Refine
Year of Publication
- 2022 (66) (remove)
Document Type
- Peer-Reviewed Article (19)
- Contribution to Periodical (15)
- Report (14)
- Part of a Book (6)
- Conference Object (5)
- Working Paper (3)
- Book (2)
- Master Thesis (2)
Division
- Energie-, Verkehrs- und Klimapolitik (66) (remove)
Impact chains are used in many different fields of research to depict the various impacts of an activity and to visualize the system in which this activity is embedded. Research has not yet conceptualized impact chains specifically for energy sufficiency policies. We develop such a concept based on current evaluation approaches and extend these by adding qualitative elements such as success factors and barriers. Furthermore, we offer two case studies in which we test this concept with the responsible climate action managers. We also describe options for integrating these impact chains into different types of energy models, which are key tools in policy consulting.
Energy Efficiency First (EEF) is an established principle for European Union (EU) energy policy design. It highlights the exploitation of demand-side resources and prioritizes cost-effective options from the demand-side over other options from a societal cost-benefit perspective. However, the involvement of multiple decision-makers makes it difficult to implement. Therefore, we propose a flexible decision-tree framework for applying the EEF principle based on a review of relevant areas and examples. In summary, this paper contributes to applying the EEF principle by defining and distinguishing different types of cases - (1) policy-making, and (2) system planning and investment - identifying the most common elements, and proposing a decision-tree framework that can be flexibly constructed based on the elements for different cases. Finally, we exemplify the application of this framework with two example cases: (1) planning for demand-response in the power sector, and (2) planning for a district heating system.
Research on environmental behaviour is often overlooked in literature on regime destabilization in energy transitions. This study addresses that gap by focusing on socio-political and demographic factors shaping support for carbon regime destabilization policies in one of the most carbon-intensive regions of Europe. Carbon-intensive industries, especially coal mining and coal-based power generation, are often concentrated in a few carbon-intensive regions. Therefore, decarbonization actions will affect those regions particularly strongly. Correspondingly, carbon-intensive regions often exert significant political influence on the two climate mitigation policies at the national level. Focusing on Poland, we investigate socio-political and demographic factors that correlate with the approval or rejection of the two climate mitigation policies: increasing taxes on fossil fuels such as oil, gas, and coal and using public money to subsidize renewable energy such as wind and solar power in Poland and its carbon-intensive Silesia region. Using logistic regression with individual-level data derived from the 2016 European Social Survey (ESS) and the 2014 Chapel Hill Expert Survey (CHES), we find party-political ideology to be an important predictor at the national level but much less so at the regional level. Specifically, voting for right-wing party is not a divisive factor for individual support of the two climate mitigation policies either nationally or regionally. More interestingly, populism is a strong factor in support of increasing taxes on fossil fuel in the carbon-intensive Silesia region but is less important concerning in support of using public money to subsidize renewable energy in Poland overall. These results show the heterogeneity of right-wing party and populism within the support for the two climate mitigation policies. Socio-demographic factors, especially age, gender, education level, employment status, and employment sector, have even more complex and heterogeneous components in support of the two climate mitigation policies at the national and regional levels. Identifying the complex socio-political and demographic factors of climate mitigation policies across different national versus carbon-intensive regional contexts is an essential step for generating in situ decarbonization strategies.
In Germany, the number of renewable energy prosumers has increased rapidly since 2000. However, the development of prosumers has faced and will continue to face various economic, social, and technological challenges, which have triggered the emergence of a number of innovative business models (BM). This paper enriches the empirical basis for prosumer-oriented BMs by investigating two BM innovations in Germany (P2P electricity trading and aggregation of small-size prosumers) drawing on business model and socio-technical transition theories. A mix of qualitative data collection methods, including document analysis and semi-structured expert interviews, was applied. We found that while both BMs can potentially address the challenges associated with renewable energy prosumer development in Germany, small-scale prosumers’ participation in both BMs has been limited so far. We identified various internal and external drivers and barriers for scaling up these BMs for prosumer development in Germany. Despite these barriers, both aggregation and centralized P2P targeting prosumers may potentially be also taken up by incumbent market actors such as utilities. Decentralized P2P on the other hand still faces significant internal and external barriers for upscaling. Based on the analysis, the paper provides policy recommendations with respect to the identified drivers and barriers. From a theoretical perspective, our findings provide further evidence to challenge the dichotomous understanding of niche actors and incumbents, the latter of which are often theorized to be resistant to radical innovations.
The ambition to reach climate-neutral energy systems requires profound energy transitions. Various scenario studies exist which present different options to reach that goal. In this paper, key strategies for the transition to climate neutrality in Germany are identified through a meta-analysis of published studies, including scenarios which achieve at least a 95 % greenhouse gas emissions reduction by 2050 compared to 1990. It has been found that a reduction in energy demand, an expansion of domestic wind and solar energy, increased use of biomass as well as the importation of synthetic energy carriers are key strategies in the scenarios, with nuclear energy playing no role, and carbon capture and storage playing a very limited role. Demand-side solutions that reduce the energy demand have a very high potential to diminish the significant challenges of other strategies, which are all facing certain limitations regarding their sustainable potential. The level and and type of demand reductions differ significantly within the scenarios, especially regarding the options of reducing energy service demand.
What is necessary to reach net zero emissions in the transport sector on a global level? To keep limiting global warming to 1.5° C within reach, the world has to decarbonise by mid-century, with every sector contributing as much as possible as soon as possible. This paper identifies what has to be done in road transport, aviation, and shipping to achieve net zero emission in the transport sector.
For this purpose, it first sets the scene by providing an overview of the origins and impacts of the concept of net zero emissions in international climate policy as well as of the current state and future prospects of global transport emissions using currently available scenarios for low-emission and net zero transport.
While for staying below 1.5° C, the basic approach to reducing transport emissions remains unchanged from what has been suggested in the past, the set, intensity and pace of actions as to shift fundamentally. Without first drastically reducing traffic volume and shifting transport demand to low-emission modes, reaching net zero transport will not be feasible: the amount of additional electricity required to fully electrify the sector with renewable energy is otherwise just too huge.
After portraying key instruments for achieving net zero emissions in land transport, aviation, and shipping, this paper identifies key barriers for net zero transport. Based on this analysis, the authors recommend the following to be able to move transport to net zero:
1. Adapt Decarbonisation Strategies to Different Transport Sub-sectors
2. Prioritise and Significantly Increase Investment in Zero-/low-carbon Infrastructure
3. Massively Invest in the Development and Roll out of Zero-/low-emission Technologies
4. Focus on a Just Transition to Overcome Social and Political Barriers
5. Increase International Support and Cooperation
Als die 15-jährige Greta Thunberg an einem Freitag im August 2018 vor dem schwedischen Parlamentsgebäude in Stockholm ihren einsamen Klimastreik begann, ahnte niemand, dass sie in den Folgejahren unter anderem auf zwei Weltklimakonferenzen und vor der UN-Vollversammlung als Repräsentantin der größten Jugendbewegung der Welt - Fridays for Future - vielbeachtete Reden halten würde. Das, was Greta Thunberg auf der Weltbühne der Politik gelungen ist, sollte auch klimaschutzengagierten Schülerinnen in der Kommunalpolitik ermöglicht werden. Sie sollten von Entscheidungsträgerinnen und Entscheidungsträgern gehört und ernst genommen werden. Um ihren Forderungen für klimafreundliche Schulen auch gegenüber Kommunalpolitikerinnen und Kommunalpolitikern mehr Nachdruck verleihen zu können, müssen sie aber auch gestärkt und qualifiziert werden. So die Kernanliegen des Projekts Schools4Future, welches vom Wuppertal Institut sowie dem Büro Ö-quadrat aus Freiburg durchgeführt und vom Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Klimaschutz gefördert wird.
Die global gesehen größte Gesundheitsbedrohung des 21. Jahrhunderts ist der Klimawandel. Krankenhäuser müssen sich zwangsläufig vermehrt mit den Folgen des Klimawandels auseinandersetzen, wenn neue Krankheitserreger aus fernen Ländern auftreten oder wenn ältere Menschen, chronisch Kranke, Kinder oder anderweitig besonders betroffene Menschen an heißen Tagen mit bislang unerreichten Hitzerekorden dehydrieren mit der Folge von Herzkreislaufproblemen. Eine Untersuchung des Robert Koch-Instituts kommt zu dem Ergebnis, dass allein in den drei Sommern zwischen 2018 und 2020 in Deutschland über 19.000 Menschen aufgrund der Hitze gestorben sind.
Der Gesundheitssektor trägt aber auch wesentlich zur Klimakrise bei, indem er selbst für einen erheblichen Teil der klimaschädlichen Emissionen verantwortlich ist. Dieser Wuppertal Report zeigt einen Weg, wie Krankenhäuser perspektivisch Teil der Lösung der derzeit größten Transformationsherausforderung werden können. Dabei sind Krankenhäuser ein Mikrokosmos der Gesellschaft. In ihnen spiegelt sich förmlich alles, was das Leben einer Gesellschaft hinsichtlich der Herausforderung des Klimaschutzes ausmacht: Strom- und Wärmeversorgung, Mobilität, Ernährung, Ressourcenverbrauch und Abfall. Der vorliegende Wuppertal Report macht deutlich, dass Krankenhäuser als Reallabore des bevorstehenden Transformationsprozesses, hin zu einer klimagerechten und ressourcenleichten Gesellschaft verstanden werden können.
Das für die Krankenhausgesellschaft Nordrhein-Westfalen e. V. (KGNW) entwickelte Zielbild Klimaneutrales Krankenhaus gibt Krankenhäusern umsetzungsorientierte Hinweise darauf, wie sie sich auf den Weg zur Klimaneutralität begeben können:
Es identifiziert klimaschutzrelevante Handlungsfelder im Betrieb.
Es verdeutlicht, wie die KGNW die Krankenhäuser in NRW auf ihrem Weg in Richtung Klimaneutralität unterstützen kann.
Es motiviert, Klimaschutz als wichtiges Unternehmensziel aktiv anzugehen.