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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (26 March 2023) | Viewed by 27227

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Dr. Kentaka Aruga

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Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Saitama University, 255 Shimo-Okubo, Sakura-ku, Saitama City, Japan
Interests: agricultural market; fisheries market; oil market; natural gas market; coal market; energy transition; energy security; energy-environmental Kuznets curve; time series analysis; discrete choice experiment; altruistic consumption
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The global use of energy is likely to continue increasing, and this pressure on the climate change is wreaking havoc on the natural environment. To reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the energy sector, it is crucial to have an energy policy that helps reduce anthropogenic emissions related to energy use. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), as of 2016, there are still 1.1. billion people (14% of global population) on our planet without access to electricity and it is becoming more strenuous to mitigate GHG emissions due to growing global energy use.

Hence, it is crucial for every country to promote energy efficient technologies and promote cleaner energy sources. Economics is a powerful and robust tool for analysing how policies can change human and institutional behavior to adopt such efficient technologies and cleaner energy sources to achieve sustainable energy use. In this Special Issue, the energy use is sustainable when access to energy is secured for all people while the way the energy is supplied mitigates the effects of energy use on the environment. This Special Issue is hoping to gather various studies using economics to analyze conditions to achieve such sustainable energy use and investigating an effective energy policy to achieve this goal. Papers focusing on this issue at local/national, regional or global levels are all welcomed.

The Special Issue also welcomes submissions on diverse topics relevant to below using economic and econometric methods, but not limited to these areas:

Transition from fossil fuel energy to renewable energy.
Fossil fuel energy and GHG
Sustainability and unconventional oil and gas supply.
Innovations in energy efficiency: smart technologies, electric vehicles, high-efficiency coal and natural gas fired power plants, and so on.
Decarbonization and energy security.
Nuclear power and energy security.
Sustainable energy policy in the developing countries.

Dr. Kentaka Aruga
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

sustainable energy use
energy transition
fossil fuels and emissions
unconventional oil and gas
energy efficiency
renewable energy and policy
smart meter
transportation and emissions
electric vehicle
decarbonization
energy security

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

21 pages, 3977 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Anhydrous Ethanol Pricing in Economies with an Underdeveloped Biofuels Market: The Case of Mexico

by Luis Armando Becerra-Pérez, Luis E. Rincón and John A. Posada-Duque

Sustainability 2023, 15(9), 7084; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15097084 - 23 Apr 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1927

Abstract

Most gasoline currently consumed in Mexico continues to be oxygenated with Methyl Tert-Butyl Ether (MTBE) despite its proven effects on the environment and human health. Hence, the existence of a regulatory framework on biofuels and various institutional efforts have not been sufficient to develop a national market for anhydrous ethanol use as biofuel. The goal of this research is twofold: one, to review and analyze the governmental actions taken to incorporate bioethanol as a gasoline oxygenate, and, two, to design a tool to estimate the bioethanol price at the Storage and Distribution Terminals of PEMEX (Mexico’s state-owned oil company). A price estimation model for bioethanol was developed through the microeconomic theory of the producer and the indifference price of a product methodology, which calculates the daily price of ethanol in the period 2015–2022; additionally, an MS Excel-based support tool was created for this analysis (namely: the Price-CEM). The analysis showed that incorporating bioethanol into the Mexican energy matrix would require policies of fiscal support for R&D, agricultural waste management and bioethanol production, as well as a new regulatory framework to both gradually eliminate MTBE and establish bioethanol/gasoline blending targets. Furthermore, institutional efforts would also be required to integrate all links in the biofuel production chain, including primary feedstock producers. The cost estimation method and tool have also shown to be valuable instruments to calculate both the prices at which a local bioethanol market would be competitive (with respect to the international market) and the most important cost contributions for local supply chains. This is the first tool to estimate the price of anhydrous ethanol at the local level, which can contribute to identifying opportunities and economic thresholds for the successful development of feasible bioethanol markets in Mexico. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Energy Economics and Sustainability)

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16 pages, 328 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Investigating Factors Affecting Institutional Investors’ Green Bond Investments: Cases for Beijing and Shenzhen

by Yoshihiro Zenno and Kentaka Aruga

Sustainability 2023, 15(6), 4870; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15064870 - 9 Mar 2023

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1984

Abstract

We conducted a survey of institutional investors in Beijing and Shenzhen to analyze the factors affecting green bond (GB) investing in China, such as credit rating, GB issuer, fund use, liquidity, redemption term, certification label, and type of currency. We then compared the results for Beijing and Shenzhen, including factors that affected greenium and the two cities’ willingness to pay (WTP). Using a double-bounded dichotomous choice contingent valuation method, we find that higher credit ratings tend to increase Beijing investors’ WTP and that the use of GB proceeds affects Shenzhen investors’ WTP. We also find that investors place importance on the type of currency, length of redemption term, and liquidity when investing in GB, while the certification label does not have an impact on WTP. The WTP for GB was higher among Shenzhen investors than among Beijing investors. These findings provide important insights for the government and financial institutions to take the right action to expand the GB market and to establish a GB framework that induces the financial sector toward reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Energy Economics and Sustainability)

15 pages, 1006 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effects of COVID-19 on Indian Energy Consumption

by Kentaka Aruga, Md. Monirul Islam and Arifa Jannat

Sustainability 2020, 12(14), 5616; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12145616 - 13 Jul 2020

Cited by 109 | Viewed by 10685

Abstract

Just after the Indian government issued the first lockdown rule to cope with the increasing number of COVID-19 cases in March 2020, the energy consumption in India plummeted dramatically. However, as the lockdown relaxed, energy consumption started to recover. In this study, we investigated how COVID-19 cases affected Indian energy consumption during the COVID-19 crisis by testing if the lockdown release had a positive impact on energy consumption and if richer regions were quicker to recover their energy consumption to the level before the lockdown. Using the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) model, the study reveals that a long-run relationship holds between the COVID-19 cases and energy consumption and that the COVID-19 cases have a positive effect on Indian energy consumption. This result indicates that as lockdown relaxed, energy consumption started to recover. However, such a positive impact was not apparent in the Eastern and North-Eastern regions, which are the poorest regions among the five regions investigated in the study. This implies that poorer regions need special aid and policy to recover their economy from the damage suffered from the COVID-19 crisis. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Energy Economics and Sustainability)

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26 pages, 6518 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Energy Security Analysis for a 100% Renewable Energy Transition in Jordan by 2050

by Abdelrahman Azzuni, Arman Aghahosseini, Manish Ram, Dmitrii Bogdanov, Upeksha Caldera and Christian Breyer

Sustainability 2020, 12(12), 4921; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12124921 - 17 Jun 2020

Cited by 56 | Viewed by 7499

Abstract

Energy security analysis is a strong tool for policy makers. It allows them to formulate policies that would enhance energy systems by targeting necessary actions. In this study, the impacts of transitioning from a fossil fuels to a renewables dominated energy system on energy security is analysed for Jordan. A Best Policy Scenario was developed for the Jordanian energy system to trace the transition to a 100% renewable energy system. Energy security was analysed for the future system by a qualitative approach utilising colour codes. The results reveal that the primary energy demand increases from 64 TWh in 2015 to 130 TWh in 2050, dominated by electricity and followed by heat and bioenergy. This indicates that a high level of direct and indirect electrification is the key to transition towards a fully sustainable energy system. Renewable electricity generation is projected to increase from 0.1 TWh in 2015 to 110.7 TWh in 2050, with a solar photovoltaic share of 92%. The levelised cost of energy develops from 78 €/MWh in 2015 to 61 €/MWh in 2050. In 2050, this system will have zero greenhouse gas emissions, it will provide plenty of job opportunities and revenue generation. This proposed transition will enhance the energy security level of the Jordanian energy system in five of the six dimensions studied. The five dimensions that will be improved are availability, cost, environment, health, and employment, whereas the dimension on diversity will stay neutral. It can be concluded that Jordan can achieve a 100% renewable energy system by 2050 and such a transition will enhance the energy security level. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Energy Economics and Sustainability)

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18 pages, 2627 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Energy Security of Poland and Coal Supply: Price Analysis

by Honorata Nyga-Łukaszewska, Kentaka Aruga and Katarzyna Stala-Szlugaj

Sustainability 2020, 12(6), 2541; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12062541 - 24 Mar 2020

Cited by 28 | Viewed by 3838

Abstract

Energy security is one of the most intensely debated topics. Majority of papers treat the issue from the hydrocarbon market perspective, but this research focuses on the coal market broken into two specific market segments: heating and electricity production. Using the case of Poland as an example, we conduct a cointegration analysis between the coal and natural gas markets. The study uses monthly data from 2011 until the beginning of 2019. Our results show that the Polish electricity sector is more connected to the international coal market than it is to the natural gas market, while the heating sector, despite using insignificant quantities of imported coal, is more connected to the natural gas market. Hence, energy security—in its price dimension—in those two market segments differs. This situation has important policy implications. First, energy policy should take this difference into account, and second, such variation implies that different market tools should be used in those market segments. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Energy Economics and Sustainability)

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