This new UNEP Report focuses on the global trends in sustainable energy development, covering both the renewable energy and energy efficiency sectors. This report shows that in spite of the global economic downturn, investment in sustainable energy is still strong. Resilience To The financial downturn taht was hitting all sectors of the global economy and frustration that, while the UN Climate Convention in Copenhagen was not the big breakdown that might have occured, neither was it the big breakthrough so many had hoped for. Yet, also determination on the part of many industry actors and governments (especially in rapid developing economies) to transform the financial and economic crisis into an opportunity for greener growth.
This outlook highlights climate-safe investment options until 2050, policies for transition and specific regional challenges. It also explores options to eventually cut emissions to zero.
This report presents the financial perspective, or rsquo;dollar view', of the current state of play in sustainable energy development. The analysis in this report consists of actual data on the different types of capital fl ows and their movement over time, combined with analysis of regional and sectoral trends. This information is intended to be a strategic tool for understanding the status of the clean energy sector's development and for weighing future public and private commitments to the sector.
Free PDF download available at http://martenscentre.eu/publications/green-energy-green-business-new-financial-and-policy-instruments-sustainable-growth-eu The European Union, as an early proponent of the shift to alternative forms of energy, has taken impressive efforts in promoting green business and environmental reform. Where does the EU stand today in its transition towards a sustainable economic model built on green business? What challenges do European policymakers and business leaders face in their progression towards a truly green economy? The availability of and access to private forms of investment capital is one of the most important challenges for new green industries struggling to maintain competiveness in the face of growing global competition. Other practical challenges for businesses in the renewable sector are highlighted in the paper using the case study of Germany. The paper proposes new forms of investment, sustainable financial products, the creation of common standards, and greater transparency. This should go hand in hand with the continuation of renewable energy subsidies and the exchange of information and the promotion of skills among businesses.
This book is particularly concerned with China’s path to green development and how it can be understood, exploring questions such as how the goal of Chinese-led green development can be achieved. The book provides systematic explanations of the theory of green development, exploring its background, its theoretical basis, the areas it covers, the stages it encompasses and the constraining and favorable factors involved. We see how humankind is at a period of transition from the traditional black industrial civilization to a modern green ecological civilization. The author gives a profound critique of the traditional Western model of development, provides a comprehensive analysis of the crisis and the opportunities presented by green development and depicts the grand goal of green modernization in a creative, bold, forward-looking manner. A three-step strategy to design and promote green development is proposed. Readers will discover why China must become an innovator, practitioner, and leader of green development, and how green planning is an important means to establish green development. The book explores how local governments can become green innovation practitioners, and how enterprises can become the main arena of green development. This book is a creative and innovative work that will appeal to scholars interested in the long-term development of humankind in general and China in particular. It also serves well as a green development textbook, presenting related scientific knowledge and important information for decision-making in a concise, easy-to-understand form.
China, the European Union and Global Governance examines the key determinants of European and Chinese approaches to the restructuring of global governance systems. Using a multidisciplinary method, this collection of chapters analyses four distinct fields that are key for both China and the EU and in the development of their relations and future cooperation: the global trading system, the international monetary system, climate and energy policy and international security. In the context of ChinaÍs growing role in global governance and of EU_China cooperation, these contributions emphasize strategies, prospects and objectives of both actors. They outline possible avenues for an enhanced partnership in light of the changing global order, which implies a rethinking of the existing multilateral structures. This interdisciplinary study will appeal to researchers and scholars interested in global governance, European foreign policy, Chinese foreign policy, EU_China relations, as well as trade, the international economy and climate change policies. Postgraduate students in international relations, international political economy, European studies and Chinese studies, as well as policymakers in the areas of external relations and EU_China relations, will also find much to interest them in this book.
This is the first handbook to provide a global policy perspective on energy, bringing together a diverse range of international energy issues in one volume. Maps the emerging field of global energy policy both for scholars and practitioners; the focus is on global issues, but it also explores the regional impact of international energy policies Accounts for the multi-faceted nature of global energy policy challenges and broadens discussions of these beyond the prevalent debates about oil supply Analyzes global energy policy challenges across the dimensions of markets, development, sustainability, and security, and identifies key global policy challenges for the future Comprises newly-commissioned research by an international team of scholars and energy policy practitioners
Renewable energy plays an important role in contributing to the transition toward low-carbon development growth, in enhancing technology diversification and hedging against fuel price volatility, in strengthening economic growth, and in facilitating access to electricity. The global trends indicate a growing commitment to renewable energy development from developed and developing countries in both the introduction of specific policy levers and investment flows. Developing countries have now a long history of designing and implementing specific policy and regulatory instruments to promote renewable energy. Today, feed-in tariff policies are being implemented in about 25 developing countries and quantity based instruments, most notably auction mechanisms, are increasingly being adopted by upper middle income countries. This paper summarizes the results of a recent review of the emerging experience with the design and implementation of price and quota based instruments to promote renewable energy in a sample of six representative developing countries and transition economies. The paper discusses the importance of a tailor-made approach to policy design and identifies the basic elements that have proven instrumental to policy effectiveness, including adequate tariff levels, long term policy or contractual commitments, mandatory access to the grid and incremental cost pass-through. Ultimately, a low carbon development growth in the developing world depends on the availability of resources to finance the solutions that exhibit incremental costs. Policies introduced to support renewable energy development should be designed and introduced in combination with strategies that clearly identify sources of finance and establish a sustainable incremental cost recovery mechanism (for example, using concessional financial flows from developed countries to leverage private financing, strengthening the performance of utilities and distribution companies, or allowing the partial pass-through of incremental costs to consumer tariffs with a differentiated burden sharing that protects the poor). Without question, policy makers will have to ensure that the design of different policy mechanisms and the policy mix per se deliver renewable energy targets with the lowest possible incremental costs and volume of subsidies.
In an age of rising environmental concerns, it has become necessary for businesses to pay special attention to the resources they are consuming and the long-term effects of the products they are creating. These concerns, coupled with the current global economic crisis, demand a solution that includes not only business, but politics, ecology, and culture as well. The Handbook of Research on Developing Sustainable Value in Economics, Finance, and Marketing provides the latest empirical research findings on how sustainable development can work not just for organizations, but for the global economy as a whole. This book is an essential reference source for professionals and researchers in various fields including economics, finance, marketing, operations management, communication sciences, sociology, and information technology.
