J. Blasch, Nina Boogen, Claudio Daminato, M. Filippini
{"title":"Empower the Consumer! Energy-Related Financial Literacy and its Socioeconomic Determinants","authors":"J. Blasch, Nina Boogen, Claudio Daminato, M. Filippini","doi":"10.2139/ssrn.3175874","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3175874","url":null,"abstract":"To be aware of the potential for energy savings in their homes, individuals need specific energy-related and financial knowledge. In addition, they also need the cognitive skills to apply this knowledge, for example when it comes to the calculation of the lifetime cost of household appliances or energy-efficient renovations. This set of knowledge and skills is related to two literacy concepts, i.e. energy and financial literacy. In this paper, we propose a new concept of literacy that we call “energy-related financial literacy”. Further, we present information on the level of financial literacy as well as on the level of energy-related financial literacy for a sample of European households. In the empirical part of the paper we estimate several ordered probit models in order to analyse the determinants of the level of energy-related financial literacy, with a particular interest to understanding the role of gender. Our results show that the level of energy-related financial literacy is relatively low and heterogeneous across the European countries. Moreover, the results confirm previous findings about the gender gap in financial literacy, with males being associated with higher levels of the index. We also identify such a gender gap for energy-related financial literacy.","PeriodicalId":151913,"journal":{"name":"ChemRN: Energy Policy (Topic)","volume":"62 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-05-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"115407679","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Right Information at the Right Time: Time Value of Information Characteristics for Environmental Technology Adoption","authors":"S. Goodarzi, A. Masini, Sam Aflaki","doi":"10.2139/ssrn.3190959","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3190959","url":null,"abstract":"We examine empirically how different information types and information channels affect both the intention and the decision to adopt photovoltaic (PV) technology as affected by adoption stage. Analyzing data on a large European utility’s current and potential clients reveals how the effects of various drivers of adoption can change across phases of the adoption process. Our results challenge the common wisdom that information necessarily and homogeneously supports innovation adoption; instead, they strongly support the hypothesis that information types and channels have distinct effects on adoption rates. These results also highlight that, throughout the adoption process, the value of information changes. In addition, we clarify the effects of economic incentives on both the intention to adopt PV technology and actual adoption behavior. Our findings have critical implications for policy makers and for any technology manufacturing company that must optimize its marketing strategy and distribution channels to promote renewable energy systems.","PeriodicalId":151913,"journal":{"name":"ChemRN: Energy Policy (Topic)","volume":"1 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-04-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"130600137","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Mini-Grids for the Base of the Pyramid Market: A Critical Review","authors":"S. Bhattacharyya","doi":"10.3390/EN11040813","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/EN11040813","url":null,"abstract":"The lack of access to electricity of more than 1.1 billion people around the world remains a major developmental challenge and Goal 7 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) as well as Sustainable Energy for All (SE4ALL) have set a target of universal electrification by 2030. Various studies have identified mini-grid-based electrification as a possible solution. There is a growing body of literature available now that has explored the feasibility, practical application and policy interventions required to support mini-grids. Through a review of available literature, this paper explores whether mini-grids can be a solution for the base of the pyramid (BoP) market and the challenges faced in deploying mini-grids in such markets. Interventions to support the mini-grid deployment are also discussed. The paper finds that the mini-grids are targeting the BoP market but the business is not attractive in profitability terms and requires financial support. Lack of regulatory clarity and non-coordinated policies affect the financial viability of projects, which requires careful support. Mini-grid electrification has hardly been embedded in rural development agenda and hence they have not contributed significantly to livelihood generation. Careful realignment of policies, regulatory frameworks and support systems can better support mini-grid deployment in developing countries.","PeriodicalId":151913,"journal":{"name":"ChemRN: Energy Policy (Topic)","volume":"9 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-04-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"122007549","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Addressing the Climate Problem: Choice between Allowances, Feed-In Tariffs and Taxes","authors":"Eirik S. Amundsen, P. Andersen, J. Mortensen","doi":"10.2139/ssrn.3170832","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3170832","url":null,"abstract":"Instruments chosen to pursue climate related targets are not always efficient. In this paper we consider an economy with three climate related targets for its electricity generation: a given share of “green” electricity, a given expansion of “green” electricity, and a given reduction of “black” (fossil based) electricity. At its disposal the country has three instruments: an allowance system (tradable green certificates), a subsidy system (feed-in tariffs) and a Pigouvian fossil tax. Each of these instruments may be used to attain any of the given targets. Within the setting of the model it is verified that each kind of the target has only a single efficient instrument under certainty, and that there is a deadweight loss of using other instruments to achieve the target. Similarly, there is also an analysis of instrument choice when several targets are to be attained at the same time. The paper also discusses the case of simultaneous targets as well as the relevance of the various targets.","PeriodicalId":151913,"journal":{"name":"ChemRN: Energy Policy (Topic)","volume":"23 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-03-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"117220228","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Smart Energy in Deutschland: Wie Nutzerinnovationen Die Energiewende Voranbringen (Smart Energy in Germany: The Benefits of User Innovation)","authors":"Matt Grosse, H. Send, Tanja Loitz","doi":"10.2139/ssrn.3249002","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3249002","url":null,"abstract":"<b>German Aabstract:</b> Die Studie „Smart Energy in Deutschland: Wie Nutzerinnovationen die Energiewende voranbringen“, durchgeführt vom Alexander von Humboldt Institut für Internet und Gesellschaft und co2online, beschreibt quantitativ die Nutzung und Akzeptanz von Smart-Energy-Technologien in Deutschland. Die Studie identifiziert insbesondere Menschen, die bereits Produkte und Lösungen im Bereich Smart Energy nutzen und erforscht deren Motive, Nutzungsverhalten und Probleme. Im zweiten Teil der Studie skizzieren wir das Potential von Nutzerinnovationen im Bereich Smart Energy und charakterisieren bereits aktive Nutzerinnovatoren. Die Ergebnisse beruhen auf einer Online-Befragung unter Energie-interessierten Menschen in Deutschland. <b>English Abstract:</b> The study \"Smart Energy in Germany: The benefits of user innovation,\" conducted by the Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society and co2online, investigates the use and acceptance of smart energy technologies in Germany. The study identifies people already using smart energy products and explores their motives, usage patterns, and concerns. In the second part of the study, we discuss the potential of user innovation in the field of smart energy products and characterize active user-innovators. The results are based on an online-survey among energy-interested people in Germany.","PeriodicalId":151913,"journal":{"name":"ChemRN: Energy Policy (Topic)","volume":"22 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"130582294","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Japan's 2014 Strategic Energy Plan: A Planned Energy System Transition","authors":"Jeffrey B. Kucharski, H. Unesaki","doi":"10.2139/ssrn.3093684","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3093684","url":null,"abstract":"This study is a review and analysis of the Japanese government's 2014 Strategic Energy Plan (SEP). As the first plan to be issued after the Fukushima disaster of March 2011, the 2014 plan incorporates policies that represent the most comprehensive and systematic changes ever proposed for Japan's energy system. The study reviews the key elements of the plan, employing a framework that explains the nature and magnitude of the changes planned for Japan's energy system and related institutions. The analysis demonstrates that the shock of the triple disaster opened up a window of opportunity in Japan's policy environment for a fundamental change in Japan's energy policy, allowing for major reforms to the energy industrial structure and energy institutions. A unique aspect of this study is that it draws upon in-person interviews conducted with key government officials who were directly involved in the formulation of the SEP, providing new insights into Japan's energy policy planning process and the drivers behind the planned reforms. Given the nature and magnitude of the potential changes implied in the SEP, this paper concludes that the 2014 SEP is best understood as a comprehensive blueprint towards a major planned transition of the Japanese energy system.","PeriodicalId":151913,"journal":{"name":"ChemRN: Energy Policy (Topic)","volume":"93 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-12-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"127148789","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"An Analysis of Oil & Gas Company Disclosures from the Perspective of the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures","authors":"R. Eccles, Michael P. Krzus","doi":"10.2139/SSRN.3091232","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/SSRN.3091232","url":null,"abstract":"We conducted a type of “field experiment” to evaluate how difficult it will be for companies to implement the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) published in June of 2017. These recommendations are based on the four categories of governance, strategy, risk management, and targets and metrics. Beneath these are 11 more detailed recommendations. We selected an industry that will be especially challenged by these recommendations — oil & gas. We examined the disclosures of 15 of the largest oil & gas companies by market cap that had filed a 10-K or 20-F in 2016, so before the TCFD’s recommendations were published. We also examined their sustainability reports. Our reasoning was that if companies were already doing a reasonable amount of disclosure before these recommendations were published, then it would be more feasible to implement the TCFD’s recommendations than if virtually no related disclosures were being made. In general, we found reporting for that year uneven, with some TCFD categories fairly well covered and others not. We also found variation across companies, with most making fairly modest disclosures but some being fairly progressive in this regard. Significantly, we also found that most of the disclosures were in voluntary sustainability reports, not the financial filings required by statute and as recommended by the TCFD. Taken in the aggregate, at least one company was reporting on each of the 11 recommendations with one exception. This suggests that it is feasible for companies in this sector to follow the TCFD’s recommendations if they are interested in doing so.","PeriodicalId":151913,"journal":{"name":"ChemRN: Energy Policy (Topic)","volume":"1 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-12-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"130227503","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Response to Extreme Energy Price Changes: Evidence from Ukraine","authors":"A. Alberini, Olha Khymych, Milan Ščasný","doi":"10.2139/ssrn.3076871","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3076871","url":null,"abstract":"Large but temporary price increases are sometimes deployed on days when the demand for electricity is extremely high due to exceptionally warm or cold weather. But what happens when the extreme price changes are permanent? Between January 2013 and April 2016, natural gas and electricity prices in Ukraine increased dramatically (up to 300% of the initial rates). We exploit variation in tariffs over time and across customers to estimate the price elasticity of electricity demand using a panel dataset with monthly meter readings from households in the city of Uzhhorod in Ukraine. We ask three research questions. First, what is the price elasticity of consumption implicit in the response (if any) to these large electricity price changes? Second, is there evidence of heterogeneity in the price elasticity of electricity demand driven by dwelling or household characteristics, or by consumer understanding of block pricing and/or own consumption levels? Third, how quickly do household adjust their consumption after a price change? Histograms of the monthly usage records suggest that our Ukrainian consumers were aware of the increasing block pricing system and responded to marginal prices, with bunching observed at the then-current as well as future block cutoffs. The price elasticity of electricity demand is approximately -0.2 to -0.5, with the bulk of our estimates around -0.3. The elasticity becomes up to 50% more pronounced over the first three months since prices change. We find only limited evidence that persons who are attentive about their consumption levels, their bills, or the tariffs are more responsive to the price changes. The tariff increases do help reduce CO2 emissions, but at a high cost per ton.","PeriodicalId":151913,"journal":{"name":"ChemRN: Energy Policy (Topic)","volume":"32 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-11-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"117162731","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
J. Bonan, P. Battiston, Jaimie Bleck, Philippe LEMAY-BOUCHER, S. Pareglio, Bassirou Sarr, M. Tavoni
{"title":"Social Interaction and Technology Adoption: Experimental Evidence from Improved Cookstoves in Mali","authors":"J. Bonan, P. Battiston, Jaimie Bleck, Philippe LEMAY-BOUCHER, S. Pareglio, Bassirou Sarr, M. Tavoni","doi":"10.2139/ssrn.3038706","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3038706","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Easy-to-use and low-risk technologies, which require little investment and potentially provide health and environmental benefits, often have low adoption rates. Using a randomized experiment in urban Mali, we assess the impact of a training session in which information on an improved cookstove (ICS) is provided along with the opportunity to purchase the product at the market price. We find strong effects from our invitation to the session on ICS ownership and usage while no discernible effects on product knowledge or household welfare. We find that some diffusion occurs beyond the intervention and provide evidence on the role of social interaction, mostly through imitation","PeriodicalId":151913,"journal":{"name":"ChemRN: Energy Policy (Topic)","volume":"13 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-09-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"121417343","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Sebastian Dengler, R. Gerlagh, S. Trautmann, Gijs van de Kuilen
{"title":"Climate Policy Commitment Devices","authors":"Sebastian Dengler, R. Gerlagh, S. Trautmann, Gijs van de Kuilen","doi":"10.2139/ssrn.3040552","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3040552","url":null,"abstract":"We develop a dynamic resource extraction game that mimics the global multi-generation planning problem for climate change and fossil fuel extraction. We implement the game under different conditions in the laboratory. Compared to a ‘libertarian’ baseline condition, we find that policy interventions that provide a costly commitment device or reduce climate threshold uncertainty reduce resource extraction. We also study two conditions to assess the underlying social preferences and the viability of ecological dictatorship. Our results suggest that climate-change policies that focus on investments that lock the economy into carbon-free energy sources provide an important commitment device in the intertemporal cooperation problem.","PeriodicalId":151913,"journal":{"name":"ChemRN: Energy Policy (Topic)","volume":"29 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-09-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"116741506","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}