Energy policy

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Example of energy policy decisions: The goal of the Southern Gas Corridor, which connects the giant Shah Deniz gas field in Azerbaijan to Europe, is to reduce Europe's dependency on Russian gas.

Energy policy is the manner in which a given entity (often governmental) has decided to address issues of energy development including energy conversion, distribution and use as well as reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in order to contribute to climate change mitigation. The attributes of energy policy may include legislation, international treaties, incentives to investment, guidelines for energy conservation, taxation and other public policy techniques. Energy is a core component of modern economies. A functioning economy requires not only labor and capital but also energy, for manufacturing processes, transportation, communication, agriculture, and more. Energy planning is more detailed than energy policy.

Energy policy is closely related to climate change policy because totalled worldwide the energy sector emits more greenhouse gas than other sectors.[1]

Purposes

Access to energy is critical for basic social needs, such as lighting, heating, cooking, and healthcare. Given the importance of energy, the price of energy has a direct effect on jobs, economic productivity, business competitiveness, and the cost of goods and services.

Frequently the dominant issue of energy policy is the risk of supply-demand mismatch (see: energy crisis). Current energy policies also address environmental issues (see: climate change), particularly challenging because of the need to reconcile global objectives and international rules with domestic needs and laws.[2]

The "human dimensions" of energy use are of increasing interest to business, utilities, and policymakers. Using the social sciences to gain insights into energy consumer behavior can help policymakers to make better decisions about broad-based climate and energy options.[3] This could facilitate more efficient energy use, renewable-energy commercialization, and carbon-emission reductions.[4]

Methods

The attributes of energy policy may include legislation, international treaties, incentives to investment, guidelines for energy conservation, taxation and other public policy techniques.

Economic and energy modelling can be used by governmental or inter-governmental bodies as an advisory and analysis tool (see: economic model, POLES).

Policy contexts

National energy policy

Some governments state an explicit energy policy. Others do not but in any case, each government practices some type of energy policy.

Measures used to produce an energy policy

USAID's Mission Director to Pakistan, John Groarke in a group photo with the live-line trainers for Energy Policy Program - September, 2015.

A national energy policy comprises a set of measures involving that country's laws, treaties and agency directives. The energy policy of a sovereign nation may include one or more of the following measures:

Factors within an energy policy

There are a number of elements that are naturally contained in a national energy policy, regardless of which of the above measures was used to arrive at the resultant policy. The chief elements intrinsic to an energy policy are:[5]

  • What is the extent of energy self-sufficiency for this nation
  • Where future energy sources will derive
  • How future energy will be consumed (e.g. among sectors)
  • What fraction of the population will be acceptable to endure energy poverty
  • What are the goals for future energy intensity, ratio of energy consumed to GDP
  • What is the reliability standard for distribution reliability
  • What environmental externalities are acceptable and are forecast
  • What form of "portable energy" is forecast (e.g. sources of fuel for motor vehicles)
  • How will energy efficient hardware (e.g. hybrid vehicles, household appliances) be encouraged
  • How can the national policy drive province, state and municipal functions
  • What specific mechanisms (e.g. taxes, incentives, manufacturing standards) are in place to implement the total policy
  • Do you want to develop and promote a plan for how to get the world to zero CO2 emissions?
  • What future consequences there will be for national security and foreign policy

Relationship to other government policies

Energy policy sometimes dominates and sometimes is dominated by other government policies. For example energy policy may dominate, supplying free coal to poor families and schools thus supporting social policy,[6] but thus causing air pollution and so impeding heath policy and environmental policy.[7]: 13  On the other hand energy policy may be dominated by defense policy, for example some counties started building expensive nuclear power plants to supply material for bombs.[8] Or defense policy may be dominated for a while, eventually resulting in stranded assets, such as Nord Stream 2.

Energy policy is closely related to climate change policy because totalled worldwide the energy sector emits more greenhouse gas than other sectors.[1]

Energy policy decisions are sometimes not taken democratically.[9]

Corporate energy policy

In 2019, some companies “have committed to set climate targets across their operations and value chains aligned with limiting global temperature rise to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels and reaching net-zero emissions by no later than 2050”.[10] Corporate power purchase agreements can kickstart renewable energy projects,[11] but the energy policies of some countries do not allow or discourage them.[12]

By type of energy

Energy sources are measured in different physical units: liquid fuels in barrels or gallons, natural gas by volume of gas such as cubic metres, solid fuel such as coal by weight such as short tons, and electricity in kilowatts and kilowatthours. But sometimes sources are compared using units such as tonne of oil equivalent or quad or joule.

Nuclear energy

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Renewable energy

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By country

Energy policies vary by country, see tables below.

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Examples

China

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India

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Ecuador

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European Union

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Russia

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United Kingdom

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United States

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See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Climate change – Topics". IEA. Retrieved 2022-06-04.
  2. ^ Farah, Paolo Davide; Rossi, Piercarlo (December 2, 2011). "National Energy Policies and Energy Security in the Context of Climate Change and Global Environmental Risks: A Theoretical Framework for Reconciling Domestic and International Law Through a Multiscalar and Multilevel Approach". European Energy and Environmental Law Review. 2 (6): 232–244. SSRN 1970698.
  3. ^ "Nudge • Nudging consumers towards energy efficiency through behavioural science". Nudge. Retrieved 2022-06-04.
  4. ^ Robert C. Armstrong, Catherine Wolfram, Robert Gross, Nathan S. Lewis, and M.V. Ramana et al., "The Frontiers of Energy", Nature Energy, Vol 1, 11 January 2016.
  5. ^ Hamilton, Michael S. 2013. Energy Policy Analysis: A Conceptual Framework. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe, Inc.
  6. ^ "WB-6 countries struggling to secure electricity production in their old coal power plants". Balkan Green Energy News. 2022-05-31. Retrieved 2022-06-04.
  7. ^ "Health and climate change: country profile 2022: Turkey - Turkey | ReliefWeb". reliefweb.int. Retrieved 2022-06-04.
  8. ^ "The links between nuclear power and nuclear weapons -". Retrieved 2022-06-04.
  9. ^ Kasturi, Charu Sudan. "Kazakhstan unrest highlights tricky terrain of fuel subsidy cuts". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 2022-01-15.
  10. ^ "87 Major Companies Lead the Way Towards a 1.5°C Future at UN Climate Action Summit". UNFCCC. 22 September 2019. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
  11. ^ Christophers, Brett (2022-05-19). "Taking Renewables to Market: Prospects for the After‐Subsidy Energy Transition: The 2021 Antipode RGS‐IBG Lecture". Antipode: anti.12847. doi:10.1111/anti.12847. ISSN 0066-4812.
  12. ^ "PPA structures and parties involved around the world - DLA Piper Corporate PPAs". www.dlapiperintelligence.com. Retrieved 2022-06-01.

External links

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