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A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073). This special issue belongs to the section "C: Energy Economics and Policy".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (1 May 2021) | Viewed by 43202

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Prof. Dr. Ken'ichi Matsumoto

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Guest Editor

Faculty of Economics, Toyo University, Tokyo, Japan
Interests: Climate change and policy; Global environmental issues; CGE model; Econometric analysis; Agent-based mode; Energy security

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The current economic system highly depends on energy and natural resources. As a result, economic activities cause various environmental issues, including climate change, pollution, environmental degradation, loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services, waste, and resource depletion. These environmental issues eventually affect our economy, such as industrial activities, agriculture/forestry and land use, disasters, and human health. The global society is now aiming to achieve circular economy as well as a low-carbon, sustainable society. To solve environmental issues and achieve this society, various policy measures have been or will be implemented throughout the world at various levels (global, regional, national, and local). Therefore, it is indispensable to understand the economic aspects of environmental and energy issues and policy (i.e., how environmental and energy issues and policy affect the economy).

This Special Issue aims to gather state-of-the-art research findings and knowledge in all aspects of economic analysis on energy and environmental issues and policy (both empirical and scenario analysis). We also welcome studies with various approaches, from quantitative to qualitative.

Prof. Dr. Ken'ichi Matsumoto
Guest Editor

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Keywords

economic system
environmental system
energy system
sustainable development goals (SDGs)
low-carbon society
circular economy
economy–environment interactions
economic modeling
statistical analysis
policy analysis

Published Papers (10 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 543 KiB

Open AccessArticle

MPG Illusion and Vehicle Choice: An Empirical Study of the Japanese Household Survey

by Kenta Tanaka, Kazuyuki Iwata and Shunsuke Managi

Energies 2021, 14(21), 7294; https://doi.org/10.3390/en14217294 - 4 Nov 2021

Viewed by 1652

Abstract

Previous studies have shown that people understand the future ancillary cost of durable goods such as an automotive vehicle. However, consumers tend to misunderstand the future benefits and costs of these goods. One of the most interesting discussions about consumer cognitive ability for future energy cost is the miles per gallon (MPG) illusion. In this study, we analyze people’s misunderstanding of the relationship between kilometers per liter (KPL) and the actual amount of fuel saved using vehicle owner survey data. We developed some questions to measure how much each person is involved with the MPG (or KPL) illusion. Additionally, our survey includes questions capturing some preferences affecting future fuel costs, such as time. Controlling for the most important respondent characteristics, such as income or gender, our empirical model analyzes the extent of the misunderstanding of how much actual KPL selections of personal auto vehicles are affected. We found that many Japanese consumers tend to misunderstand the relationship between KPL and actual fuel costs. Our results demonstrate that people who misunderstand the relationship tend to choose a higher 4.324 km per liter car than those who understand. This finding implies that the KPL illusion affects the KPL selection of consumers’ cars. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Economic Analysis on Energy and Environmental Issues and Policy)

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18 pages, 3221 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Long-Term Impact of Wind Power Generation on a Local Community: Economics Analysis of Subjective Well-Being Data in Chōshi City

by Yushi Kunugi, Toshi H. Arimura and Miwa Nakai

Energies 2021, 14(13), 3984; https://doi.org/10.3390/en14133984 - 2 Jul 2021

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2450

Abstract

In this study, we analyzed the external effects of wind turbines, which are often considered detrimental to the promotion of wind power generation. Understanding these externalities is essential to reaching a consensus with residents who live near the site of a planned wind turbine. Our research objective was to determine the relationship between wind turbines and people’s well-being in areas where they have been installed for a long time. We hypothesized that wind turbines would have a negative impact on people’s well-being. We conducted a survey by postal mail in Chōshi City, Chiba Prefecture, Japan, to examine the external effects of wind turbines, adopting a subjective well-being index to measure respondents’ well-being. Regression analysis suggests that having a view of wind power turbines has a positive effect on the subjective well-being of local residents. Moreover, the results indicate that such well-being increases with increasing distance from the turbines. Except for scenic elements, we found that wind turbines are not always considered desirable by residents. Therefore, it is important to further clarify the external influence of wind turbines and other facilities in local communities. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Economic Analysis on Energy and Environmental Issues and Policy)

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22 pages, 5474 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Towards 100% Renewables by 2030: Transition Alternatives for a Sustainable Electricity Sector in Isla de la Juventud, Cuba

by Mika Korkeakoski

Energies 2021, 14(10), 2862; https://doi.org/10.3390/en14102862 - 15 May 2021

Cited by 14 | Viewed by 3747

Abstract

Renewable Energy Sources (RES) have become increasingly desirable worldwide in the fight against global climate change. The sharp decrease in costs of especially wind and solar photovoltaics (PV) have created opportunities to move from dependency on conventional fossil fuel-based electricity production towards renewable energy sources. Renewables experience around 7% (in 2018) annual growth rate in the electricity production globally and the pace is expected to further increase in the near future. Cuba is no exception in this regard, the government has set an ambitious renewable energy target of 24% RES of electricity production by the year 2030. The article analyses renewable energy trajectories in Isla de la Juventud, Cuba, through different future energy scenarios utilizing EnergyPLAN tool. The goal is to identify the best fit and least cost options in transitioning towards 100% electric power systemin Isla de la Juventud, Cuba. The work is divided into analysis of (1) technical possibilities for five scenarios in the electricity production with a 40% increase of electricity consumption by 2030: Business As Usual (BAU 2030, with the current electric power system (EPS) setup), VISION 2030 (according to the Cuban government plan with 24% RES), Advanced Renewables (ARES, with 50% RES), High Renewables (HiRES, with 70% RES), and Fully Renewables (FullRES, with 100% RES based electricity system) scenarios and (2) defining least cost options for the five scenarios in Isla de la Juventud, Cuba. The results show that high penetration of renewables is technically possible even up to 100% RES although the best technological fit versus least cost options may not favor the 100% RES based systems with the current electric power system (EPS) setup. This is due to realities in access to resources, especially importation of state of the art technological equipment and biofuels, financial and investment resources, as well as the high costs of storage systems. The analysis shows the Cuban government vision of reaching 24% of RES in the electricity production by 2030 can be exceeded even up to 70% RES based systems with similar or even lower costs in the near future in Isla de la Juventud. However, overcoming critical challenges in the economic, political, and legal conditions are crucially important; how will the implementation of huge national capital investments and significant involvement of Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) actualize to support achievement of the Cuban government’s 2030 vision? Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Economic Analysis on Energy and Environmental Issues and Policy)

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14 pages, 2556 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Demographic, Social, Economic, and Regional Factors Affecting the Diffusion of Hybrid Electric Vehicles in Japan

by Ken’ichi Matsumoto, Yui Nakamine, Sunyong Eom and Hideki Kato

Energies 2021, 14(8), 2130; https://doi.org/10.3390/en14082130 - 11 Apr 2021

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2183

Abstract

The transportation sector is a major contributor to carbon dioxide emissions, and the resulting climate change. The diffusion of alternative fuel vehicles, including hybrid electric vehicles (HEV), is an important solution for these issues. This study aimed to evaluate the factors affecting the ownership ratio of HEVs, particularly passenger vehicles, and the regional differences in the purchase of HEVs in Japan. This study performed a fixed-effects regression analysis with panel data for 47 prefectures during the period 2005–2015 to evaluate the factors affecting the HEV ownership ratio and conducted three cluster analyses to investigate the regional differences in diffusion in terms of price categories, body types, and drive systems of HEVs. Some demographic and social factors were found to affect the ownership ratio in Japan, whereas economic factors, including prefecture-level subsidies for purchasing HEVs, were not. Regarding regional differences, prefectures in urban areas with higher income levels tend to purchase more expensive and large-sized HEVs. These results suggest that a strategy to sell the right vehicle to the right person and region is essential for further promoting HEVs in Japan. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Economic Analysis on Energy and Environmental Issues and Policy)

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24 pages, 1442 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Biomass Sea-Based Supply Chains and the Secondary Ports in the Era of Decarbonization

by Marta Mańkowska, Michał Pluciński and Izabela Kotowska

Energies 2021, 14(7), 1796; https://doi.org/10.3390/en14071796 - 24 Mar 2021

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 2325

Abstract

One of the tools to attain the goal of climate-neutrality by 2050 by the European Union is increasing the share of renewable energy sources (RESs) in the energy mix of member states. A major part of the future bioenergy mix is to be played by biomass. As many hazards have been pointed out when using forest biomass, particular attention is paid to the potential of agro biomass. However, as agro biomass is sourced mostly locally, the supply may not be sufficient to meet the growing demand. Therefore, international trade (including overseas) might become increasingly important to meet the EU renewable energy targets. In this context, it is seaports that may play a major part in developing biomass supply chains. The main purpose of the article is to fill the research gap by identifying the pros and cons for the development of biomass sea-based supply chains through secondary ports and specifying their relevance from the perspective of major stakeholders in the context of decarbonization processes. The supplementary purpose of the study was the verification of the environmental sustainability of biomass sea-based supply chains through secondary ports versus land transport (carbon footprint). This study applied the single case study method (the case of the secondary port in Szczecin). The case study strategy involved qualitative and quantitative research techniques. Our research study showed that (1) overseas agro biomass (wastes and residues) may become a significant tool in the process of decarbonization of economies that are heavily reliant on coal as a transition fuel and as a stable RES in the structure of the future energy mix; and (2) biomass sea-based supply chains may be an attractive alternative for secondary ports affected by negative outcomes of decarbonization. However, a dedicated biomass terminal would make the secondary ports more attractive for this type of cargo. A biomass terminal may provide sufficient port service efficiency and enable harmonization of deliveries. Additionally, the carbon footprint analysis performed in this study has shown that biomass sea-based supply chains generate lower CO₂ emissions than alternative land deliveries. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Economic Analysis on Energy and Environmental Issues and Policy)

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18 pages, 2458 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Forecasting Volatility of Energy Commodities: Comparison of GARCH Models with Support Vector Regression

by Marcin Fałdziński, Piotr Fiszeder and Witold Orzeszko

Energies 2021, 14(1), 6; https://doi.org/10.3390/en14010006 - 22 Dec 2020

Cited by 19 | Viewed by 4560

Abstract

We compare the forecasting performance of the generalized autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity (GARCH) -type models with support vector regression (SVR) for futures contracts of selected energy commodities: Crude oil, natural gas, heating oil, gasoil and gasoline. The GARCH models are commonly used in volatility analysis, while SVR is one of machine learning methods, which have gained attention and interest in recent years. We show that the accuracy of volatility forecasts depends substantially on the applied proxy of volatility. Our study confirms that SVR with properly determined hyperparameters can lead to lower forecasting errors than the GARCH models when the squared daily return is used as the proxy of volatility in an evaluation. Meanwhile, if we apply the Parkinson estimator which is a more accurate approximation of volatility, the results usually favor the GARCH models. Moreover, it is difficult to choose the best model among the GARCH models for all analyzed commodities, however, forecasts based on the asymmetric GARCH models are often the most accurate. While, in the class of the SVR models, the results indicate the forecasting superiority of the SVR model with the linear kernel and 15 lags, which has the lowest mean square error (MSE) and mean absolute error (MAE) among the SVR models in 92% cases. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Economic Analysis on Energy and Environmental Issues and Policy)

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Graphical abstract

17 pages, 1447 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Energy Prices and COVID-Immunity: The Case of Crude Oil and Natural Gas Prices in the US and Japan

by Honorata Nyga-Łukaszewska and Kentaka Aruga

Energies 2020, 13(23), 6300; https://doi.org/10.3390/en13236300 - 29 Nov 2020

Cited by 52 | Viewed by 6258

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic storm has struck the world economies and energy markets with extreme strength. The goal of our study is to assess how the pandemic has influenced oil and gas prices, using energy market reactions in the United States and Japan. To investigate the impact of the COVID-19 cases on the crude oil and natural gas markets, we applied the Auto-Regressive Distributive Lag (ARDL) approach to the number of the US and Japanese COVID-19 cases and energy prices. Our study period is from 21 January 2020 to 2 June 2020, and uses the latest data available at the time of model calibration and captures the so-called “first pandemic wave”. In the US, the COVID-19 pandemic had a statistically negative impact on the crude oil price while it positively affected the gas price. In Japan, this negative impact was only apparent in the crude oil market with a two-day lag. Possible explanations of the results may include differences in pandemic development in the US and Japan, and the diverse roles both countries have in energy markets. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Economic Analysis on Energy and Environmental Issues and Policy)

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21 pages, 2774 KiB

Open AccessArticle

On the Acceptability of Electricity Demand Side Management by Time of Day

by Satoshi Nakano and Ayu Washizu

Energies 2020, 13(14), 3665; https://doi.org/10.3390/en13143665 - 16 Jul 2020

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1894

Abstract

Advances in the introduction of fluctuating renewable energies, such as photovoltaics (PV), have caused power-system destabilization. However, stability can be improved if consumers change the way they use power, moving to time slots when the PV output in an area is high. In large cities in developed countries, where the types of distributed energy resources are varied, demand side management (DSM) in which consumers share power supplies and adjust the demand has received considerable attention. Under effective DSM that uses the latest information and communication technology to maximize the use of renewable energy, we believe that sparing use of appliances is not the only solution to address global warming. If behavioral change shifts the use of domestic appliances from one time slot to other time slots, we do not have to abandon the use of these appliances. The aim of this study is to determine the possibility of such behavioral changes in people in order to provide basic information for operating an effective DSM. To that end, we conducted a questionnaire-based survey of 10,000 households in Japan. We investigated the proportion of people responding to a request for a demand response (DR) under the given presented reward in time slots when DSM by DR is required. We also analyzed the factors influencing people’s response to a request for a DR. Furthermore, based on the rewards likely to be achieved in the adjustable power market, we estimated how much adjustable power would be realized. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Economic Analysis on Energy and Environmental Issues and Policy)

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19 pages, 250 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Role of Low Temperature Waste Heat Recovery in Achieving 2050 Goals: A Policy Positioning Paper

by Edward Wheatcroft, Henry Wynn, Kristina Lygnerud, Giorgio Bonvicini and Daniela Leonte

Energies 2020, 13(8), 2107; https://doi.org/10.3390/en13082107 - 23 Apr 2020

Cited by 32 | Viewed by 5805

Abstract

Urban waste heat recovery, in which low temperature heat from urban sources is recovered for use in a district heat network, has a great deal of potential in helping to achieve 2050 climate goals. For example, heat from data centres, metro systems, public sector buildings and waste water treatment plants could be used to supply 10% of Europe’s heat demand. Despite this, at present, urban waste heat recovery is not widespread and is an immature technology. Based on interviews with urban waste heat stakeholders, investors interested in green investments, and experience from demonstrator projects, a number of recommendations are made. It is suggested that policy raising awareness of waste heat recovery, encouraging investment and creating a legal framework should be implemented. It is also recommended that pilot projects should be promoted to help demonstrate technical and economic feasibility. A pilot credit facility is suggested aimed at bridging the gap between potential investors and heat recovery projects. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Economic Analysis on Energy and Environmental Issues and Policy)

15 pages, 2202 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Impacts of Air Pollution on Health and Economy in Southeast Asia

by Farhad Taghizadeh-Hesary and Farzad Taghizadeh-Hesary

Energies 2020, 13(7), 1812; https://doi.org/10.3390/en13071812 - 9 Apr 2020

Cited by 100 | Viewed by 10795

Abstract

The accessibility of cheap fossil fuels, due to large government subsidies, promotes the accelerated gross domestic product (GDP) per capita growth in Southeast Asia. However, the ambient air pollution from fossil fuel combustion has a latent cost, which is the public health issues such as respiratory diseases, lung cancer, labor loss, and economic burden in the long-run. In Southeast Asia, lung cancer is the leading and second leading cause of cancer-related death in men, and women, respectively. This nexus study employs the panel vector error correction model (VECM) and panel generalized method of moments (GMM) using data from ten Southeast Asian countries from the period (2000–2016) to explore the possible association between emissions, lung cancer, and the economy. The results confirm that CO₂ and PM_2.5 are major risk factors for lung cancer in the region. Additionally, the increasing use of renewable energy and higher healthcare expenditure per capita tend to reduce the lung cancer prevalence. Governments specially in low oil price era, have to transfer subsidies from fossil fuels to renewable energy to create a healthy environment. Furthermore, cost creation for fossil fuel consumption through carbon taxation, especially in the power generation sector, is important to induce private sector investment in green energy projects. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Economic Analysis on Energy and Environmental Issues and Policy)

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