scholarly journals Exploring EU’s Regional Potential in Low-Carbon Technologies

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 32
Author(s):  
Enrico Bergamini ◽  
Georg Zachmann
Keyword(s):  
High Tech ◽  
Economic Policies ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Regional Innovation ◽  
Green Technologies ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
Technological Advantage ◽  
Causality Tests ◽  
Low Carbon Technologies

This research builds on the regional innovation literature, and aims to better understand the potential for, and development of, low-carbon technologies in the European Union. Exploiting the OECD’s REGPAT for regionalised patent data, we estimate the potential advantage of European NUTS2 regions have in 14 green technologies. We use network proximity between technologies and between regions to understand technological/regional clusters of revealed technological advantage and build the regressors for estimating regional potential advantage in specific technologies via zero-inflated beta regressions. Based on this, we explore the region-technology networks, finding two gravity centres for green innovation in France’s and Germany’s industrial and high-tech hubs (Île de France, Stuttgart, and Oberbayern). We also construct a dataset of lagged potentials and labour market, economic and demographic variables, and perform an elastic net regularisation to understand the association with current revealed advantages. Our approach indicates an association between technological advantage in green technologies and the (lags of) participation rates in labour markets, sectoral employment in science and technology, general higher education, duration of employment, percentage of GDP spent on R&D (public and private) and other expenditure on R&D. If confirmed by causality tests, the established associations could help in designing horizontal economic policies to enable specific regions to realise their specialisation potential in specific green technologies.

scholarly journals Smart Specialization of European Regions – Leaders in the Sphere of Innovation: Systematizing the Approaches

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (518) ◽  
pp. 29-37
Author(s):  
N. V. Shvets ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Active Regions ◽  
Complex Nature ◽  
Innovative Development ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Regional Innovation ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Regional Strategies ◽  
Scientific Technical ◽  
Smart Specialization

The article is aimed at analyzing and systematizing the approaches to determining the smart priorities of the regions of the European Union, which are leaders in innovative development, to develop recommendations for improving the process of formation of regional strategies for smart specialization in Ukraine. Smart priorities of the top 10 innovatively active regions of the EU according to the Regional Innovation Board were studied using the information provided by the European platform for smart specialization. Certain methodological problems and limitations for the analysis of regional smart specializations related to certain changes in the NUTS classification and different periods of adoption of regional strategies are identified. It is noted that smart priorities in many regions are based on the innovative development of traditional types of economic activity. It is displayed that the processing industry is most involved in the formation of regional smart specializations, also widely involved are the sectors of scientific-technical activities, information and telecommunications, transportation, and education. It is defined that a large proportion of priorities are of complex nature. This is connected with the cross-sectoral cooperation, as well as the use of horizontal-type instruments (digitalization, increasing the value of knowledge, spread of advanced technologies, focusing on the Sustainable Development Goals, social innovations). It is emphasized that the leading regions most often choose digital transformation, sustainable innovations and KETs for the goals of their smart specialization policies. The strategy of smart specialization of the Western Netherlands, which is the result of the collaboration of a number of research institutions, public and private companies and local authorities, is considered. It is concluded that when determining the priorities of Ukrainian regions, it is necessary to focus on the fore-mentioned EU goals and deepen the analysis of scientific-technological specializations of territories, as well as to formalize the role of science and education in regional strategies of smart specialization.

scholarly journals Policy competition in clean technology: Scaling up or innovating up?

2018 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 588-614 ◽  
Author(s):  
Llewelyn Hughes ◽  
Jonas Meckling
Keyword(s):  
Economies Of Scale ◽  
Scaling Up ◽  
Government Support ◽  
High Tech ◽  
Competitive Advantages ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Political Coalitions ◽  
Clean Technologies ◽  
Policy Competition ◽  
Low Carbon Technologies

AbstractGovernments support clean technologies to advance both environmental goals and national competitiveness. By adopting environmental policies early on, governments are argued to create durable competitive advantages for domestic companies that develop clean technologies for export to late adopters. This paper argues that policy competition between lead and follower markets conditions the ability of governments to create durable competitive advantages in low-carbon technologies. Depending on the complexity of the technology, we observe two patterns of green industrial policy competition. In low-complexity technologies, such as solar photovoltaics, follower markets are likely to adopt policies that support manufacturing capacity to rapidly achieve price advantages from economies of scale, with global supply chains intensifying this competition (“scaling up”). In high-complexity technologies, such as electric vehicles, follower markets are likely to adopt policies that support research and development to develop differentiated high-tech products for export (“innovating up”). We also suggest that new forms of interdependence in policy competition can affect the political sustainability of lead market policies. Competition in scaling-up is more likely to undermine political coalitions in favor of government support for low-carbon technologies, while innovating-up dynamics embed political coalitions that support lead market policies for low-carbon technologies.

scholarly journals Aspects of the Circular Economy in the Member States of the European Union

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 39
Author(s):  
Florina Bran ◽  
Dumitru Alexandru Bodislav ◽  
Svetlana Platagea Gombos ◽  
Petrică Sorin Angheluță
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Natural Resources ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Sustainable Use ◽  
Municipal Waste ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Green Technologies ◽  
Low Carbon Economy ◽  
Use Of Resources

The interest in having a low-carbon economy has led to transformations in the economies of all countries. New economic models are being put into practice. New jobs are being created. Sustainable use of resources is becoming more important. The article presents an analysis of waste generation in the member countries of the European Union. The study of the possibility of reusing certain materials started from the design phase of the finished product. Production processes can also contribute to saving natural resources. This can create new business opportunities and avoid inefficient waste management. The article also analyzes the degree of municipal waste collection, as well as the share of recycled municipal waste. In the production process, the recovery of certain materials and then their use can lead to savings in the use of raw materials. This reduces the pressure exerted by the extraction of raw materials on the environment. Further investments in green technologies will contribute to the efficient use of natural resources, restore biodiversity and reduce pollution.

scholarly journals Towards a green energy economy? Tracking the employment effects of low-carbon technologies in the European Union

2016 ◽  
Vol 179 ◽  
pp. 1342-1350 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anil Markandya ◽  
Iñaki Arto ◽  
Mikel González-Eguino ◽  
Maria V. Román
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Green Energy ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Employment Effects ◽  
Energy Economy ◽  
Low Carbon Technologies

scholarly journals Low-Carbon R&D Can Boost EU Growth and Competitiveness

Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (19) ◽  
pp. 5236 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kostas Fragkiadakis ◽  
Panagiotis Fragkos ◽  
Leonidas Paroussos
Keyword(s):  
Value Added ◽  
Learning By Doing ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
Economic Implications ◽  
Research And Innovation ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Low Carbon Technologies ◽  
Climate Neutrality ◽  
The Eu

Research and Innovation (R&I) are a key part of the EU strategy towards stronger growth and the creation of more and better jobs while respecting social and climate objectives. In the last decades, improvements in costs and performance of low-carbon technologies triggered by R&I expenditures and learning-by-doing effects have increased their competitiveness compared to fossil fuel options. So, in the context of ambitious climate policies as described in the EU Green Deal, increased R&I expenditures can increase productivity and boost EU economic growth and competitiveness, especially in countries with large innovation and low-carbon manufacturing base. The analysis captures the different nature of public and private R&I, with the latter having more positive economic implications and higher efficiency as it is closer to industrial activities. Public R&D commonly focuses on immature highly uncertain technologies, which are also needed to achieve the climate neutrality target of the EU. The model-based assessment shows that a policy portfolio using part of carbon revenues for public and private R&D and development of the required skills can effectively alleviate decarbonisation costs, while promoting high value-added products and exports (e.g., low-carbon technologies), creating more high-quality jobs and contributing to climate change mitigation.

scholarly journals Supporting Europe’s Energy Policy Towards a Decarbonised Energy System: A Comparative Assessment

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (15) ◽  
pp. 4010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aikaterini Papapostolou ◽  
Charikleia Karakosta ◽  
Kalliopi-Anastasia Kourti ◽  
Haris Doukas ◽  
John Psarras
Keyword(s):  
Energy System ◽  
Comparative Assessment ◽  
Added Value ◽  
Preference Ranking ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
The European Union ◽  
System A ◽  
Promethee Method ◽  
Sustainable Energy System ◽  
Low Carbon Technologies

The European Union (EU) aims to prepare its strategy and infrastructure for further decarbonisation of its energy system in the longer term towards 2050. Recent political discussions and research interest focus on ways to accelerate the development and deployment of low-carbon technologies with respect to the targets set for 2030 and 2050. However, the diverse options available that are to be implemented, are policy sensitive and need careful comparative assessment. This paper presents a multi-criteria approach based on an extension of the Preference Ranking Organization METHod for Enrichment of Evaluations (PROMETHEE) method for group decision-making that incorporates fuzzy set theory in order to evaluate alternative transformation pathways for achieving a sustainable energy system in EU. This assessment aims at providing a direction towards a most preferable pathway concept that should be taken into account by a future model-based analysis of the necessary transformation of our energy sector. The results obtained could support policymakers in drawing effective recommendations based on the findings. The added value of this analysis to policymakers is its contribution to plan climate and energy strategies towards a low-carbon transition pathway by using the information of this approach and prioritizing uncertainties through an environmental and energy perspective.

scholarly journals Social License to Operate in Mining: Present Views and Future Trends

Resources ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 79 ◽  
Author(s):  
Konstantinos Komnitsas
Keyword(s):  
Raw Materials ◽  
High Tech ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Environmental Footprint ◽  
Green Technologies ◽  
Social License To Operate ◽  
Social License ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Future

The social license to operate (SLO) is an informal social contract that aims to bridge the gap among the views of the most important stakeholders involved in mining activities. The novelty of this paper lies in the fact that it discusses the current situation and the future prospects of granting a SLO, mainly at the European Union (EU) level, by considering the mine of the future, in terms of deep sea and landfill mining, and the criticality of raw materials that are required by high tech products as well as by emerging and green technologies. Also, it highlights the factors that may affect the views of all involved stakeholders, focusing on the joint efforts that are required by the industry and the society as well as on the main technological, social, political and legal issues which are relevant to the process. It is believed that if trust is developed between the involved stakeholders the SLO may prove an important tool in future mining in order to safeguard the supply of raw materials, minimize the environmental footprint and improve the quality of life in the affected regions. Finally, a conceptual flowsheet involving the main steps that may be followed for granting a SLO is proposed.

Optimal approaches to manage power system decarbonation

2020 ◽  
Vol 64 (1-4) ◽  
pp. 1447-1452
Author(s):  
Vincent Mazauric ◽  
Ariane Millot ◽  
Claude Le Pape-Gardeux ◽  
Nadia Maïzi
Keyword(s):  
Free Energy ◽  
Linear Programming ◽  
Phase Transitions ◽  
Power System ◽  
Energy System ◽  
Energy Sources ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Faraday’S Law ◽  
Optimal Description ◽  
Low Carbon Technologies

To overcome the negative environemental impact of the actual power system, an optimal description of quasi-static electromagnetics relying on a reversible interpretation of the Faraday’s law is given. Due to the overabundance of carbon-free energy sources, this description makes it possible to consider an evolution towards an energy system favoring low-carbon technologies. The management for changing is then explored through a simplified linear-programming problem and an analogy with phase transitions in physics is drawn.

Determinants and barriers of PV self-consumption in Spain from the perception of the installers for the promotion of distributed energy systems

2020 ◽  
pp. 153-169
Author(s):  
José Ángel Gimeno ◽  
Eva Llera Sastresa ◽  
Sabina Scarpellini
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Energy Transition ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Distributed Energy ◽  
Sustainable Solutions ◽  
Highly Sensitive ◽  
Transition Scenario

Currently, self-consumption and distributed energy facilities are considered as viable and sustainable solutions in the energy transition scenario within the European Union. In a low carbon society, the exploitation of renewables for self-consumption is closely tied to the energy market at the territorial level, in search of a compromise between competitiveness and the sustainable exploitation of resources. Investments in these facilities are highly sensitive to the existence of favourable conditions at the territorial level, and the energy policies adopted in the European Union have contributed positively to the distributed renewables development and the reduction of their costs in the last decade. However, the number of the installed facilities is uneven in the European Countries and those factors that are more determinant for the investments in self-consumption are still under investigation. In this scenario, this paper presents the main results obtained through the analysis of the determinants in self-consumption investments from a case study in Spain, where the penetration of this type of facilities is being less relevant than in other countries. As a novelty of this study, the main influential drivers and barriers in self-consumption are classified and analysed from the installers' perspective. On the basis of the information obtained from the installers involved in the installation of these facilities, incentives and barriers are analysed within the existing legal framework and the potential specific lines of the promotion for the effective deployment of self-consumption in an energy transition scenario.

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