Rocky politics will slow Tunisia's renewable progress

Significance Once finished, the projects will make up 6% of Tunisia’s electricity generation capacity. Although new projects promise increased renewable energy development, a combination of political and economic uncertainty, combined with cumbersome investment requirements, mean foreign investor interest remains limited. Impacts The country’s climate change targets are unlikely to be met. The decline of domestic gas production will leave Tunisia exposed to high international prices. The lack of a foreign investment track record in electricity suggests only small projects are likely to proceed in coming years.

The Effect of Renewable Energy Development, Market Regulation, and Technological Innovation on CO2 Emission in BRICS Countries

The relationship between energy, environment, and economic growth has been received a lot of attention recently among scientific studies, but environmental sustainability remains a global issue. Renewable energy production, technological advancement, and regulatory policy mechanisms can all help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and support environmental sustainability. The purpose of this study was to look at the influence of renewable energy development, market regulation, and technological innovation on carbon emissions in the BRICS countries. Renewable energy development is measured by the contribution of renewables to the total primary energy supply. The market regulation represents the measure of environmental regulation policies that the state administrative department uses to manage or limit pollution. Technological innovation is measured by environment-related technologies. To examine the symmetric and asymmetric relationship between study variables, we used a second-generation panel unit root test, linear and nonlinear co-integration tests, and linear and nonlinear ARDL. Using a symmetric approach, we found that renewable energy development, technological innovation, and market-based environmental regulation policies had a considerable positive impact on lowering carbon emissions (CE). Furthermore, the combined effect of market regulation and renewable energy development, as well as market regulation and technology innovation on CE is negative and significant. In the asymmetric specification, we found that positive and negative shocks are not uniform but vary according to ascending and descending movement in the primary variables. In nonlinear specification, the long run effects are higher than the short run. The study suggests renewable energy development, technical innovation, and market-based regulation environmental policies are the main mechanisms to reduce carbon emission in BRICS countries.

Towards Carbon Neutrality: The Impact of Renewable Energy Development on Carbon Emission Efficiency

The energy transition and carbon emission efficiency are important thrust and target functions, respectively, for achieving carbon neutrality in the future. Using a sample of 30 Chinese provinces from 2006 to 2018, we measured their carbon efficiency using the game cross-efficiency data envelopment analysis (DEA). Then, a random forest regression model was used to explore the impact of renewable energy development on regional carbon emission efficiency. The results are as follows. First, China’s carbon emission efficiency in the southeast coastal area was better than that in the northwest area. Second, renewable energy development first inhibited and then promoted carbon emission efficiency, and there existed a reasonable range. Third, through a regional heterogeneity analysis, the trend of the influence of renewable energy development on carbon emission efficiency was found to not be significantly different in eastern, central, and western China, but there was a certain gap in the reasonable range. Our study not only helps to promote the study of renewable energy development and the carbon neutral target, but also provides an important reference for Chinese policy-makers to design a reasonable carbon emissions reduction path.