China's consumption of the world's resources is reaching crisis levels. Unchecked, such levels of consumption and waste would strain the nation and the planet. To prevent the worst scenario, the country is taking action. For the past decade, China has led the world in promoting the recirculation of waste materials...
Renewable energy together with energy efficiency, sustainable transport, sustainable agriculture, sustainable tourism, green building and waste management are economic sectors which are often considered capable of paving the way for a transition to a green economy and providing win-win solutions offering job creation, poverty alleviation and environmental protection. However, there...
This paper explains why the Republic of Korea adopted green growth as a new national development strategy and details how it has been implemented by the government. The author suggests that Korea adopted green growth as a new economic growth paradigm to create new growth engines and jobs through green...
Abruzzo’s municipalities show high degree of participation in the Covenant of Mayors, the European network which aims to promote renewable energy and energy efficiency initiatives at the municipal level. This reflects the regional government’s goal of a renewable energy action plan in each municipality. An action plan allows municipalities to...
Puglia is the leading region in Italy in renewable energy production. Renewable energy deployment in rural Puglia has contributed to rural development, though not on the scale anticipated, and not without generating distortions in the rural economy. Puglia offers a good example of how small-scale power projects can add to...
Friesland’s RE policy is one response to the challenges posed by an ageing population, the unsustainability of the agriculture sector, poor economic competitiveness and the need for more high-skilled employment. The Friesland government has developed a three-pronged economic agenda based on energy, water and recreation. The two primary targets are...
Troms County is experimenting with different renewable energy technologies instead of picking a single “winner”. There have been several demonstration projects linked to different renewable energy technologies in the county.
The report finds out three main points: i) In Norway, incentives to renewable energy mostly target R&D and demonstration projects...
Renewable energy is booming in Extremadura and is benefiting regional development. Large-scale solar energy installations have the lion’s share of renewable energy deployment. These include some of the biggest photovoltaic (PV) parks in Europe. Extremadura is a good example of the benefits and challenges of rapid and large-scale deployment of...
A growing number of countries at all levels of development have legislation or regulations prescribing the application of Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) - and many more are introducing it as part of their policy tools. This is creating unique opportunities for better policy making and planning by incorporating environmental considerations...
Hydropower, biomass, and wind dominate the regional energy profile in Middle Norrland. Regional specialisation in energy is mirrored by the presence of locally-owned utilities, which provide the Middle Norrland economy with cheap energy and ancillary services.
The report has three main findings: i) Local communities can benefit from renewable energy...