scholarly journals The energy union – a new step towards sustainability by promoting clean energy

2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 896-906
Author(s):  
Ana-Maria Iulia Şanta
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
European Commission ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Clean Energy ◽  
Business Environment ◽  
Coal Industry ◽  
Banking Union ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Energy Union

Abstract The Energy Union is an important issue on the agenda of the European Commission, which is addressed in the package “Clean Energy for All Europeans”, adopted by the European Commission in November 2016. The present paper deals with the role of the Energy Union in ensuring an optimal framework for a common energy market at the level of the European Union, aimed for the benefit of the consumers in the European Union and of a modern and functional business environment. Which perspectives opens this possible win-win situation is a topic to be analyzed in the present article. The Energy Union is a stronger form of integration within the European Union, related to the internal market of the European Union, which brings more than harmonization of standards and mutual recognition: it brings a common policy and shared values. The goal of this project is to ensure consumer protection through common rules and harmonization, which is a trend at the level of the European Union occurring in various fields of activity and business sectors, such as the Energy Union, the Banking Union, data protection and the competition framework. The main focus on the consumer is new, compared to former attempts of harmonization in specific fields. The challenge rising from this project is to achieve a union in a strategic sector, such as energy. Possible aspects that could hamper the building of the union will be analyzed, for example the fact that some member states of the European Union still rely on fossil fuels, such as the coal industry. The switch to renewable energy sources is related to high costs, as well as to social turbulences on the labour market, that have to be taken into consideration. When drafting measures for the Energy Union, the effects on climate change as well as socio-economic parameters have to be weighed, in order to find the proper balance. It is therefore important to draft appropriate measures ensuring a smooth transition from fossil fuels to Clean Energy. The present paper focuses on these measures proposed by the European Commission. The key elements of the Energy Union will be analyzed in the measures drafted by the European Commission in the package “Clean Energy for All Europeans”. Case studies will illustrate the debated aspects and will provide best practice guidelines as a result. An interdisciplinary approach will be used in the present paper, combining economic and legal issues in a comparative manner.

scholarly journals The energy union - Perspectives for consolidating the European Union through a common energy market

2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 232-239
Author(s):  
Ana-Maria Iulia Şanta
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
European Commission ◽  
Energy Policy ◽  
Clean Energy ◽  
Business Environment ◽  
Energy Market ◽  
The European Union ◽  
European Union Level ◽  
Energy Union ◽  
New Energy

Abstract The European Union develops a new energy policy as an answer to the challenges of climate change which is a global issue affecting all of us. The package “Clean Energy for All Europeans” adopted by the European Commission in 2016, contains instruments for a new energy policy at the level of the European Union, based on an Energy Union, on promoting energy efficiency and the use of Clean Energy. These are the first steps in creating an institutional and legal framework for a common energy market of the European Union. This way the Internal Market of the European Union would be completed by a common energy market and the result would be a consolidated European Union. This is the research hypothesis the present paper is dealing with. It analyzes as well the impact of the new energy policies on the business environment in terms of new innovative business models at European Union level. The research is based on an interdisciplinary approach considering aspects of European policy, European law, business and economics. Qualitative research methods, such as the analysis of European regulations and provisions representing the basis for a harmonized framework in the energy sector at European Union level and case studies from European Union Member States will be applied. Relevant indicators provided by the European Commission and by Eurostat statistics analyzed in the present paper will complete this assessment.

scholarly journals The common energy market of the European Union – utopia or reality?

2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 93-102 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana-Maria Iulia Şanta
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Renewable Energy ◽  
European Commission ◽  
Social Impact ◽  
Clean Energy ◽  
Energy Market ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Legal Provisions ◽  
Energy Union ◽  
The Common

Abstract The European Commission has the initiative to foster the sector of renewable energy and to build an Energy Union, with a common energy market at the level of the European Union, but is this only an utopic vision or is this possible to achieve? The topic of clean energy is very new and of great interest for the European Union, which is shown by the fact that the European Commission recently adopted on the 30th November 2016 the package “Clean Energy for All Europeans”, which contains proposals for the modernization of the energy market at the level of the European Union. But which are the challenges such a project is confronted with? According to the literature, such challenges are related to the process of liberalization of electricity markets. Conflicts between national interest and international actors of the energy market might occur. Due to the oligopolistic structure of the energy market, there are several barriers to the market entry. In order to answer to the research questions, case studies regarding the liberalization of the energy market will be analyzed in a comparative manner, offering an international overview. Furthermore, the legal provisions on which the common energy policy of the European Union relies, will be analyzed, as well as their economic and social impact. The package “Clean Energy for All Europeans” comprises a proposal of the revised Renewable energy Directive, energy efficiency measures and issues related to the Energy Union Governance. It contains as well proposals for the electricity market design, which will be analyzed and the present paper outlines the contribution of this proposal in building a common energy market of the European Union. What role does competition play in implementing the common energy market of the European Union? Which role do competition authorities have in this context? These are interesting aspects to be analyzed in the present paper.

scholarly journals The Common Energy Market of the European Union–Challenges and Perspectives

2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 334-345
Author(s):  
Ana-Maria Iulia Şanta
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Renewable Energy ◽  
European Commission ◽  
Social Impact ◽  
Clean Energy ◽  
Energy Market ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Legal Provisions ◽  
Energy Union ◽  
The Common

Abstract The European Commission has the initiative to foster the sector of renewable energy and to build an Energy Union, with a common energy market at the level of the European Union, but is this only a utopic vision or is this possible to achieve? The topic of clean energy is very new and of great interest for the European Union, which is shown by the fact that the European Commission recently adopted on the 30th November 2016 the package “Clean Energy for All Europeans”, which contains proposals for the modernization of the energy market at the level of the European Union. But which are the challenges such a project is confronted with? According to the literature, such challenges are related to the process of liberalization of electricity markets. Conflicts between national interest and international actors of the energy market might occur. Due to the oligopolistic structure of the energy market, there are several barriers to the market entry. In order to answer to the research questions, case studies regarding the liberalization of the energy market will be analyzed in a comparative manner, offering an international overview. Furthermore, the legal provisions on which the common energy policy of the European Union relies, will be analyzed, as well as their economic and social impact. The package “Clean Energy for All Europeans” comprises a proposal of the revised Renewable energy Directive, energy efficiency measures and issues related to the Energy Union Governance. It contains as well proposals for the electricity market design, which will be analyzed and the present paper outlines the contribution of this proposal in building a common energy market of the European Union. What role does competition play in implementing the common energy market of the European Union? Which role do competition authorities have in this context? These are interesting aspects to be analyzed in the present paper.

scholarly journals Post COVID-19 Recovery and 2050 Climate Change Targets: Changing the Emphasis from Promotion of Renewables to Mandated Curtailment of Fossil Fuels in the EU Policies

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (5) ◽  
pp. 1347
Author(s):  
Kyriakos Maniatis ◽  
David Chiaramonti ◽  
Eric van den Heuvel
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
European Union ◽  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Global Economy ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Climate Change Policy ◽  
Climate Impacts ◽  
The European Union

The present work considers the dramatic changes the COVID-19 pandemic has brought to the global economy, with particular emphasis on energy. Focusing on the European Union, the article discusses the opportunities policy makers can implement to reduce the climate impacts and achieve the Paris Agreement 2050 targets. The analysis specifically looks at the fossil fuels industry and the future of the fossil sector post COVID-19 pandemic. The analysis first revises the fossil fuel sector, and then considers the need for a shift of the global climate change policy from promoting the deployment of renewable energy sources to curtailing the use of fossil fuels. This will be a change to the current global approach, from a relative passive one to a strategically dynamic and proactive one. Such a curtailment should be based on actual volumes of fossil fuels used and not on percentages. Finally, conclusions are preliminary applied to the European Union policies for net zero by 2050 based on a two-fold strategy: continuing and reinforcing the implementation of the Renewable Energy Directive to 2035, while adopting a new directive for fixed and over time increasing curtailment of fossils as of 2025 until 2050.

scholarly journals Advances in Underground Energy Storage for Renewable Energy Sources

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 5142
Author(s):  
Javier Menéndez ◽  
Jorge Loredo
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Energy Storage ◽  
Natural Gas ◽  
Greenhouse Gas ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Energy Sources ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Coal Fuel

The use of fossil fuels (coal, fuel, and natural gas) to generate electricity has been reduced in the European Union during the last few years, involving a significant decrease in greenhouse gas emissions [...]

scholarly journals Analysis of the RES Potential in Accordance with the Energy Policy of the European Union

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (19) ◽  
pp. 6030
Author(s):  
Tomasz Jałowiec ◽  
Henryk Wojtaszek
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Economic Growth ◽  
European Union ◽  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Energy Policy ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Clean Energy ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Energy Sources ◽  
The European Union

There is a need to reduce carbon-based energy and replace it with clean energy in order to counteract the negative effects of climate change. The increase in renewable energy sources may result in savings and the increasing cost of maintaining carbon-based energy. Worldwide involvement is required. The fulfillment of conditions by individual states does not solve the problem. The COVID-19 pandemic has slowed economic growth. It turns out that economic growth is not always associated with increased investments in RES (existing or emerging new clean energy points). We have a new epidemiological threat—Delta—which could become large. This will not improve the situation. Germany is an exemplary country for benchmarking in the field of renewable energy. The worrying fact is that Poland, despite economic growth, does not achieve an even growth in RES. Each of us is required to be involved, to be open to innovation and to act in accordance with the energy policy of the European Union. Basic management functions (planning, organizing, motivating and controlling) are also essential. Failure to meet the demands of the energy policy should be thoroughly verified and consequences should be drawn in order to involve the whole world. The authors thoroughly analyzed many factors that have a significant impact on the success in stopping climate change and increasing RES. With the increase in energy demand, renewable energy is introduced to a greater extent. Additionally, coal energy will be more expensive to maintain. The more RES, the more expensive the energy obtained from mine sources. The investment is an opportunity to meet the demands of RES, but investors are currently only interested in investing in renewable energy in highly developed countries. The decision-making process regarding the implementation of renewable energy sources not only consists in a radical decision to introduce changes, but also in the fulfillment of a number of assumptions regarding the energy policy controlled by the authorities of a given state as part of this action. There is a risk (fear) in underdeveloped countries that they will not be able to finalize this project, either due to the lack of investor interest or the lack of real opportunities due to the failure to meet the guidelines of the energy policy of a given country. It is advisable that state governments facilitate the process as much as possible so that even less developed countries could take advantage of this postulate.

scholarly journals Significance of the Climate and Energy Package for the Development of Renewable Energy Sources in the European Union

2014 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 45-60
Author(s):  
Agnieszka Pach-Gurgul
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Policy Development ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Energy Sector ◽  
Energy Sources ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
Energy Package

The utilisation of renewable energy in the European Union seems, at the present stage of energy policy development, inevitable. It offers many benefits, including, above all: the possibility of increasing the energy security of a given state or region thanks to the diversification of the sources of energy supply, the limitation of imports from energy suppliers, such as of natural gas or oil, thus reducing dependence on imported fossil fuels, ecological effects connected with the elimination of greenhouse gas emissions and other substances harmful to the natural environment, economic and social benefits, such as the creation of new jobs. The Climate and Energy Package obliges member states to pursue a common aim – to increase the share of renewable energy to 20% in the general energy balance of the European Union by 2020. This is a challenging task, since the renewable energy sector requires significant financial support to increase its competitiveness, compared to traditional energy sources. When adopting the Energy Package, leaders of member states did not anticipate the economic crisis and its impact on the European Union’s economy, and on the energy sector in particular.  

scholarly journals Forming the European Union Common External Energy Policy: Key Events and Results

2021 ◽  
Vol 65 (5) ◽  
pp. 39-48
Author(s):  
O. Yudina
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
European Commission ◽  
Energy Policy ◽  
Policy Development ◽  
The European Union ◽  
External Energy ◽  
Member States ◽  
Energy Union ◽  
Energy Community ◽  
The Eu

Received 08.05.2020. Energy has always been of particular importance to the European Union. Meanwhile, up to the beginning of the 21st century, this area had been in exclusive competence of member states, with timid attempts of the European Commission (EC) to receive part of the powers in the energy sphere. The article is devoted to the issues of the EU common external energy policy development that was accompanied by a dichotomy of interests between the member-states, which hardly like the idea of the energy sector communitarisation, and the European Commission, which has been the main driver of supranationalisation of the energy sphere for a long period of time. The author characterizes the main achievements towards the EU common external energy policy, including the law regarding the export of energy to neighboring non-member countries through various organizations, such as the Energy Community, the Eastern Partnership, MEDREG, and launching of the European Energy Union (EEU) in 2015. Special attention is paid to external factors that facilitated the enhancement of the European Commission’s role in the energy sphere. The new era for the EU common external energy policy started in 2015 with the EEU and energy security as one of its priority, partly due to the gas crises and political tension between the European Union and Russia. It is noted that the EEU has facilitated the adoption of some EC’s legal proposals that could not be adopted for a long time, such as the mechanism of consultations on new intergovernmental contracts. In general, the creation of the Energy Union should certainly be seen as strengthening the supranational energy competences of the European Commission. It is concluded that the European Commission has made a significant progress towards a common external energy policy, strongly supported by the public opinion that the European Union should speak one voice with third countries. Despite the lack of legally supported competencies in energy for the EC, it gained authority in different directions of the EU energy policy development. Under these circumstances, the common energy market that has led to energy interdependent of the member states, forces them to cooperate at a supranational level. The author argues that third countries should clearly understand the dynamic and processes of communitarisation of the energy sphere and adopt their cooperation with the European Union based on this knowledge.

scholarly journals New Energy Policies for Smart Cities - a Comparison among Smart Cities in the European Union

2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 1140-1149 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabrizio D’ascenzo ◽  
Adrian Tantau ◽  
Marco Savastano ◽  
Ana-Maria Iulia Şanta
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
European Commission ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Energy Policy ◽  
Smart Cities ◽  
Clean Energy ◽  
The European Union ◽  
European Policy ◽  
Innovative Solutions ◽  
New Energy

Abstract Given the current challenges of climate change our society is dealing with at a global level, the European Union develops a new energy policy based on clean energy. The package “Clean Energy for All Europeans”, which has been adopted by the European Commission in 2016, contains measures for a new energy policy at the level of the European Union, based on promoting an Energy Union by following a harmonized framework and common objectives. Considering this European policy debate an interesting topic, the present paper deals with the research question what will be the reaction of the business environment to the energy policy measures proposed by the European Commission in terms of innovation. Indeed, it focuses on innovative solutions based on clean energy, that will arise for achieving the three dimensions of social, economic and environmental sustainability, such as smart cities. The initiative of helping the development of smart cities is currently supported by the European Commission in the project “European Innovation Partnership on Smart Cities and Communities”. Innovative measures are related to new financing schemes for the new projects, as new investments are needed for implementing innovative solutions. Case studies from different Member States of the European Union, e.g. Italy, Austria and Romania, will illustrate the concept of smart cities and their development in the European Union allowing for an in depth analysis and comparison among the different business models implemented. The present work presents a mixed method approach based on the combination of both qualitative research methods, such as multiple-case studies and quantitative methods, represented by the analysis and triangulation of data and indicators provided by European institutions. Furthermore, this study presents a multidisciplinary perspective, considering aspects of European policy, European law, business and economics.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document