Proposed Mexico energy reforms would be radical

Significance The aim is to restore the market dominance of the state-owned Federal Electricity Commission (CFE). The move would sideline private players and potentially force the closure of some private generation plants. It would also have serious ramifications for hydrocarbons and mining. Impacts Approval could lead to insufficient electricity supplies, increased manufacturing costs, reduced foreign investment and lower GDP growth. The proposed changes could affect foreign investment in areas beyond the energy sector. Negative consequences for foreign firms in Mexico and for the environment could increase tensions with the United States and the EU.

AMLO policies may hit Mexico-EU trade and investment

Significance An agreement in principle in 2018, to modernise a 2000 trade deal to deepen trade and investment, is yet to be implemented. At the same time, controversial energy reforms pushed by the Mexican government, which pose commercial risks for EU investors and clash with the bloc’s climate priorities, have been condemned by European firms and officials. Impacts Mexico’s nationalist turn in energy policy will dampen investment from EU firms in oil and gas, as well as renewables. The EU’s push to mobilise green finance for developing economies will prioritise other countries with more favourable policy frameworks. The shift towards dirty energy could make Mexico a target of the EU’s newly announced carbon tax on imports.

Nigerian energy reforms may track wider openings

Significance Yet worsening macroeconomic conditions amid the COVID-19 pandemic, including a fall in oil prices and declining foreign currency reserves, have forced President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration to change tack. Meanwhile, new energy and power policies are also in train. Impacts Increasing prices will add further to growing inflationary pressures over the short term, with only limited government social relief. With Buhari approaching the second half of his last term, he will care little about losing political capital through the new policies. Bolstered refining capacity and energy network improvements will have notable knock-on impacts on Nigeria’s operating environment.

The gas sector of Ukraine: past and future

The Ukrainian gas sector has a long history. Ukraine ranks third in Europe in terms of gas potential. Regardless of such great potential, Ukraine still imports gas. There are three gas-bearing regions in Ukraine – Carpathian, Dnipro-Donetsk and Black sea region. Gas production began at the beginning of the 20th century. After the Second World War, Ukraine was the main exporter of gas from the USSR to Eastern Europe. Today, private companies provide the majority of gas production in Ukraine. Currently, the largest gas deposits are mature, and the newly discovered deposits require large investment outlays. The Ukrainian gas pipeline system has strategic importance and it is connected to underground gas storage facilities. Currently, the system works only on 50% of its own capacity due to the decrease in the volume of gas transit through Ukraine from Russia. The biggest problems in the gas sector are corruption related to the issuing of licenses for the development of new deposits and the lack of an appropriate pace of energy reforms. The proper implementation of the 2035 Energy Strategy may help improve the situation in this sector.

Germany’s energy reforms could face further delays

Headline GERMANY: Energy future faces increasing division

Regulatory Limits to Corporate Sustainability: How Climate Change Law and Energy Reforms in Mexico May Impair Sustainability Practices in Mexican Firms

This paper aims to show that sustainable behavior by firms may be impaired by regulatory restrictions. We challenge the assumption that regulation aimed at curbing greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) in the form of a target to meet the Country’s GHG emissions commitments will promote sustainable corporations. We argue that, in fact, such regulation may impair sustainability practices because it creates unintended consequences. This paper tackles the efficiency of the institutional framework chosen through the lenses of the analytical themes of fit, scale, and interplay, then we use a systems dynamic approach to represent how regulation in the arenas of energy efficiency and GHG emissions reduction may withhold competitive business outcomes and corporate sustainability schemes. We exemplify and simulate a single regulation scheme: a clean energy target for firms; and found that as a result of such scheme, the system is dominated by negative feedback processes resulting in lesser outcomes that would be better tackled by firms not being subject to the restrictions imposed by the regulation.

FEATURES OF REFORM OF ENERGY USING "SMART" TECHNOLOGIES

The article investigates the features of energy reforms, that based on the use of «smart technologies». Such reforms based on the principles of regulation, privatization, restructuring and competition have been analyzed. The advantages and disadvantages of energy reforms have been identified in the articles. The main problems of reforms in the energy sector in developing countries are highlighted. Thus, the challenges of implementing of reforms in the energy sector of developing countries include: political challenges; the need to take into account the initial conditions of operation of the energy sector; identifying individual approaches, methods, tools and technologies in the process of implementing energy reforms for individual territories; realization of the target tasks. An analysis of the goals, objectives and benefits of Ukraine's energy strategy until 2035 was conducted. The study substantiates the importance of implementing of «smart» technologies in the energy sector. The most popular innovative energy saving technologies are described. Particular attention is paid to smart-grid technologies. It has been proven that «smart» technologies have made a positive contribution from the economic and social spheres, which have been generally achieved in order to achieve targeted development and to exist in other spheres. The paper argues that «smart» technologies are positively linked to economic and social sustainability, aimed at achieving the goals of sustainable development and environmental protection. It is proposed to take into account the synergistic effects of the use of «smart» technologies in three-dimensional format: environmental, social and economic effects. As a synergistic effect of the introduction of "smart" technologies in energy reforms is expected to increase the level of socio-ecological-economic development; scale effect, integration effect, integrated benefits effect, conglomerate effect; synergies with other infrastructures. Keywords: energy reforms, smart technologies, energy strategy of Ukraine, smart grid, synergistic effect.

Regulatory Limits to Corporate Sustainability: How Climate Change Law and Energy Reforms in Mexico May Impair Sustainability Practices in Mexican Firms

This paper aims to show that sustainable behavior by firms may be impaired by regulatory restrictions. We challenge the assumption that regulation aimed at curbing greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) on the form of a target to meet the Country’s GHG emissions commitments will promote sustainable corporations. We argue that, in fact, such regulation may impair sustainability practices because it creates unintended consequences. This paper tackles the efficiency of the institutional framework chosen through the lenses of the analytical themes of fit, scale and interplay, then we use a systems dynamic approach to represent how regulation in the arenas of energy efficiency and GHG emissions reduction may withhold competitive business outcomes and corporate sustainability schemes. We exemplify and simulate a single regulation scheme and found that as a result of the institutional scheme chosen, the system is dominated by negative feedback processes resulting in lesser outcomes that would be better tackled by firms not being subject to the restrictions imposed by the regulation.