Energy, Sustainability and Society最新文献

{"title":"How Germany is phasing out lignite: insights from the Coal Commission and local communities","authors":"Jörg Radtke,&nbsp;Martin David","doi":"10.1186/s13705-023-00434-z","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s13705-023-00434-z","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><p>This article asks the following question: how well are coal regions, affected by phase-out plans, represented in mediating commissions, to what extent do local communities participate in the decision-making process and how are the political negotiations perceived by the communities? We look at the case of the German lignite phase-out from a procedural justice perspective. Informed by literature on sociotechnical decline and procedural justice in energy transitions, we focus first on aspects of representation, participation and recognition within the German Commission on Growth, Structural Change and Employment (“Coal Commission”). Second, we analyze how to exnovate coal in two regions closely tied to the coal- and lignite-based energy history in Germany: Lusatia and the Rhenish Mining District.</p><h3>Results</h3><p>Based on interview series in both regions, we connect insights from local communities with strategies for structural change and participation programs in the regions. We find significant differences between the two regions, which is primarily an effect of the challenging historical experiences in Lusatia. Participation within existing arrangements is not sufficient to solve these problems; they require a comprehensive strategy for the future of the regions.</p><h3>Conclusions</h3><p>We conclude that the first phase-out process was a lost opportunity to initiate a community-inclusive sustainable transition process. As the phase-out process is not yet concluded, additional efforts and new strategies are needed to resolve the wicked problem of lignite phase-out.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":539,"journal":{"name":"Energy, Sustainability and Society","volume":"14 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2024-01-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://energsustainsoc.biomedcentral.com/counter/pdf/10.1186/s13705-023-00434-z","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139422692","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Municipal heat provision experiences and expectations in Germany","authors":"Thomas Krikser,&nbsp;Melf-Hinrich Ehlers,&nbsp;Adriano Profeta","doi":"10.1186/s13705-023-00433-0","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s13705-023-00433-0","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><p>Compared to other sectors, the building sector is seriously lagging in efforts to mitigate climate change. In particular, heat provision needs to move to low-carbon options at greater speed. Municipalities are essential players in the transition to low-carbon heating. However, little is known about their experiences in developing heat provision infrastructure and their expectations of low-carbon options, such as district heating based on renewable energy. To explore how the experiences and expectations of municipalities concerning low-carbon heating are related, we conducted a survey of officers responsible for heating technology in municipal authorities across Germany. The questionnaires were analysed using multiple quantitative data analysis techniques.</p><h3>Results</h3><p>Our findings suggest that officers in larger municipalities have more positive expectations of low-carbon heating technologies than those in smaller and medium-sized municipalities. They also have more experience with these technologies. We identified four different clusters of municipalities based on their attitudes towards heating systems. The findings suggest that attitudes and experiences have a significant influence on the desirability and expected feasibility of the expansion of district heating. Furthermore, there are differences between south, north, and east Germany.</p><h3>Conclusions</h3><p>Exchange of experiences and expectations between larger and smaller municipalities could facilitate the transition to low-carbon heating. Public policy could strategically provide spaces for the required exchange, but it also needs to engage with more complex questions of finance and regulation.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":539,"journal":{"name":"Energy, Sustainability and Society","volume":"14 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2024-01-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://energsustainsoc.biomedcentral.com/counter/pdf/10.1186/s13705-023-00433-0","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139399903","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Potential markets and policies for sustainable liquid biofuel production with emphasis to Eastern Africa countries: a review","authors":"Fekadu K. Miftah,&nbsp;Doris Mutta","doi":"10.1186/s13705-023-00428-x","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s13705-023-00428-x","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><p>The production of liquid biofuel in Eastern Africa countries has the potential to play an important role on the global biofuel markets in the coming years, because transportation fuel demand is expected to grow. Despite the presence of suitable environmental conditions for bioenergy crop cultivation in Eastern Africa, liquid biofuel production has been restricted by different factors, including market situation and government policies. The objective of this review is to evaluate the potential markets, policies, strategies, and plans for liquid biofuel production in some Eastern Africa countries, including Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda.</p><h3>Main text</h3><p>Over 64 scientific articles and reports published between 2002 and 2023 related to liquid biofuel production market and policies were collected from internet search engines and unpublished grey literatures and reviewed. Since liquid biofuel production was in early stage of investment in Eastern Africa countries by 2020, all the countries showed similar restrictions. It was found that the global market demand for liquid biofuel increased after 1980s. For example, although Ethiopia started bioethanol production in 1950s, the production was discouraged by the lack of a market. Biofuel trade is globally determined by the biofuel policies of industrialized countries, which are mainly driven by the willingness to reduce emissions and to tackle volatile fossil fuel prices. Eastern Africa liquid biofuels has a number of market openings, including rural domestic use, substituting fossil fuel imports, and supplying the European market. There are also attractive legal conditions and political willingness to invest in the production of liquid biofuels. However, institutional weaknesses hindered the possibility to coordinate liquid biofuel production. The lack of adequate domestic institutions, coordination mechanisms, and robust monitoring resulted in land-use conflicts, corruption, and technical challenges. Appropriate policy measures are required to local land use determination, selection of appropriate type of bioenergy crops, and biofuel processing types and scales. In particular, small and large-scale biofuel production projects are required to include biofuel production in the conventional agricultural farming practices.</p><h3>Conclusions</h3><p>Good governance is highly important for bioenergy crop production, liquid biofuel processing and consumption in the whole liquid biofuel value chain. Moreover, it is important to exchange good practices through cooperation, including—but not limited to—intra-African countries, which would accelerate the learning process and the deployment of effective measures and mechanisms. There should be biofuel value chain upgrading to overcome fragmentation and inconsistency of measures; match-making between demand and supply at domestic, intra-African, and internationally with proper public awareness creation.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":539,"journal":{"name":"Energy, Sustainability and Society","volume":"14 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2024-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://energsustainsoc.biomedcentral.com/counter/pdf/10.1186/s13705-023-00428-x","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139078240","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Challenges of the green transition for the recovery of the Western Balkans","authors":"Jelena Ignjatović,&nbsp;Sanja Filipović,&nbsp;Mirjana Radovanović","doi":"10.1186/s13705-023-00421-4","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s13705-023-00421-4","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><p>The aim of this paper is to reconsider the necessity for the green transition and the key preconditions for the implementation of a circular economy in Western Balkan countries. With the objective of the research in mind, the method of analysis and synthesis was applied to determine (1) regulatory and institutional prerequisites for the green transition; (2) the need for the Western Balkan countries to redefine the model of sustainable economic growth towards the green transition; (3) the development opportunities for recovery defined in the Green Agenda for the Western Balkans; and (4) the possibility of implementing the circular economy in the Western Balkans.</p><h3>Main text</h3><p>The main findings of the research indicate that: (1) the countries of the Western Balkan region, following the example of the EU, should define a national strategic approach to the green transition with an accompanying action plan and regulatory framework; (2) the biggest challenge of the green transition is the reform of the energy sector and the restructuring of the energy-intensive economy; (3) the countries have untapped potential in renewable energy sources and report the improvement of energy efficiency; (4) the circular economy can boost the green transition, because the countries of the region have a five-time lower value of resource productivity than the average of the EU, while the generation of waste (excluding major mineral wastes) per GDP unit is lower compared to the EU; (5) cross-sectoral governance should be more coordinated.</p><h3>Conclusions</h3><p>The green transition might be a development opportunity for the Western Balkans, which should enable sustainable economic growth as well as energy security and environmental protection. However, the implementation of the Green Agenda is not easy, because the region faces the problem of underdeveloped regulatory and institutional capacities that might provide not only the base for long-term planning but also financial resources for the efficient implementation of projects. In addition, it is essential to understand the principles of the Green Agenda and the interaction of all activities that should enable the achievement of defined goals.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":539,"journal":{"name":"Energy, Sustainability and Society","volume":"14 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2024-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://energsustainsoc.biomedcentral.com/counter/pdf/10.1186/s13705-023-00421-4","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139078357","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"“Waste to energy” as a driver towards a sustainable and circular energy future for the Balkan countries","authors":"Draženko Bjelić,&nbsp;Dragana Nešković Markić,&nbsp;Dunja Prokić,&nbsp;Borislav N. Malinović,&nbsp;Andrea Andrejević Panić","doi":"10.1186/s13705-023-00435-y","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s13705-023-00435-y","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><p>The main goal of the paper is to review the existing state and propose a model solution for the introduction of the waste-to-energy concept in the Republic of Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, as these Balkan countries are a source of high pollution due to the inefficient use of fossil fuels and the operation of coal-fired power plants. Besides, these countries have very low level of waste management, which results in the uncontrolled disposal of a large amount of waste which consists of plastic and microplastic materials which are difficult to decompose in natural ecosystems.</p><h3>Methods</h3><p>Considering the type and objectives of the study, a mixed research method was chosen as a combination of exploratory research, descriptive research, explanatory research, and modeling.</p><h3>Results</h3><p>The main result of the research shows the unfavorable situation in the field of waste management in the Republic of Serbia, as well as in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Both countries have adopted adequate strategies and plans, but waste management is not implemented accordingly, Nevertheless, numerous problems create considerable opportunities for improvement, especially regarding the potential for energy production from waste, which is an important approach to implementing the circular economy model. The study showed that the situation is particularly unfavorable in rural areas. Hence, the research proposes (a) a novel model for waste-to-energy governance and (b) a novel model for waste-to-energy management in rural areas. The research was done, and models were developed based on the examples of the Republic of Serbia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. However, the results can be used in countries with a similar level of waste management and with a larger share of rural areas.</p><h3>Conclusions</h3><p>The paper emphasizes the importance of a holistic and systemic approach to waste management, with emphasis on using waste-to-energy concept as particularly applicable in the transition to circular economy. This study proposes a model for the integration of waste management (with emphasis on plastic and microplastic) and energy efficiency, presenting a model of approach that can be used in countries that are at the beginning of introducing a circular economy.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":539,"journal":{"name":"Energy, Sustainability and Society","volume":"14 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2024-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://energsustainsoc.biomedcentral.com/counter/pdf/10.1186/s13705-023-00435-y","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139080129","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Impact of energy affordability on the decision-making of rural households in ecologically fragile areas of Northwest China regarding clean energy use","authors":"Lingyan Li,&nbsp;Huihui Song,&nbsp;Mimi Duan,&nbsp;Yongchao Zhu,&nbsp;Xi Luo","doi":"10.1186/s13705-023-00423-2","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s13705-023-00423-2","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><p>Highly carbonized energy use in ecologically fragile areas of Northwest China seriously endangers the health of residents and the ecological environment. However, poor energy affordability remains a major obstacle to the promotion of clean energy use in rural households in this region.</p><h3>Methods</h3><p>Based on survey data of 1118 households in ecologically fragile areas of Northwest China, this study constructed a household-level database of energy use, measured energy affordability in two dimensions: endogenous income (annual per capita household income) and external inputs (government energy subsidies). It uses logistic and threshold regression to empirically test the impact, threshold, and heterogeneity of energy affordability on the decision-making of rural households regarding clean energy use for cooking, heating, and heating water.</p><h3>Results</h3><p>(1) The energy use structures of rural households in different ecologically fragile areas differ because of different household characteristics. (2) Energy affordability affects cooking significantly more than it affects heating and subsidy growth is a stronger incentive than income growth. Moreover, for both cooking and heating, energy affordability has a greater impact on electricity use than on gas use. (3) The thresholds for energy transformation for heating are greater than those for cooking and heating water. When the subsidy increases by 2400 yuan/year, heating can catch up to other types of use, whereas, based on the current level of income growth, it requires more than 5 years. (4) This effect is higher in high-income, purely agricultural, highly educated, young, and middle-aged households.</p><h3>Conclusions</h3><p>Promoting the use of clean energy in rural households only by increasing income will be a slow process. Subsidies should be used to accelerate this process by improving the energy affordability of rural households and a compensation policy should be implemented considering the energy types and periods. Taking into account the differences in the basic characteristics of rural households in different ecologically fragile areas, clean energy policies should be adopted from various perspectives to better leverage the enhancement effect of energy affordability.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":539,"journal":{"name":"Energy, Sustainability and Society","volume":"13 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2023-12-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://energsustainsoc.biomedcentral.com/counter/pdf/10.1186/s13705-023-00423-2","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138824796","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Social acceptance of geothermal technology on a global view: a systematic review","authors":"Robin Renoth,&nbsp;Elmar Buchner,&nbsp;Martin Schmieder,&nbsp;Maximilian Keim,&nbsp;Manfred Plechaty,&nbsp;Michael Drews","doi":"10.1186/s13705-023-00432-1","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s13705-023-00432-1","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><p>The role of geothermal technology in the context of global efforts toward carbon-free and clean energy production is becoming increasingly important. Social acceptance is a decisive factor in the successful implementation of geothermal projects.</p><h3>Main text</h3><p>This systematic review summarizes the major aspects and evaluates the crucial outcomes of recent research on community acceptance as a dimension of social acceptance of geothermal technology since 2011, on a global scale. From the literature, we identified and grouped researched acceptance factors into five main acceptance categories, namely ‘project organization and process’, ‘environment’, ‘municipality’, ‘technology’, and ‘governance’. Each category comprises a number of specific acceptance factors addressed by different survey methods (e.g., interviews, questionnaires, content analyses) in the relevant publications. The acceptance factor categories ‘technology’ and ‘governance’ are remarkably underrepresented, whereas the acceptance factors combined in the categories ‘project organization’ and ‘municipality’ are frequently mentioned in the literature. Acceptance factors combined within the category ‘environment’, ‘trust in key actors’, and ‘information about the project’ are expectedly the most dominant ones in the papers studied. Interestingly, acceptance categories and number of mentions of acceptance factors are comparable in all survey methods applied in the various studies. Besides the acceptance factors combined in the categories ‘environment’ and ‘project organization and process’, ‘knowledge about geothermal technology’ (an acceptance factor from the category ‘municipality’) represents the predominant acceptance factor of geothermal technology.</p><h3>Conclusions</h3><p>Deeper knowledge, in particular about the technical aspects of geothermal energy generation, might enable a more comprehensive and holistic view on geothermal technology. Furthermore, the integration of all relevant groups of stakeholders in the process of implementation of geothermal projects strongly influences their social acceptance. Following the results of our systematic literature review, we propose these aspects should be addressed in more detail in future research on the community acceptance of geothermal technology and energy production.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":539,"journal":{"name":"Energy, Sustainability and Society","volume":"13 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2023-12-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://energsustainsoc.biomedcentral.com/counter/pdf/10.1186/s13705-023-00432-1","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138820620","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"International relations challenges and sustainable development in developing countries after 2022: conceptualization of the risk assessment model","authors":"Miroslav Stevanović,&nbsp;Predrag Pavlićević,&nbsp;Nikola Vujinović,&nbsp;Mirjana Radovanović","doi":"10.1186/s13705-023-00430-3","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s13705-023-00430-3","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><p>UN defined <i>Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development</i> promotes international relations as a platform of cooperation between all stakeholders to achieve peace, stability, and prosperity but faces significant challenges in the post-2022 period. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Ukraine crisis, the prospects for sustainable development as a component of international relations are one of the challenges. The main objective of this paper is the conceptualization of a model for sustainable development risk analysis, intended for developing countries with underdeveloped or nonexistent monitoring systems.</p><h3>Methods</h3><p>Theory synthesis, adaption, and model development were used in the conceptual method due to empirical research limitations. Analysis, induction, and modeling were utilized to evaluate qualitative and quantitative sustainable development risk assessment approaches and anticipate their advantages and disadvantages.</p><h3>Results</h3><p>The theoretical part of the research points to the need to consider the risks to implementing sustainable development (primarily future energy development and climate change) that arise from changes in international security. The novel result of the paper is the proposal of the concept <i>Model for sustainable development implementation risk assessment in developing countries</i>, derived from the following inputs: (a) an overview of the development of international relations and attitudes towards sustainable development; (b) a proposal of a generic model for risk assessment; (c) a prediction of the sustainable development future from the perspective of international relations and defined risks for its implementation. A set of indicators is proposed by dimensions: social, economic–political, and energy-environment.</p><h3>Conclusions</h3><p>The future of sustainable development can be considered at a certain degree of risk in light of the global crisis after 2022. Changes in geopolitical constellations, armed conflicts, population growth, climate change, and the reallocation of financial resources are the factors that will largely determine the commitment of individual countries to implementing sustainable development. Therefore, sustainable development risk assessment must be revisited, improved, and closely monitored. The development of models based on the specificities of each country is highly recommended. Methodological notes are presented.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":539,"journal":{"name":"Energy, Sustainability and Society","volume":"13 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2023-12-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://energsustainsoc.biomedcentral.com/counter/pdf/10.1186/s13705-023-00430-3","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138678800","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Analyzing development finance flows in the Western Balkans’ energy sector: a 2008–2020 perspective","authors":"Amar Causevic,&nbsp;Biljana Macura,&nbsp;Nabil Haque,&nbsp;Sasa Solujic,&nbsp;Adnan Ploskić","doi":"10.1186/s13705-023-00426-z","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s13705-023-00426-z","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><p>Development finance is vital for low- and middle-income countries to enhance their sustainability agendas, as it provides essential funding necessary to close domestic financing gaps, including in the energy sector. Coal is still a vital power source for the energy sectors in the Western Balkans (i.e., Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia). The energy sector is a critical component in the five countries’ pursuit to decarbonize (i.e., follow the net zero pathways) due to its central role as a primary contributor to greenhouse gas emissions and a critical enabler of sustainability transition. This article presents a mapping exercise of development finance for five Western Balkan countries’ energy sectors. The study conducted a scoping literature review and detailed analysis of the five countries’ energy sector-related development finance flows from 2008 to 2020. This aimed to provide insights into the development finance flows for renewable and non-renewable energy sources in five Western Balkan countries.</p><h3>Results</h3><p>The scoping literature review indicated a significant gap in knowledge about the effects and effectiveness of development finance in the Western Balkans. Data analysis identified US$3.2 billion in energy development finance in the examined countries. The disbursement ratios were above the global average of 63%. Serbia received the highest proportion of the total funding, while Montenegro obtained the highest funding per capita. The data analysis did not establish a connection between adopting the Paris Agreement in 2016 and increasing development finance flows for renewable energy projects. Around one-third of the disbursed development finance was invested in projects for energy supply using non-renewable sources. Official Development Aid loans represented 37% (US$1.2 billion) of the total funding, contributing to the increase in indebtedness in the five countries. European-based bilateral and multilateral development finance providers were the most important actors in the five examined countries.</p><h3>Conclusions</h3><p>The amount of the disbursed development finance was insufficient to cover a significant percentage of the needs of the surveyed countries. Although carbon-intensive energy infrastructure received considerable funding, the total amount of disbursed energy development finance ranged between 0.15 and 0.62% of the average gross domestic product for the analyzed countries during the study period. Based on the research findings, we recommend that development finance providers and recipient countries pay greater attention to planning for strategic funding disbursement.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":539,"journal":{"name":"Energy, Sustainability and Society","volume":"13 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2023-12-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://energsustainsoc.biomedcentral.com/counter/pdf/10.1186/s13705-023-00426-z","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138678791","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Sustainability performance of rural municipalities in Germany","authors":"Mahdi Karami,&nbsp;Reinhard Madlener","doi":"10.1186/s13705-023-00425-0","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s13705-023-00425-0","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;div&gt;&lt;h3&gt;Background&lt;/h3&gt;&lt;p&gt;Sustainable rural development entails efforts to enhance the well-being of rural communities while safeguarding natural resources for future generations. The thorough examination of sustainable rural development is still scarce but nevertheless crucial, as it enables to reveal the various challenges and remaining potentials in rural areas, to identify key stakeholders and their respective roles in promoting sustainable rural development, and to determine the best practices for attaining set goals along the various sustainability dimensions considered. Germany has implemented a range of policies, initiatives, and programs to foster sustainable development, extending its efforts to also encompass rural areas. This study assesses the sustainability performance of rural municipalities in Germany, proposing a novel and comprehensive sustainability benchmarking system. For this purpose, the performance of selected rural municipalities along the ecological, social, economic, and technological dimensions is examined.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;h3&gt;Results&lt;/h3&gt;&lt;p&gt;Based on the systematic implementation of methodological stages, a rigorous literature review process, a systematic indicator selection, and stringent filtering criteria, the selected indicators of our study cover environmental, energy, quality of life, economic, and technological aspects. These indicators enable to efficiently and effectively measure, compare, and evaluate the sustainability performance of rural municipalities. After normalization, weighting, and aggregation of the considered indicators, the performance is visualized in radar charts. Radar charts are handy for comparing a larger number of variables and displaying them in compact and comprehensible form in a single chart. Finally, the overall relative sustainability performance of the selected rural municipalities in Germany is compared based on an aggregated single score. The adopted methodology of aggregating indicators enables us to assess the sustainability performance of municipalities as well as to highlight variations among them.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;h3&gt;Conclusion&lt;/h3&gt;&lt;p&gt;Most databases and sustainable development reports are updated only every couple of years and often do not report the performance of small rural municipalities but only larger (more urban) ones. By conducting a detailed analysis of these specific cases, we can identify key challenges and opportunities unique to rural communities and develop targeted strategies for a more sustainable development. Adding digitalization as a technological value indicator makes our approach more comprehensive than comparable others, and accounts for the important new sustainability dimension of societal transition. This study contributes to the existing literature by proposing a novel sustainability benchmarking system specifically tailored for rural areas. From a practical standpoint, the developed sustainability benchmarking system offers a practical tool for rural municipalities to asses","PeriodicalId":539,"journal":{"name":"Energy, Sustainability and Society","volume":"13 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2023-12-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://energsustainsoc.biomedcentral.com/counter/pdf/10.1186/s13705-023-00425-0","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138570815","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}