botta〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉This paper aims at shedding some lights on how policy induced uncertainty affects the cost of capital of renewable energy power plants. To this end, the paper focuses on renewable energy auctions and on the ongoing Brexit negotiations. First, the paper reviews auction frameworks across Europe and discusses the impact of the different designs on project risk. Then, a stated preference approach is leveraged to investigate how policy design and the uncertainty regarding the future arrangements between the UK and the EU contribute to determine the cost of equity for renewable energy. The results show that improved auction design can help to lower the equity cost between 0.5% and 1.5%. The evidence on Brexit is rather weak and - if anything - suggests only a higher relevance of these negotiations for English-based investors than for those based in EU27.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Sustainable Cities and Society, Volume 51〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Reza Ramyar, Esmaeil Zarghami, Margaret Bryant〈/p〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉There is a growing concern in recent years about temperature rise resulting from climate change, especially in high-density urban areas, where it is exacerbated in urban heat islands (UHI). In hot and dry climates, this concern makes it necessary to find a practical solution to adapt to climate change. Rapidly developed cities with large populations, due to ignoring the creation of UHI in planning, mostly have fallen into severe trouble. So, finding the influence of decisions’ impacts on urban climate before implementing them would inform planners about the consequences of their decisions. Advanced 3D-4D numerical models like ENVI-met are becoming a frequent way of investigating climatic impacts of decisions and regulations. However, full-scale modeling of a neighborhood or a city cannot be widely possible at present. Therefore, a practical solution is simplification of small-scale models to calculate the consequences of decisions in developments. In this study, we systematically propose some solutions for cooling urban neighborhoods, and then, after analyzing them, possible scenarios for UHI mitigation are presented. The goal is to find the most effective urban form and design strategies across a typical range of Tehran urban development at a high-density urban fabric. Our results provide insight into the impact of urban form and design on microclimate in hotter and drier future cities by considering water shortage and utilizing mitigation strategies.〈/p〉〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Sustainable Cities and Society, Volume 51〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Pouya salyani, Mehdi Abapour, Kazem Zare〈/p〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉With respect to the penetration of electric vehicles (EVs) due to pursuing environmental targets, EV parking lots establishment for giving charge and discharge services is necessary. Nevertheless, distribution companies (DisCos) seek to reduce the planning cost as much as possible and in this regard, demand response can be one of their effective options. However the customers participated in this program reduce or shift their consumption for the sake of increasing their benefit and accordingly DisCo must provide an incentive like the decrease in energy price which causes a competition between the DisCo and customers decisions. Because selling energy with higher price is preferable for DisCo. Hence what is proposed in this paper is the optimal probabilistic and long term planning of DGs and EV parking lots in the presence of demand response in which the mentioned competition is controlled via implementing Stackelberg game theory. In this game, DisCo plays as the leader and the customers interested in demand response play as the followers and their interaction is conducted though a decentralized distributed algorithm which finally determines the consumption profiles and the related energy selling price for all scenarios through the panning period.〈/p〉〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: October 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Marine Policy, Volume 108〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Elisabetta Menini, Cindy Lee Van Dover〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Active hydrothermal vents are valued worldwide because of the importance of their biodiversity and their influence on scientific discovery and insight about life on Earth and elsewhere in the Universe. There exist at least 20 areas and area networks with conservation measures for deep-sea hydrothermal vents, established by 12 countries and three Regional Fisheries Management Organisations, in six oceanic regions. Area-based management tools (ABMT) implemented by these countries illustrate multiple categories and means of protection and management of these rare and vulnerable habitats. Some ABMTs only regulate bottom and deep-trawling fisheries activities, others manage additional activities such as mining, scientific research, and bioprospecting, while still others protect active hydrothermal vents through broad conservation interventions. This atlas summarizes the “who”, “what”, “when”, “where” of protected hydrothermal vents worldwide and underscores recognition of the importance of hydrothermal-vent ecosystems by coastal States.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: October 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Energy Policy, Volume 133〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Charles M. Boliko, Dimiter S. Ialnazov〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉This research is driven by the goal to develop human survivability studies, a solution oriented, trans-disciplinary academic approach for resolving multiple complex societal challenges. Given persisting poverty and inequality in rural areas of developing countries, as well as their vulnerability to the effects of climate change, there are high expectations that rural electrification using renewable energy can contribute to their sustainable development. We therefore use a sustainability framework to assess the contributions of four electrification projects in rural Kenya in ensuring the long-term well-being of local residents and future generations. Our results show that off-grid electrification projects run by the private sector were the better performers in the assessment. While more research is necessary to improve robustness, our preliminary policy recommendations are that Kenyan policy makers should provide further support to private sector-led off-grid solar electrification efforts.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Sustainable Cities and Society, Volume 51〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Lei Wang, Guoyuan Ma, Feng Zhou, Yu Liu, Tian Tian〈/p〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Ventilation heat recovery devices have been increasingly used in energy-efficient buildings. Many factors, such as the attributes of buildings and the economic conditions of decision makers, should be considered in the installation of ventilation heat recovery devices. Thus, decision makers experience a multicriteria decision-making problem. This study presented a method of combining Analytical Hierarchy Process with the Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution to provide guidance in selecting ventilation heat recovery devices on the basis of the attributes of buildings and preferences of decision makers. By using residential house, small shop, and small public service center as examples, four types of ventilation heat recovery devices (total, plate sensible, integral heat pipe (R32), integral heat pipe (R717) heat exchangers) were recommended and sequenced under different background requirements through the proposed method. Results showed that the total heat exchanger obtained the highest recommended indicator value in small load application scenario, indicating its suitability. The proposed method can completely consider the attributes of buildings and psychological preferences of decision makers and combine the characteristics of different types of ventilation heat recovery devices. This approach provides scientific and reasonable recommended results in selecting heat recovery devices.〈/p〉〈/div〉