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Handbook of sustainable energy
\"Major contemporary issues and debates relating to the sustainable use of energy are addressed in this far-reaching Handbook. The contributing authors discuss the ongoing debates about sustainability and energy use, energy economics, renewable energy, efficiency and climate policy. New and original chapters from leading academics cover the full spectrum of relevant research including: definitions of sustainability in energy use; consumer behaviour and energy markets; the impacts of innovation and new technologies; energy economics and climate modelling; low carbon economies and renewable energies. The authors critically engage with perspectives from developed and developing countries from both global and regional standpoints. This Handbook will make a timely and important contribution to the study of energy, climate change and climate economics, and will prove essential reading for international researchers in the fields of natural resources, climate change and energy. Students in environmental science faculties, economics departments, business schools and engineering schools will also find this important and enriching compendium insightful. Similarly, policy-makers in energy and environment ministries and international organizations will find much topical debate to engage them.
Book
Promoting energy efficiency at household level: a literature review
The household sector is one of the most energy-intensive sectors in Europe, and thus a focal point for reducing greenhouse gas emissions associated with energy consumption. Energy efficiency is considered a key measure to reduce household energy consumption, but several factors could lead to an underinvestment in energy efficiency. This is the so-called energy efficiency gap or paradox. The factors in question are grouped under market failures (including informational failures), behavioural failures and other factors. Various policies can be used to address these failures and promote the adoption of energy-efficient technologies, including energy standards and codes, economic incentives and information instruments. This paper reviews the empirical evidence to date on energy efficiency policies and discusses their effectiveness. On the one hand, command and control instruments seem to be effective policies, but they have to overcome several barriers. In the case of price instruments, subsidies and taxes do not seem to be effective while rebates present mixed results as they sometimes are effective and in other cases, they could present significant shortcomings. Finally, the effectiveness of informational policies is not always ensured as they depend on the country, sector and product category. Information feedback tools also seem to be effective as they work as a constant reminder of energy-efficient behaviour. Some limitations of energy efficiency policies are also identified, such as the difficulties of implementing codes and standards given that a minimum level need to be achieved, differences in the effectiveness of rebate programmes and non-conclusive results in regard to the effectiveness of monetary energy efficiency labels.
Journal Article
The power of impact framing and experience for determining acceptable levels of climate change-induced flood risk: a lab experiment
Abstract This study explores how individuals, when assuming the role of policymakers, determine acceptable levels of risk in response to (a) different framings of flood risk information and (b) after experiencing economic losses from a hypothetical flood event in Zarautz (Basque Country, Spain). An incentivised lab experiment is conducted on a representative sample in the neighbouring region of Bilbao. A 2 × 2 factorial between-subject design is used to measure risk acceptability in response to visual and economic impact framings, and the effect of experience is measured using a 2-period repeated game within-subject design. Results from the experiment teach us that photos of climate impacts can be an effective medium for provoking visceral feelings about climate change. When used in conjunction with simple numerical risk information, photos can help the public to engage more deeply with climate issues and in turn encourage them to take precautionary measures to limit losses in the future. Experiencing economic losses leads to reductions in levels of acceptable risks, but decision-making is characterised by little emotional or logical reasoning, signalling a use of heuristics such as ‘gut impulse’, which may be prone to cognitive bias.
Journal Article
Understanding risks in the light of uncertainty: low-probability, high-impact coastal events in cities
A quantification of present and future mean annual losses due to extreme coastal events can be crucial for adequate decision making on adaptation to climate change in coastal areas around the globe. However, this approach is limited when uncertainty needs to be accounted for. In this paper, we assess coastal flood risk from sea-level rise and extreme events in 120 major cities around the world using an alternative stochastic approach that accounts for uncertainty. Probability distributions of future relative (local) sea-level rise have been used for each city, under three IPPC emission scenarios, RCP 2.6, 4.5 and 8.5. The approach allows a continuous stochastic function to be built to assess yearly evolution of damages from 2030 to 2100. Additionally, we present two risk measures that put low-probability, high-damage events in the spotlight: the Value at Risk (VaR) and the Expected Shortfall (ES), which enable the damages to be estimated when a certain risk level is exceeded. This level of acceptable risk can be defined involving different stakeholders to guide progressive adaptation strategies. The method presented here is new in the field of economics of adaptation and offers a much broader picture of the challenges related to dealing with climate impacts. Furthermore, it can be applied to assess not only adaptation needs but also to put adaptation into a timeframe in each city.
Journal Article
The Costs of Sea-Level Rise: Coastal Adaptation Investments vs. Inaction in Iberian Coastal Cities
Iberian coastal cities are subject to significant risks in the next decades due to climate change-induced sea-level rise. These risks are quite uncertain depending on several factors. In this article, we estimate potential economic damage in 62 Iberian coastal cities from 2020 to 2100 using regional relative sea-level rise data under three representative concentration pathways (RCP 8.5, RCP 4.5 and RCP 2.6). We analyze the expected accumulated damage costs if no adaptation actions take place and compare this scenario to the investment cost of some adaptation strategies being implemented. The results show that some adaptation strategies are less costly than the potential damage under inaction. In other words, it is economically rational to invest in adaptation even in a context of high uncertainty. These calculations are very relevant to inform climate change adaptation decisions and to better manage the risk posed by sea-level rise. Moreover, our findings show the importance of a good understanding of the shape of the sea-level rise and damage cost distributions to calculate the expected damage. We show that using the 50th percentile for these calculations is not adequate as it leads to a serious underestimation of expected damage and coastal risk.
Journal Article
Consumers’ preferences regarding energy efficiency: a qualitative analysis based on the household and services sectors in Spain
Informational failures frequently lead consumers to make non-optimal energy-efficient purchasing decisions. Energy efficiency labels seek to influence consumer behaviour at the point of sale by reducing informational failures regarding energy efficiency. However, several informational and behavioural factors contribute to the energy efficiency gap and could render label-oriented policies useless. The purchasing decision model of Allcott and Greenstone (The Journal of Economic Perspectives, 26, 3–28, 2012) is used here to explore the different factors that influence purchasing decisions and understand (i) the importance of energy consumption compared to other attributes; (ii) how consumers weight energy savings and (iii) what other benefits and costs influence the purchase of energy-efficient goods. The analysis reported here is based on qualitative research methods and is conducted in the household and service sectors (the accommodation sector and private service companies), for appliances, heating and cooling systems and cars in Spain. Results show that (i) there is still an informational gap regarding energy labels and (ii) bounded rationality and end-user behaviour are important limiting factors for the purchase of energy-efficient goods in Spain.
Journal Article
Model Validity and Transferability Informing Behavioral Energy Policies
A number of microeconomic choice models are currently applied to demonstrate systematic biases in energy consumer behavior. The models highlight the hidden potential of energy savings from policies that target the so-called behavioral anomalies. Nevertheless, whether these patterns are repeatable or not is not clear, because the efforts to determine the transferability or generalizability of these models are practically nonexistent. This paper uses a unique collection of empirical data from five EU countries collected within the CONSEED project to refine and develop further the standard consumer decision model, validate it for policy purposes, and elaborate on its transferability between countries. The pooled samples allow for a more reliable investigation of the relative importance of the factors influencing consumers’ attitudes and beliefs towards energy investment decisions. Based on the statistical tests conducted to evaluate the “transferability” of the pooled models (i.e., the possibility of creating a “universal” model of EE from the pooled model), it can be argued that the models are transferable in specific cases since attitudinal factors and demographic characteristics play a significant role. Although the pooled models are validated, any extrapolation of the above-mentioned findings to specific populations in terms of “space” (i.e., country) and “target” (e.g., sectors and technologies) should be approached with caution from a policy perspective.
Journal Article
Estimating the Volatility of Flights and Risk of Saturation of Airspaces in the European Core Area: A Methodological Proposal
Despite having some fluctuations and the impact of the COVID-19 crisis, the demand for flights had a general growing trend for the past years. As the airspace is limited, efforts to better manage the total number of flights are noteworthy. In addition, volatility (i.e., unpredicted changes) in the number of flights has been observed to be increasing. Efforts to improve flight forecasting are thus necessary to improve air traffic efficiency and reduce costs. In this study, volatility in the number of flights is estimated based on past trends, and the outcomes are used to project future levels. This enables risk situations such as having to manage unexpectedly high numbers of flights to be predicted. The methodological approach analyses the Functional Airspace Block of Central Europe (FABEC). Based on the number of flights for 2015–2019, the following are calculated: historic mean, variance, volatility, 95th percentile, flights per hour and flights per day of the week in different time zones in six countries. Due to the nature of air traffic and the overdispersion observed, this study uses counting data models such as negative binomial regressions. This makes it possible to calculate risk measures including expected shortfall (ES) and value at risk (VaR), showing for each hour that the number of flights can exceed planned levels by a certain number. The study finds that in Germany and Belgium at 13:00 h there is a 5% worst-case possibility of having averages of 683 and 246 flights, respectively. The method proposed is useful for planning under uncertainties. It is conducive to efficient airspace management, so risk indicators help Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSPs) to plan for low-probability situations in which there may be large numbers of flights.
Journal Article
Addendum to 'Understanding risks in the light of uncertainty: low-probability, high-impact coastal events in cities'
This addendum adds to the analysis presented in 'Understanding risks in the light of uncertainty: low-probability, high-impact coastal events in cities' Abadie et al (2017 Environ. Res. Lett. 12 014017). We propose to use the framework developed earlier to enhance communication and understanding of risks, with the aim of bridging the gap between highly technical risk management discussion to the public risk aversion debate. We also propose that the framework could be used for stress-testing resilience.
Journal Article