Assessment of the Feasibility of Energy Transformation Processes in European Union Member States

Progress on SDG 7 achieved by EU countries in relation to the target year 2030: A multidimensional indicator analysis using dynamic relative taxonomy

In 2015, 193 UN members adopted the resolution "Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development", which set out 17 Sustainable Development Goals to be achieved by 2030. The aim of the study is to assess progress towards meeting SDG 7 "Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all" by individual EU countries in 2010-2021 and to determine their distance in relation to the target set for 2030. Eurostat monitors and assesses progress towards SDG 7 using seven indicators. These indicators were used to create an aggregate index. In order to limit the impact of the compensation effect on the ranking of EU countries, we applied dynamic relative taxonomy with the geometric mean to create an aggregate measure that takes into account target values for the indicators with adjusted data. The study reveals systematic progress towards reaching the EU's SDG 7 in the period 2010-2021, with differences between individual EU countries clearly decreasing. The smallest distance in relation to the target set for SDG 7 can be observed for Sweden, Denmark, Estonia, and Austria. By far the greatest progress in period 2010-2021 has been achieved by Malta, and significant for Cyprus, Latvia, Belgium, Ireland, and Poland.

Circular economy, bioeconomy, and sustainable development goals: a systematic literature review

The circular economy (CE) and bioeconomy (BE) are recognized as potential solutions for achieving sustainable development, yet little research has examined their potential contribution to the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In this study, we conducted a bibliometric analysis of 649 articles published between 2007 and 2022, as well as a systematic literature review of 81 articles, to assess the extent to which the CE and BE communities have addressed the SDGs. Our analysis identified 10 research gaps including the limited number of empirical quantitative papers, particularly in the context of BE, and the underrepresentation of developing regions such as Latin America and Africa in the literature. Our main finding reveals that the CE community primarily focuses on SDG 12, Responsible Consumption and Production, followed by SDG 9, Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure; SDG 7, Affordable and Clean Energy; and SDG 6, Clean Water and Sanitation. The BE community, on the other hand, focuses primarily on SDG 7, followed by SDG 9 and SDG 12. However, both communities lack attention to social SDGs such as quality education, poverty, and gender equality. We propose that a combination of CE and BE, known as circular bioeconomy, could help countries achieve all SDGs. Further research is needed to develop and implement circular bioeconomy policies that address these gaps and promote sustainable development. In this sense, our study identified an important research gap that needs more attention in the future.

Transformation of Energy Markets: Description, Modeling of Functioning Mechanisms and Determining Development Trends

One of the key contemporary economic and social issues today is the global energy transition [...]

Development and Future Scope of Renewable Energy and Energy Storage Systems

 This review study attempts to summarize available energy storage systems in order to accelerate the adoption of renewable energy. Inefficient energy storage systems have been shown to function as a deterrent to the implementation of sustainable development. It is therefore critical to conduct a thorough examination of existing and soon-to-be-developed energy storage technologies. Various scholarly publications in the fields of energy storage systems and renewable energy have been reviewed and summarized. Data and themes have been further highlighted with the use of appropriate figures and tables. Case studies and examples of major projects have also been researched to gain a better understanding of the energy storage technologies evaluated. An insightful analysis of present energy storage technologies and other possible innovations have been discovered with the use of suitable literature review and illustrations. This report also emphasizes the critical necessity for an efficient storage system if renewable energy is to be widely adopted. 

Energy Consumption of the Urban Transport Fleet in UNESCO World Heritage Sites: A Case Study of Ávila (Spain)

Emission reduction and energy efficiency are fundamental objectives for the sustainability of the urban transport (UT) sector. One of the actions to achieve these objectives is to replace the vehicles that make up the fleet of UT buses with more efficient ones, equipped with regenerative braking systems that allow the recovery of part of the energy used in travel. However, sometimes the total replacement of the fleet of UT buses is not feasible and only a partial replacement of the fleet is possible. The present study proposes a mathematical model of easy application to compare different UT routes and to locate the greatest improvement niches. The contributions of the proposed model focus on several aspects: (i) optimizing economic resources; (ii) allocating the most efficient equipment where energy consumption can be most optimized; and (iii) simplifying the task of optimizing passenger transport routes. Thanks to the proposed model, the 6 UT lines of the city of Ávila can be classified in order to maximize efficiency in a possible partial renewal of the fleet.