Suchergebnisse

The global environmental crisis has identified the need for the emergence and development of environmental policies, both internationally and nationally. At the same time, political science studies on environmental issues in Ukraine are carried out very rarely - to a greater extent, environmental issues are of interest to jurists, economists and specialists in public administration. The purpose of this article is to identify the main categories of environmental policy, to analyze the basics and principles of its operation, to determine its subjects and mechanisms. Environmental policy can be defined as the systematic activity of the state and society in the field of rational use of nature, environmental protection and achievement of sustainable development. The basic principles to be followed in the formulation and implementation of ecopolitics are enshrined, first of all, in such international instruments as the Stockholm Declaration, the Rio Declaration and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The basic principles are: everyone has the right to live in a healthy environment; States are responsible for the state of the environment; sustainable development concepts must be followed when developing policies; an important principle of environmental policy integration; Due to the different nature and intensity of environmental impact, states have a common but differentiated responsibility. The paper deals with the tools of ecopolitics and their classification. It is noted that in the context of modern environmental policy based on the theory of ecological modernization, the economic approach to solving environmental problems is the most popular. The use of economic instruments (payments for the use of natural resources, fees for environmental pollution, compensation for environmental damage, penalties for violations of environmental legislation, green tax) allows you to create incentives for environmentally sound behavior, to form environmental funds to solve problems. Ukraine has a regulatory and regulatory approach, whereas flexible financial and economic instruments remain declarative. ; Глобальный экологический кризис определил необходимость появления и развития экологической политики, как на международном, так и национальном уровне. При этом, политологические исследования по природоохранной проблематике в Украине проводятся крайне редко. В большей степени, экологические вопросы интересуют правоведов, экономистов и специалистов в области государственного управления. Целью данной статьи определено выделение основных категорий экологической политики, анализ основ и принципов ее функционирования, определение ее субъектов и механизмов. Экологическую политику можно определить как системную деятельность государства и общества в сфере рационального природопользования, охраны окружающей среды и достижения устойчивого развития. Основные принципы, которые необходимо соблюдать при формулировании и реализации экополитики, закреплены, прежде всего, в таких международных документах, как Стокгольмская декларация, Рио-де-Жанейрская декларация и Рамочная конвенция ООН об изменении климата. Основными такими принципами являются: каждый человек имеет право на жизнь в здоровой окружающей среде; государства несут ответственность за состояние природной среды; при разработке политик необходимо следовать концепции устойчивого развития; важный принцип интеграции экологической политики; в силу разного характера и интенсивности воздействия на окружающую среду, государства несут общую, но дифференцированную ответственность. В работе рассмотрены инструменты экополитики, предоставлено их классификацию. Отмечено, что в условиях современной политики в области окружающей среды, основанной на теории экологической модернизации, экономический подход к решению экологических проблем является самым популярным. Применение экономических инструментов (платежи за пользование природными ресурсами, сборы за загрязнение окружающей среды, возмещения убытков за нарушенное окружающей среды, штрафы за нарушение экологического законодательства, зеленый налог) позволяет создавать стимулы экологически целесообразного поведения, формировать экологические фонды для решения проблем. Для Украины характерно использование нормативно-регулирующего подхода, тогда как применение гибких финансовых и экономических инструментов остается декларативным. ; Глобальна екологічна криза визначила необхідність появи і розвитку екологічної політики, як на міжнародному, так і національному рівні. При цьому, політологічні дослідження з природоохоронної проблематики в Україні проводяться вкрай рідко – в більшій мірі, екологічні питання цікавлять правознавців, економістів і фахівців в галузі державного управління. Метою даної статті є виділення основних категорій екологічної політики, аналіз основ і принципів її функціонування, визначення її суб'єктів та механізмів. Екологічну політику можна визначити як системну діяльність держави і суспільства в сфері раціонального природокористування, охорони навколишнього середовища та досягнення сталого розвитку. Основні принципи, яких необхідно дотримуватися при формулюванні і реалізації екополітики, закріплені, перш за все, в таких міжнародних документах, як Стокгольмська декларація, Ріо-де-Жанейрська декларація і Рамкова конвенція ООН про зміну клімату. Основними такими принципами є: кожна людина має право на життя в здоровому навколишньому середовищі; держави несуть відповідальність за стан природного середовища; при розробці політик необхідно слідувати концепції сталого розвитку; важливий принцип інтеграції екологічної політики; в силу різного характеру та інтенсивності впливу на навколишнє середовище, держави несуть загальну, але диференційовану відповідальність. В роботі розглянуто інструменти екополітики, надано їх класифікацію. Зазначено, що в умовах сучасної політики в сфері довкілля, яка базується на теорії екологічної модернізації, економічний підхід до вирішення екологічних проблем є найпопулярнішим. Застосування економічних інструментів (платежі за користування природними ресурсами, збори за забруднення довкілля, відшкодування збитків за порушене довкілля, штрафи за порушення екологічного законодавства, зелений податок) дозволяє створювати стимули екологічно доцільної поведінки, формувати екологічні фонди для вирішення проблем. Для України властиве використання нормативно-регулюючого підходу, тоді як застосування гнучких фінансових та економічних інструментів залишається декларативним.

As a developing country with surging demand in electricity, Vietnam has implemented demand-side management in the residential electricity market, such as increasing block tariffs to balance the tension between energy security and the development of clean technology. The implementation of demand-side management requires a deep understanding of customer behaviors and household demand. The thesis aims to explore the factors impacting on Vietnamese residential electricity demand in the period of 2012–16. The exploration focuses on four main factors: prices, income, demographics (including household size and composition), and heatwaves. The data are a pool data set and a panel data set which have been constructed from the three rounds of the micro survey Vietnam Household Living Standard Survey (VHLSS) in 2012, 2014 and 2016.The thesis has two novel points in estimating household electricity demand function.First, it uses micro survey data at national level, with detailed tariff structures and private electricity billing. In the past, researches have often used national aggregate data or national micro survey data with imputed quantity or price. Researches that use micro survey data with detail tariff schedules and electricity bills are often at a regional level rather than at a national level due to the absence of national data on tariff structures. The residential electricity market in Vietnam is a monopoly with a single seller, Vietnam Electricity (EVN). Electricity tariff schedules are proposed by EVN and set by the Government and are thus uniform in national scale. This provides a chance to estimate demand function from national micro survey data, with full detail of electricity prices and billings.Second, the thesis proposes a new way to capture the impact of high temperature on electricity demand. That is, to include an additional dummy variable to represent the extreme distribution of temperature. The additional dummy variable is a complement to the concept of cooling degree days which is a popular representation of temperature in previous researches.The estimate results lead to five main conclusions. (i) Households do respond to marginal prices and demand is elastic to price. (ii) There exists an income threshold from which household electricity consumption increases as income increases. The electricity consumption of households in the income group is the reference level of electricity poverty threshold. (iii) The increasing block tariff does not cancel out economies of scale in electricity expenditure of households. (iv) There is no difference in electricity expenditure across children, adults and elders. (v) Heatwaves – a climate change related phenomenon – do have impacts on electricity demand and need to be addressed carefully in estimating electricity demand in the future. ; Pays en développement avec une demande d'électricité croissante, le Vietnam a instauré la tarification progressive de l'électricité résidentielle. La fixation du tarif de l'énergie est toujours une question délicate, entre gestion de la demande, lutte contre la pauvreté, effets sur l'inflation, besoins d'investissement pour assurer la sécurité énergétique et le développement des technologies vertes. Cette action nécessite une maîtrise très profonde du comportement des consommateurs ainsi que la demande des ménages. La thèse a pour but d'explorer les facteurs qui impactent la demande d'électricité Vietnamienne au niveau résidentielle en se basant sur : les prix, les revenus, la démographie (comprenant la taille et la composition des foyers) et les vagues de chaleur. Les données de « pool et panel » sont collectées à partir des trois micro enquêtes sur le niveau de vie des foyers vietnamiens en 2012, 2014, 2016.Cette thèse estime économétriquement la demande d'électricité des ménages. Elle innove sur deux points de méthode.Premièrement, elle utilise les données individuelles issues des enquêtes nationales, avec le détail de la structure des tarifs et des factures d'électricité des ménages répondants. Cela dépasse donc les limites de beaucoup de recherches passées qui étaient basées soit sur données nationales agrégées, soit sur données individuelles mais avec une quantité et un prix imputés, soit sur données individuelles avec le détail de la structure des tarifs et des factures d'électricité mais au niveau régional seulement. Cette innovation est possible car le marché de l'électricité au Vietnamien est monopolistique, avec un seul vendeur – Electricité de Vietnam (EVN), à qui le gouvernement commande d'utiliser une grille tarifaire homogène pour tout le pays.Deuxièmement, la thèse propose une nouvelle façon d'explorer l'impact des hautes températures sur la demande d'électricité. La méthode propose d'ajouter une variable muette qui représente l'occurrence d'une vague de chaleur. Cette variable est complémentaire de la notion « Degrés-jours de refroidissement » qui représente la température dans la plupart des études précédentes.Les conclusions principales sont que: (i) Les ménages réagissent aux prix marginaux, la demande est élastique par rapport au prix. (ii) Il existe un seuil de revenu à partir duquel la consommation d'électricité des foyers augmente quand le revenu augmente : la consommation d'électricité des foyers ayant ce revenu peut être considérée comme le niveau de besoin fondamental, un seuil de pauvreté pour l'électricité. (iii) La progressivité de la tarification ne pénalise pas les familles nombreuses : le tarif progresse moins vite que les d'économies d'échelle des dépenses d'électricité. (iv) Nous n'observons pas d'effet de la composition du foyer en termes enfants / adultes / personnes âgés sur la dépense d'électricité. (v) Les vagues de chaleur - un phénomène lié au changement climatique - impactent la demande d'électricité et devraient être mieux prises en compte dans l'estimation de la demande.

The purpose of the article is to study the experience of implementation of the strategy of smart specialization in the EU and to determine the possibilities of implementing the principles of smart specialization for the pilot regions of Ukraine. As a result of the study, it has been found that the strategy of smart specialization should ideally be more integrative in research and innovation-oriented innovation policies, cohesion policy, European value chain and network initiatives, industrial policy, and in the future, will expand the current scale of dissemination, which was recognized by the European Commission. So, for the next programming period (2021-2027) proposed, among other things, that most of the funds of the European Regional Development Fund and the Cohesion Fund will go to the development of innovation, support for small business, digital technologies and industrial modernization. It will also mean the transition to a low-carbon, circular economy, and the fight against climate change. The implementation of the principles of smart specialization for the EU countries, characterized by the openness of innovative systems, creates conditions for the modernization of technology and regional specialization, in order to provide unique territorial competitive advantages. The peculiarity of the introduction of the concept of smart specialization for the EU regions with the availability of significant scientific and innovative potential, powerful clusters and developed infrastructure is the application of one of the important principles of smart specialization of «entrepreneurial search», that is, the initiation of a policy of smart specialization «from the bottom up».However, it should be noted that the use of this principle in practice is problematic both for the EU countries and for Ukraine, which is in the process of gradual decentralization. The reliability of the results of the study carried out in the paper is ensured using tools for generalization and processing of official statistics, expert reports, author's observations and calculations. The validity of the results obtained is due to the correctness of the application of the research and analytical apparatus, tested in scientific practice, and due to the comparison of the results of work and the data of international experience. The basis for the proposed recommendations was the evidence of analytical conclusions. ; Целью статьи является исследование опыта внедрения стратегии разумной специализации в странах ЕС и определение возможностей имплементации принципов разумной специализации для пилотных регионов Украины. В результате проведенного исследования установлено, что стратегия разумной специализации видеале должна быть более интегративной в инновационную политику, ориентированную на исследования и инновации, политику сплочения европейских цепочек создания стоимости и сетевых инициатив, промышленную политику, и в будущем будет расширять текущие масштабы распространения, что было признано Европейской комиссией. Итак, на следующий период программирования (2021-2027) предполагается, среди прочего, что основная часть средств Европейского фонда регионального развития и Фонда сплоченности будет идти на развитие инноваций, поддержку малого бизнеса, цифровых технологий и промышленной модернизации. Это также будет означать переход к низкоуглеродной, круговой экономике и борьбе сизменениями климата. Имплементация принципов разумной специализации для стран ЕС, характеризующихся открытостью инновационных систем, создает условия для модернизации технологии и региональной специализации для обеспечения уникальных территориальных конкурентных преимуществ. Особенностью внедрения концепции разумной специализации для регионов ЕС с наличием весомого научного и инновационного потенциала, мощных кластеров и развитой инфраструктуры является использование принципа «предпринимательского поиска», предусматривающего внедрение политики разумной специализации «снизу вверх». Но, следует отметить, что использование этого принципа на практике проблематично как для стран ЕС, так и для Украины, которая находится в процессе постепенной децентрализации. Достоверность результатов проведенного в работе исследования обеспечена применением инструментов обобщения и переработки официальной статистики, экспертных отчетов, авторских наблюдений и вычислений. Обоснованность полученных результатов обусловлена корректностью применения исследовательского и аналитического аппарата, апробированного в научной практике, а также благодаря сопоставлению результатов работы и данных международного опыта. Основанием для предложенных рекомендаций послужила доказательность аналитических выводов. ; Метою статті є дослідження досвіду впровадження стратегії розумної спеціалізації в країнах ЄС та визначення можливостей імплементації принципів розумної спеціалізації для пілотних регіонів України. Урезультаті проведеного дослідження встановлено, що стратегія розумної спеціалізації в ідеалі повинна бути більш інтегративною в інноваційну політику, орієнтовану на дослідження та інновації, політику згуртування європейських ланцюжків створення вартості і мережевих ініціатив, промислову політику і в майбутньому буде розширювати поточні масштаби поширення, що було визнано Європейською комісією. Отже, на наступний період програмування (2021-2027) передбачається, серед іншого, що основна частина коштів Європейського фонду регіонального розвитку та Фонду згуртованості буде йти на розвиток інновацій, підтримку малого бізнесу, цифрових технологій та промислової модернізації. Це також означатиме перехід до низьковуглецевої, кругової економіки і боротьбі зі змінами клімату. Імплементація принципів розумної спеціалізації для країн ЄС, що характеризуються відкритістю інноваційних систем, створює умови для модернізації технології та регіональної спеціалізації задля забезпечення унікальних територіальних конкурентних переваг. Особливістю впровадження концепції розумної спеціалізації для регіонів ЄС з наявністю вагомого наукового та інноваційного потенціалу, потужних кластерів та розвинутої інфраструктури є використання принципу «підприємницького пошуку», що передбачає впровадження політики розумної спеціалізації «знизу вгору». Але, слід відзначити, що використання цього принципу на практиці є проблематичним як для країн ЄС, так і для України, яка знаходиться у процесі поступової децентралізації. Достовірність результатів проведеного в роботі дослідження забезпечена застосуванням інструментів узагальнення і переробки офіційної статистики, експертних звітів, авторських спостережень і обчислень. Обгрунтованість отриманих результатів обумовлена коректністю застосування дослідницького і аналітичного апарату, апробованого в науковій практиці, а також завдяки порівнянню результатів роботи і даних міжнародного досвіду. Підставою для запропонованих рекомендацій послужила доказовість аналітичних висновків.

As a developing country with surging demand in electricity, Vietnam has implemented demand-side management in the residential electricity market, such as increasing block tariffs to balance the tension between energy security and the development of clean technology. The implementation of demand-side management requires a deep understanding of customer behaviors and household demand. The thesis aims to explore the factors impacting on Vietnamese residential electricity demand in the period of 2012–16. The exploration focuses on four main factors: prices, income, demographics (including household size and composition), and heatwaves. The data are a pool data set and a panel data set which have been constructed from the three rounds of the micro survey Vietnam Household Living Standard Survey (VHLSS) in 2012, 2014 and 2016.The thesis has two novel points in estimating household electricity demand function.First, it uses micro survey data at national level, with detailed tariff structures and private electricity billing. In the past, researches have often used national aggregate data or national micro survey data with imputed quantity or price. Researches that use micro survey data with detail tariff schedules and electricity bills are often at a regional level rather than at a national level due to the absence of national data on tariff structures. The residential electricity market in Vietnam is a monopoly with a single seller, Vietnam Electricity (EVN). Electricity tariff schedules are proposed by EVN and set by the Government and are thus uniform in national scale. This provides a chance to estimate demand function from national micro survey data, with full detail of electricity prices and billings.Second, the thesis proposes a new way to capture the impact of high temperature on electricity demand. That is, to include an additional dummy variable to represent the extreme distribution of temperature. The additional dummy variable is a complement to the concept of cooling degree days which is a popular representation of temperature in previous researches.The estimate results lead to five main conclusions. (i) Households do respond to marginal prices and demand is elastic to price. (ii) There exists an income threshold from which household electricity consumption increases as income increases. The electricity consumption of households in the income group is the reference level of electricity poverty threshold. (iii) The increasing block tariff does not cancel out economies of scale in electricity expenditure of households. (iv) There is no difference in electricity expenditure across children, adults and elders. (v) Heatwaves – a climate change related phenomenon – do have impacts on electricity demand and need to be addressed carefully in estimating electricity demand in the future. ; Pays en développement avec une demande d'électricité croissante, le Vietnam a instauré la tarification progressive de l'électricité résidentielle. La fixation du tarif de l'énergie est toujours une question délicate, entre gestion de la demande, lutte contre la pauvreté, effets sur l'inflation, besoins d'investissement pour assurer la sécurité énergétique et le développement des technologies vertes. Cette action nécessite une maîtrise très profonde du comportement des consommateurs ainsi que la demande des ménages. La thèse a pour but d'explorer les facteurs qui impactent la demande d'électricité Vietnamienne au niveau résidentielle en se basant sur : les prix, les revenus, la démographie (comprenant la taille et la composition des foyers) et les vagues de chaleur. Les données de « pool et panel » sont collectées à partir des trois micro enquêtes sur le niveau de vie des foyers vietnamiens en 2012, 2014, 2016.Cette thèse estime économétriquement la demande d'électricité des ménages. Elle innove sur deux points de méthode.Premièrement, elle utilise les données individuelles issues des enquêtes nationales, avec le détail de la structure des tarifs et des factures d'électricité des ménages répondants. Cela dépasse donc les limites de beaucoup de recherches passées qui étaient basées soit sur données nationales agrégées, soit sur données individuelles mais avec une quantité et un prix imputés, soit sur données individuelles avec le détail de la structure des tarifs et des factures d'électricité mais au niveau régional seulement. Cette innovation est possible car le marché de l'électricité au Vietnamien est monopolistique, avec un seul vendeur – Electricité de Vietnam (EVN), à qui le gouvernement commande d'utiliser une grille tarifaire homogène pour tout le pays.Deuxièmement, la thèse propose une nouvelle façon d'explorer l'impact des hautes températures sur la demande d'électricité. La méthode propose d'ajouter une variable muette qui représente l'occurrence d'une vague de chaleur. Cette variable est complémentaire de la notion « Degrés-jours de refroidissement » qui représente la température dans la plupart des études précédentes.Les conclusions principales sont que: (i) Les ménages réagissent aux prix marginaux, la demande est élastique par rapport au prix. (ii) Il existe un seuil de revenu à partir duquel la consommation d'électricité des foyers augmente quand le revenu augmente : la consommation d'électricité des foyers ayant ce revenu peut être considérée comme le niveau de besoin fondamental, un seuil de pauvreté pour l'électricité. (iii) La progressivité de la tarification ne pénalise pas les familles nombreuses : le tarif progresse moins vite que les d'économies d'échelle des dépenses d'électricité. (iv) Nous n'observons pas d'effet de la composition du foyer en termes enfants / adultes / personnes âgés sur la dépense d'électricité. (v) Les vagues de chaleur - un phénomène lié au changement climatique - impactent la demande d'électricité et devraient être mieux prises en compte dans l'estimation de la demande.

The global environmental crisis has identified the need for the emergence and development of environmental policies, both internationally and nationally. At the same time, political science studies on environmental issues in Ukraine are carried out very rarely - to a greater extent, environmental issues are of interest to jurists, economists and specialists in public administration. The purpose of this article is to identify the main categories of environmental policy, to analyze the basics and principles of its operation, to determine its subjects and mechanisms. Environmental policy can be defined as the systematic activity of the state and society in the field of rational use of nature, environmental protection and achievement of sustainable development. The basic principles to be followed in the formulation and implementation of ecopolitics are enshrined, first of all, in such international instruments as the Stockholm Declaration, the Rio Declaration and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The basic principles are: everyone has the right to live in a healthy environment; States are responsible for the state of the environment; sustainable development concepts must be followed when developing policies; an important principle of environmental policy integration; Due to the different nature and intensity of environmental impact, states have a common but differentiated responsibility. The paper deals with the tools of ecopolitics and their classification. It is noted that in the context of modern environmental policy based on the theory of ecological modernization, the economic approach to solving environmental problems is the most popular. The use of economic instruments (payments for the use of natural resources, fees for environmental pollution, compensation for environmental damage, penalties for violations of environmental legislation, green tax) allows you to create incentives for environmentally sound behavior, to form environmental funds to solve problems. Ukraine has a regulatory and regulatory approach, whereas flexible financial and economic instruments remain declarative. ; Глобальный экологический кризис определил необходимость появления и развития экологической политики, как на международном, так и национальном уровне. При этом, политологические исследования по природоохранной проблематике в Украине проводятся крайне редко. В большей степени, экологические вопросы интересуют правоведов, экономистов и специалистов в области государственного управления. Целью данной статьи определено выделение основных категорий экологической политики, анализ основ и принципов ее функционирования, определение ее субъектов и механизмов. Экологическую политику можно определить как системную деятельность государства и общества в сфере рационального природопользования, охраны окружающей среды и достижения устойчивого развития. Основные принципы, которые необходимо соблюдать при формулировании и реализации экополитики, закреплены, прежде всего, в таких международных документах, как Стокгольмская декларация, Рио-де-Жанейрская декларация и Рамочная конвенция ООН об изменении климата. Основными такими принципами являются: каждый человек имеет право на жизнь в здоровой окружающей среде; государства несут ответственность за состояние природной среды; при разработке политик необходимо следовать концепции устойчивого развития; важный принцип интеграции экологической политики; в силу разного характера и интенсивности воздействия на окружающую среду, государства несут общую, но дифференцированную ответственность. В работе рассмотрены инструменты экополитики, предоставлено их классификацию. Отмечено, что в условиях современной политики в области окружающей среды, основанной на теории экологической модернизации, экономический подход к решению экологических проблем является самым популярным. Применение экономических инструментов (платежи за пользование природными ресурсами, сборы за загрязнение окружающей среды, возмещения убытков за нарушенное окружающей среды, штрафы за нарушение экологического законодательства, зеленый налог) позволяет создавать стимулы экологически целесообразного поведения, формировать экологические фонды для решения проблем. Для Украины характерно использование нормативно-регулирующего подхода, тогда как применение гибких финансовых и экономических инструментов остается декларативным. ; Глобальна екологічна криза визначила необхідність появи і розвитку екологічної політики, як на міжнародному, так і національному рівні. При цьому, політологічні дослідження з природоохоронної проблематики в Україні проводяться вкрай рідко – в більшій мірі, екологічні питання цікавлять правознавців, економістів і фахівців в галузі державного управління. Метою даної статті є виділення основних категорій екологічної політики, аналіз основ і принципів її функціонування, визначення її суб'єктів та механізмів. Екологічну політику можна визначити як системну діяльність держави і суспільства в сфері раціонального природокористування, охорони навколишнього середовища та досягнення сталого розвитку. Основні принципи, яких необхідно дотримуватися при формулюванні і реалізації екополітики, закріплені, перш за все, в таких міжнародних документах, як Стокгольмська декларація, Ріо-де-Жанейрська декларація і Рамкова конвенція ООН про зміну клімату. Основними такими принципами є: кожна людина має право на життя в здоровому навколишньому середовищі; держави несуть відповідальність за стан природного середовища; при розробці політик необхідно слідувати концепції сталого розвитку; важливий принцип інтеграції екологічної політики; в силу різного характеру та інтенсивності впливу на навколишнє середовище, держави несуть загальну, але диференційовану відповідальність. В роботі розглянуто інструменти екополітики, надано їх класифікацію. Зазначено, що в умовах сучасної політики в сфері довкілля, яка базується на теорії екологічної модернізації, економічний підхід до вирішення екологічних проблем є найпопулярнішим. Застосування економічних інструментів (платежі за користування природними ресурсами, збори за забруднення довкілля, відшкодування збитків за порушене довкілля, штрафи за порушення екологічного законодавства, зелений податок) дозволяє створювати стимули екологічно доцільної поведінки, формувати екологічні фонди для вирішення проблем. Для України властиве використання нормативно-регулюючого підходу, тоді як застосування гнучких фінансових та економічних інструментів залишається декларативним.

Agri-Food is the largest manufacturing sector in the UK. It supports a food chain that generates over £108bn p.a., with 3.9m employees in a truly international industry and exports £20bn of UK manufactured goods. However, the global food chain is under pressure from population growth, climate change, political pressures affecting migration, population drift from rural to urban regions and the demographics of an aging global population. These challenges are recognised in the UK Industrial Strategy white paper and backed by significant investment via a Wave 2 Industrial Challenge Fund Investment ("Transforming Food Production: from Farm to Fork"). Robotics and Autonomous Systems (RAS) and associated digital technologies are now seen as enablers of this critical food chain transformation. To meet these challenges, this white paper reviews the state of the art in the application of RAS in Agri-Food production and explores research and innovation needs to ensure these technologies reach their full potential and deliver the necessary impacts in the Agri-Food sector. The opportunities for RAS range include; the development of field robots that can assist workers by carrying payloads and conduct agricultural operations such as crop and animal sensing, weeding and drilling; integration of autonomous systems technologies into existing farm operational equipment such as tractors; robotic systems to harvest crops and conduct complex dextrous operations; the use of collaborative and "human in the loop" robotic applications to augment worker productivity; advanced robotic applications, including the use of soft robotics, to drive productivity beyond the farm gate into the factory and retail environment; and increasing the levels of automation and reducing the reliance on human labour and skill sets, for example, in farming management, planning and decision making. RAS technology has the potential to transform food production and the UK has an opportunity to establish global leadership within the domain. However, there are particular barriers to overcome to secure this vision: 1. The UK RAS community with an interest in Agri-Food is small and highly dispersed. There is an urgent need to defragment and then expand the community. 2. The UK RAS community has no specific training paths or Centres for Doctoral Training to provide trained human resource capacity within Agri-Food. 3. While there has been substantial government investment in translational activities at high Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs), there is insufficient ongoing basic research in Agri-Food RAS at low TRLs to underpin onward innovation delivery for industry. 4. There is a concern that RAS for Agri-Food is not realising its full potential, as the projects being commissioned currently are too few and too small-scale. RAS challenges often involve the complex integration of multiple discrete technologies (e.g. navigation, safe operation, grasping and manipulation, perception). There is a need to further develop these discrete technologies but also to deliver large-scale industrial applications that resolve integration and interoperability issues. The UK community needs to undertake a few well-chosen large-scale and collaborative "moon shot" projects. 5. The successful delivery of RAS projects within Agri-Food requires close collaboration between the RAS community and with academic and industry practitioners. For example, the breeding of crops with novel phenotypes, such as fruits which are easy to see and pick by robots, may simplify and accelerate the application of RAS technologies. Therefore, there is an urgent need to seek new ways to create RAS and Agri-Food domain networks that can work collaboratively to address key challenges. This is especially important for Agri-Food since success in the sector requires highly complex cross-disciplinary activity. Furthermore, within UKRI many of the Research Councils and Innovate UK directly fund different aspects of Agri-Food, but as yet there is no coordinated and integrated Agri-Food research policy per se. Our vision is a new generation of smart, flexible, robust, compliant, interconnected robotic and autonomous systems working seamlessly alongside their human co-workers in farms and food factories. Teams of multi-modal, interoperable robotic systems will self-organise and coordinate their activities with the "human in the loop". Electric farm and factory robots with interchangeable tools, including low-tillage solutions, soft robotic grasping technologies and sensors, will support the sustainable intensification of agriculture, drive manufacturing productivity and underpin future food security. To deliver this vision the research and innovation needs include the development of robust robotic platforms, suited to agricultural environments, and improved capabilities for sensing and perception, planning and coordination, manipulation and grasping, learning and adaptation, interoperability between robots and existing machinery, and human-robot collaboration, including the key issues of safety and user acceptance. Technology adoption is likely to occur in measured steps. Most farmers and food producers will need technologies that can be introduced gradually, alongside and within their existing production systems. Thus, for the foreseeable future, humans and robots will frequently operate collaboratively to perform tasks, and that collaboration must be safe. There will be a transition period in which humans and robots work together as first simple and then more complex parts of work are conducted by robots, driving productivity and enabling human jobs to move up the value chain.

I de senere år er klimaforandringer blevet mere nærværende på den internationale dagsorden, og viljen til at reducere drivhusgasemissionerne er steget. EU har adresseret drivhusgasemissionerne med landemål for CO2- reduktionskrav, produktionsmål for vedvarende energi og energibesparelser. Danmark er langt i udviklingen af vedvarende energi, primært gennem den ufleksible vindkraftproduktion. Biogas er vedvarende, kan potentielt fungere som reguleringskraft, og baseret på gylle kan biogas potentielt have en reducerende effekt på drivhusgasemissionerne. Biogas er produceret og udviklet i Danmark siden 1970'erne. Udviklingen har dog været langsom indtil 2012, hvor reguleringen blev ændret, hvormed rentabiliteten blev øget for biogasproducenterne. Fokus for denne afhandling har været at evaluere de privatøkonomiske konsekvenser for biogasværdikæden i henhold til denne nye regulering. Gennem denne afhandling undersøges privatøkonomiske udfordringer vedrørende værdikæder, som er afhængige af økonomisk støtte. Spilteoretiske implikationer analyseres, når støtte i en del af værdikæden er betinget af handlinger i andre dele af kæden. Det undersøges også, hvordan lovgivningsmæssige begrænsninger, såsom monopolregulering, kan påvirke valg i andre dele af værdikæden. Det er påvist, at regulering påvirker værdikædens udformning på flere områder: vedrørende inputtyper, produktudbyttet og de endelige anvendelser af produktet. Det overordnede forskningsspørgsmål for denne afhandling handler om den privatøkonomiske rentabilitet af biogasværdikæden med fokus på regulering, risiko og ejerskabsstrukturer. Spørgsmålene behandles i fire artikler baseret på en kombination af mikroøkonomi og politikanalyse. En socioøkonomisk analyse af værdien af biogas i energisystemet udføres gennem energisystemmodellering i en femte artikel. De fleste nye biogasanlæg og flere gamle anlæg har valgt at opgradere biogas, selvom modelresultater indikerer, at direkte anvendelse i et kraftvarmeanlæg kan være mindst lige så rentabelt som at opgradere. Kooperativ spilteori anvendes sammen med privat økonomisk modellering og politisk analyse for at forklare denne udvikling. Både kvantitative og kvalitative analyser anvendes på baggrund af mikroøkonomisk teori for at forklare de privatøkonomiske incitamenter bag investorernes valg vedrørende input, skala og output samt udpege de vigtigste risikofaktorer, som biogasværdikæden står overfor. Denne afhandling har bidraget med resultater vedrørende samspillet mellem offentlig regulering, private incitamenter og rentabilitet af værdikæden. Specifikke bidrag er forslag til politisk design og analyser af samspillet mellem fleksibel regulering med hensyn til biogas input og risiko for producenterne. Desuden analyseres den potentielle værdi af biogas i energisystemet i sammenligning med CO2-udledningsskadesomkostninger. Et yderligere bidrag er anvendelsen af kooperativ spilteori i forhold til værdikæden, der illustrerer, hvordan valg vedrørende værdikæde design og deltagelse kan forklares af forhandlingsstyrke og mulig fortjeneste. ; Recently, climate change issues have gained more importance on the international agenda, increasing the willingness to decrease GreenHouse Gas (GHG)-emissions. The European Union (EU) targets GHG-emissions with country goals for CO2-emissions, Renewable Energy production, and Energy savings. Denmark is far ahead with development of renewable energy production primarily through wind power, which is an inflexible type of power production. Biogas is a renewable fuel that could function as regulating power, and when based on manure, it potentially has a reducing effect on GHGemissions. Biogas has been produced and developed in Denmark since the 1970's; however, the development has been rather slow until 2012, when regulation was changed, thereby increasing profitability for biogas producers. The focus for this dissertation has been to evaluate the private economic consequences for the biogas value chain under this new regulation. This dissertation will examine the private economic challenges regarding value chains, the feasibility depends on economic support. The game theoretic implications are analysed, when support in one part of the value chain is contingent on actions in other parts of the chain. It is also examined how regulatory restrictions such as monopoly regulation can affect choices made in other parts of the value chain. It is shown that regulation affects the value chain decision in several ways regarding input types, the level of output, and final applications of the output. The overall research question for this thesis concerns the private economic profitability in the biogas value chain with focus on regulation, risk and ownership structures. The questions are treated in four journal papers based on a combination of microeconomics and policy analyses. A socio-economic analysis regarding the value of biogas in the energy system is performed through energy systems modelling in a fifth journal paper. Most new biogas plants and several old plants chose to upgrade biogas, even though model results imply that direct use in a Combined Heat- and Power plant (CHP) might be at least as profitable as upgrading. Cooperative game theory is applied together with private economic modelling and policy analyses in order to explain this development. Both quantitative and qualitative analyses are applied, based on microeconomic theory, to extract the main risk factors facing the biogas value chain and to explain the private economic incentives behind the choices made by investors regarding inputs, scale and output. This dissertation has contributed several results regarding the interaction between public regulation, private incentives, and profitability of the value chain. Specific contributions are analyses considering the interaction of flexible regulation with regard to biogas inputs, and risk for producers with suggestions for policy design. In addition, the potential value of biogas in the energy system is analysed in comparison to CO2-damage cost. A contribution is furthermore, the application of cooperative game theory on the value chain, illustrating how choices made regarding value chain design and participation can be explained by strategic behaviour and possible profit allocation.

El impacto medioambiental generado por la actividad humana es un problema creciente. También es cierto que la humanidad está cada día más concienciada en el cuidado del medio ambiente, pero aún queda mucho por hacer. A pesar de la preocupación y de los protocolos y proyectos creados para reducir este impacto, todavía estamos lejos de conseguir evitarlo. Uno de los impactos más negativos es la generación de residuos. Uno de estos residuos es la cáscara de arroz, generada en la producción de este cereal. Este residuo es muy abundante sobre todo en los países asiáticos, grandes productores y consumidores de arroz. En la Unión Europea, España es el segundo país productor de arroz y por tanto también uno de los países que generan más cantidad de residuo. Este residuo tiene muchas aplicaciones, pero fundamentalmente se emplea como cama de animales y como combustible, originando otro residuo resultante de la combustión que es la ceniza, que a su vez se emplea en la fabricación de cementos y hormigones. En base a lo anterior, se demuestra la viabilidad de la cáscara de arroz para ser empleada en la fabricación de materiales de construcción reduciendo el aporte de materia prima y por tanto del impacto medioambiental. Siguiendo en esta línea se plantea el objetivo fundamental de esta Tesis Doctoral, el estudio del comportamiento de un nuevo material de escayola aditivada con los residuos de arroz para valorizar este residuo y estudiar la viabilidad de un nuevo material de construcción "escayola-residuos cáscara de arroz", que reduciría el empleo de escayola, contribuyendo a la reducción del impacto medioambiental. Para ello, se realizará un plan experimental analizando el compuesto de escayola con distintos porcentajes de residuo de cáscara de arroz, en tres formatos diferentes (Cáscara entera, cáscara triturada y ceniza de cáscara) y se realizarán ensayos físico y mecánicos para analizar por comparación su comportamiento con el material de referencia. Se realizan también compuestos de yeso/escayola con incorporación de las cargas ligeras más utilizadas en la construcción de edificios como: Poliestireno expandido, arcilla expandida, corcho y perlita, para analizar los comportamientos según la carga adicionada y comparar los resultados con la escayola de referencia y con los compuestos realizados de escayola y residuos de arroz. Los resultados finales muestran compuestos que presentan una densidad similar a la referencia pero que obtienen mejores resultados en resistencias mecánicas, adherencia superficial y evitan la rotura frágil. Además estos compuestos tienen un coeficiente de conductividad térmica inferior a la referencia, por lo que se podrían aplicar en prefabricados y revestimientos horizontales y verticales en interiores. ; The environmental impact generated by the human activity is a growing problem and needs to be tackled urgently. Currently, the humanity is increasingly aware of the environment, but much still remains to be done to protect our environment. Despite the concern and the protocols and the projects created to avoid climate change, we are still a long way from achieving great accomplishments. Currently, large amounts of waste are generated worldwide, and in particular the rice husk, i.e. waste generated during the production of this cereal. This waste is very abundant mainly in Asian countries, which are great producers and consumers of rice. In the European Union, Spain is the second country to produce rice and therefore also a country that generates big quantities of this waste (215,000 tonnes of rice husk). Knowadays, this waste is used for the manufacture of animals' beds or as fuel, generating another waste resulting from the combustión, i.e rice ash, which is used in cements and concretes. Based on the above, the rice husk can be used in the manufacture of alternative building materials to those currently commercialized. Therefore, the aim of this PhD Thesis is to analyze the behavior of a new gypsum material with the waste generated in the industry of rice production. For this, rice waste was added to the gypsum, in different percentages, in order to analyze the viability of a new construction material "gypsum-rice husk". This new material will definitely reduce the use of raw material, by replacing it with the waste, contributing to the reduction of the environmental impact. To do this, an experimental plan was carried out analyzing several gypsum compounds with different percentages of rice husk waste. Samples were then tested and the results obtained were compared with the reference simple (gypsum without any additions). Moreover, other gypsum compounds were also made incorporating the most frecuently used lightweight loads in construction materials, such as: expanded polystyrene, expanded clay, cork and perlite. Results were then analyzed according to the % of added load and compared with the reference samples and with the samples containing rice waste. The final results show that gypsum compounds with rice waste, increase the the mechanical strength, improves surface adhesion and prevents fragile breakage, keeping similar densities to the gypsum reference. Results from the thermal conductivity test suggests the use of these compounds as thermal insulation. Therefore, it is feasible to use the gypsum composite analyzed as a material for prefabricated constructions, prefabricated elements that require greater mechanical resistance and horizontal and vertical interior coatings.

Includes bibliographical references. ; The combined effect of a number of factors has forced the Government of South Africa to launch and seek to expand the renewable energy sector through the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REI4P). Such elements include environmental issues, especially climate change; the need to diversify energy sources in order for the country to be energy secure; and the developmental potential that investment in a new industry, in this instance the renewable energy industry, can bring in terms of job creation, economic growth and the exploitation of abundant natural resources. In addition to the REI4P, the Government has also been compelled to seek to expand energy supply in the country, in general, due to the energy crisis, which in turn, is closely associated with a population that is growing at a pace that is much faster than the rate at which energy can be readily supplied. Community Equity Ownership (CEO) or local community ownership is a unique feature of the REI4P that has recently come under close scrutiny due to its requirement for project companies to offer a minimum of 2.5% to 5% shares of their companies to local communities residing within a 50km radius of their renewable energy plants, in an effort to contribute toward their socio-economic development; the challenges presented by community trusts; and the subsequent resistance towards the notion of local community ownership by REI4P project companies. It is the subject of this research because it is still a critical and integral component of the REI4P and challenges associated with its financing have, in the past, jeopardised the accomplishment of the very goals for which it was constituted. The value of Social License to Operate (SLO) is that it can lay the foundation for positive relations to prevail between communities and Independent Power Producers (IPPs) in the pursuit of a viable renewable energy industry and increased energy supply in South Africa. To this end, the study demonstrates that whilst CEO is obligated in the REI4P, it also constitutes SLO because if communities own shares in REI4P projects, they are more likely to cooperate with them. Thus, the CEO, Socio-Economic Development (SED) and Enterprise Development (ED) requirements of the REI4P essentially constitute the SLO 'building blocks' for the Programme. Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) have been at the forefront of funding local community ownership, although other financial institutions, including commercial banks xiv have started financing it as well, while requiring guarantees and security from communities, which can offer neither. The continued implementation of the REI4P, as well as the launch of the Baseload IPP Programme and the Medium Term Risk Mitigation Project, will ultimately increase the total number of IPP Programmes in the country and will likely intensify the demand for finances to fund CEO. In view of this, where will the funding for this key aspect of the current and proposed IPP Programmes come from? This study sought to identify alternative funding options for CEO in order to ensure its continuity in both the REI4P and the proposed IPP Programmes. An exploratory research design was pursued for the study in view of data limitations arising from the infancy of the renewable energy sector in South Africa. Moreover, a questionnaire survey was undertaken and a purposive sampling technique was used to interrogate a select group of financial institutions and REI4P Independent Power Producers (IPPs), with a view to determine what their experiences have been in relation to funding CEO, as well as to identify alternative funding options for it, going forward. In this regard, a sample size of 15 was taken out of a combined total of 72 financial institutions and IPPs. Thematic content analysis was subsequently performed to process the data. The main risk associated with financing CEO that was identified by stakeholders has to do with a lack of security in lending to disadvantaged communities because they often have no collateral and can offer no guarantees that demonstrate their capacity to repay debts. Furthermore, the establishment of a Grant Scheme for funding CEO, on the one hand, and a Guarantee and Incentive Programme, on the other, wherein Government stands in as guarantor for communities as they borrow funds to facilitate CEO; were found to be potentially instrumental in widening the pool of funding for CEO. Increased vendor support and more 'preferential' loan terms and 'softer' loans from DFIs were also identified as critical in the endeavour to increase the funding sources for CEO. Although the use of the Government Pension Fund to warehouse shares on behalf of communities and utilising communal land as equity both hold some promise; they require further research. It is, therefore, concluded that there is potential for alternative funding options for community equity ownership in the REI4P. The study also found that, based on the experiences of survey respondents, there are inadequate sources of finance for CEO, in light of the increasing pressure on available financial opportunities. To this end, the delineation between the xv potential for funding local community shareholding in REI4P projects and actual access to funding is fundamental.

Nearly a quarter of the global disease burden and premature mortality is expected to be caused by environmental exposures, and the environmental health burden in children is even larger. Among the most hazardous environmental risk factors are tobacco smoke and ambient air pollution. Also temperature extremes have been linked to different adverse health outcomes, which is a concern because of the expected increase in extreme weather events due to climate change. It is well accepted that prenatal and postnatal exposure to second-hand tobacco smoke has detrimental effects on fetal and child health. However, evidence that smoke-free legislations are associated with health benefits early in life was limited before 2013. Also early life health effects of ambient temperature and air pollution are a relatively novel research domain. The number of studies investigating the association between temperature and preterm birth is limited, and results are inconclusive. Concerning fetal growth, evidence for adverse effects of air pollution is cumulating, but results are inconsistent with respect to the exposure window. Finally, although animals may serve as useful sentinels for the effects of environmental exposures on human health, epidemiological findings for human have seldom been replicated in animal populations. In this dissertation, we used population-level registry data to investigate health effects of different environmental exposures and to evaluate the health impact of preventive public health measures, including health outcomes in newborns and in the older segment of the population. The specific objectives of this dissertation were: 1. The assessment of potential public health benefits of smoking policies, focusing on health outcomes in early and in later life. For this purpose, we studied the impact of the stepwise implementation of smoke-free legislation in Belgium on the risk of preterm birth and on the risk of mortality due to acute myocardial infarction. 2. The investigation of the association between environmental exposures and adverse birth outcomes. First, we examined the risk of preterm birth in relation to ambient temperature by investigating potential heat and cold effects. Second, we studied fetal growth in relation to maternal exposure to PM10. For the latter, we focused on birth weight and small-for-gestational-age and we assessed potential effect modification by pregnancy duration and potential non-linearity in the exposure-response shape. 3. The exploration of the use of dairy cattle populations as comparative models of human health risks. For this purpose, we investigated the association between dairy cow mortality and ambient O3, PM10, NO2 and temperature, accounting for harvesting and delayed effects. ; Men schat dat bijna een kwart van de globale ziektelast en vroegtijdige sterfte veroorzaakt wordt door blootstelling aan omgevingsfactoren, en de impact van het milieu op de gezondheid van kinderen is zelfs nog groter. Tabaksrook en luchtverontreiniging behoren tot de meest schadelijke omgevingsblootstellingen. Ook blootstelling aan zeer lage of hoge buitentemperaturen kan leiden tot verscheidene nadelige gezondheidseffecten, wat een probleem vormt in de context van de verwachte toename in extreme weersomstandigheden door de klimaatsverandering. Het is algemeen aanvaard dat prenatale en postnatale blootstelling aan tabaksrook schadelijk zijn voor de gezondheid van de foetus en het kind. Toch was er vóór 2013 nog bijna geen wetenschappelijk bewijs dat rookvrije wetgevingen al vroeg in het leven gezondheidswinst opleveren. Ook het onderzoek naar perinatale gezondheidseffecten van omgevingstemperatuur en luchtverontreiniging is relatief nieuw. Slechts een beperkt aantal studies onderzocht het verband tussen temperatuur en vroeggeboortes, en de resultaten zijn niet eenduidig. Hoewel er groeiend wetenschappelijk bewijs is dat blootstelling aan luchtverontreiniging schadelijk is voor de groei van de foetus, zijn de resultaten van studies inconsistent wat betreft de periode van de zwangerschap waarin de foetus het meest gevoelig is aan zulke blootstelling. Hoewel dieren kunnen gebruikt worden als rolmodellen voor de effecten van milieufactoren op de gezondheid van de mens, werden epidemiologische bevindingen bij de mens slechts zelden bevestigd in dierenpopulaties. In dit proefschrift gebruikten we registergegevens op populatieniveau om de gezondheidseffecten van verscheidende milieufactoren te onderzoeken en om de impact van preventieve volksgezondheidmaatregelen te evalueren. Hiervoor keken we naar gezondheidsuitkomsten in pasgeborenen en in een ouder deel van de populatie. De specifieke doelstellingen van dit proefschrift waren: 1. Een inschatting maken van mogelijke gezondheidsvoordelen ten gevolge van rookwetgevingen, gericht op aandoeningen zowel vroeg als later in het leven. Hiervoor onderzochten we de impact van de stapsgewijze invoering van het rookverbod in België op het risico op vroeggeboorte en op het risico op sterfte door een hartaanval. 2. Het onderzoeken van het verband tussen omgevingsblootstellingen en negatieve zwangerschapsuitkomsten. Om te beginnen bestudeerden we de effecten van lage en hoge buitentemperaturen op het risico op vroeggeboorte. Daarnaast gingen we na of er een verband is tussen foetale groei en blootstelling van de moeder aan luchtverontreiniging. Hiervoor keken we naar geboortegewicht en naar het risico om te licht te zijn rekening houdend met de zwangerschapsduur ("small-for-gestational-age"). We keken ook naar mogelijke effect modificatie door zwangerschapsduur en mogelijke nietlineariteit in het verband tussen blootstelling en uitkomst. 3. De exploratie van het gebruik van melkkoeien als vergelijkende modellen voor menselijke gezondheidsrisico's. Hiervoor onderzochten we de associatie tussen sterfte bij melkkoeien en concentraties van ozon (O3), fijn stof (PM10) en stikstofdioxide (NO2) in de buitenlucht. Daarnaast keken we ook naar de effecten van extreme buitentemperaturen. In de analyses hielden we rekening met mogelijke "harvesting" en vertraagde blootstellingseffecten.

Four years after appearing the first book edition of the glossariumBITri (gB), it faces now a new phase of development, in which this new book version represents a milestone. The first development phase, 2008-2010, was clearly marked by an intensive cooperative work to stand up the clarification enterprise in which the gB is embarked on. Right after such phase, the gB was nurtured through valuable inputs covering essential aspects as semiotics, computation, complexity, etc., by distinguished researchers who have certainly enriched not only this book but the working team who is now before a more ambitious horizon. Besides some improvements in previous articles, the most important additions to the previous edition, incorporated herewith, corresponds to the articles developed in the areas of algorithmic theory, complexity theory, General Theory of Information and Cybersemiotics that we heartily thank to the cherished contributions of Mark Burgin and Søren Brier. Nevertheless, the flesh of the glossariumBITri has been enriched as well through entries, which do not show up in this book since they are still under review or discussion, but they surely will in the next edition. They are, of course, available in the interactive-gB. For this dressing up the naked bones of the gB, we warmly thank the contributions provided by Balu Athreya, Igor Gurevich, Basil Al-Hadithi, Agustín Jiménez, Alexis Rocha, Daniel Gómez, Carlos Sarmiento. The incorporation of some of the topics which are now available, either in this book or in the interactive-gB was simply a must (as algorithmic information), others represent an initiation into fields we have to deepen (as information in biological sciences). But nonetheless, if we take into account all the concepts we have not weaved yet into the network of clarified concepts, metaphors, theories and problems, then we can clearly state that we are at the very beginning. By simply looking into the interactive-gB's list of open voices, which are still empty, or into the number of voice proposals we have not open yet, it is easy to conclude we are before a large and of course open enterprise. One could argue the situation is not as different as before; then why are we saying we are now facing a different horizon? This is entangled with the current rearrangement of BITrum's activities. On the one hand, we have more coherently organised the different endeavours we have been pushing along the years in order to bring about a more effective cooperation among BITrum's members and other stakeholders; on the other hand, gB has been structured in three branches: a) interactive-gB, b) gB-journal, and c) book editions. Through a rationalisation of efforts, this new gB landscape obviously offers a multiplied effect regarding impact, dissemination and educational applications. To cope with the new challenges gB team has been enlarged and put besides other three BITrum's operating units: (i) domusBITae devoted to the deployment of telematic tools for the facilitation of the distributed and interdisciplinary community of researchers and educators cooperating in the development of information studies. (ii) PRIMER, oriented to the promotion, development and underpinning of interdisciplinary studies; and (iii) a Research Unit, integrated by the teams working on specific scientific projects. Through this reorganisation, gB offers a more coherent platform for the clarification and theoretical enterprise BITrum has been aiming at since its beginnings, linking its development to BITrum's information environment (dB), educational activities (PRIMER) and research projects. Such interplay – albeit the autonomy of the respective operations – represents a nurturing flow that will provide a new life to the clarification goals of the gB in connection to real problems and the education of scientist to tackle them. The activities deployed since 2014 under support of Ecuadorian institutions, in both research and education, constitute a powerful balloon to lift up our scientific enterprise. This book in it self represents a sign of it. It is a result of the cooperation agreement signed in 2014 between the University of the Peninsula of Santa Elena (UPSE) and BITrum, which targets at several collaborative activities concerning: the development and co-management – together with the University of León – of the glossariumBITri open journal; the development of educational programs; the cooperation in interdisciplinary research projects. Furthermore, the Ecuadorian National Secretary of Higher Education, Science, Technology and Innovation (SENESCYT) is supporting in the field of interdisciplinary information studies – through the Prometeo Programme–: the development of theoretical work and practical applications, the training of researchers, the development of scientific networks, etc. On one side, BITrum warmly thanks this support to the interdisciplinary study of information provided by the UPSE and SENESCYT; on the other side, we offer our deep commitment to contribute to the great scientific and educational effort Ecuador is doing since the constitution of 2008. We are convinced that the transdisciplinary capabilities of the information studies offers a toehold for the intense integration of knowledge we nowadays need for coping with the complex challenges our societies that are facing regarding the coverage of basic needs, environment, peace, inequality, urban management, climate change, democratic issues, waste reduction… We can use the language of information to refer to the physical, biological, societal, technological reality, to address theoretical and practical issues. Then we have a fantastical tool for weaving the scientific enterprise in a more integrated fashion.

Increasing awareness of the issues of climate change and sustainable energy use has led to growing levels of interest in small-scale, decentralised power generation. Small-scale wind power has seen significant growth in the last ten years, partly due to the political support for renewable energy and the introduction of Feed In Tariffs, which pay home owners for generating their own electricity. Due to their ability to respond quickly to changing wind conditions, small-scale vertical axis wind turbines (VAWTs) have been proposed as an efficient solution for deployment in built up areas, where the wind is more gusty in nature. If VAWTs are erected in built up areas they will be inherently close to people; consequently, public acceptance of the turbines is essential. One common obstacle to the installation of wind turbines is noise annoyance, so it is important to make the VAWT rotors as quiet as possible. To date, very little work has been undertaken to investigate the sources of noise on VAWTs. The primary aim of this study was therefore to gather experimental data of the noise from various VAWT rotor configurations, for a range of operating conditions. Experimental measurements were carried out using the phased acoustic array in the closed section Markham wind tunnel at Cambridge University Engineering Department. Beamforming was used in conjunction with analysis of the measured sound spectra in order to locate and identify the noise sources on the VAWT rotors. Initial comparisons of the spectra from the model rotor and a full-scale rotor showed good qualitative agreement, suggesting that the conclusions from the experiments would be transferable to real VAWT rotors. One clear feature observed in both sets of spectra was a broadband peak around 1-2kHz, which spectral scaling methods demonstrated was due to laminar boundary layer tonal noise. Application of boundary layer trips to the inner surfaces of the blades on the model rotor was found to eliminate this noise source, and reduced the amplitude of the spectra by up to 10dB in the region of the broadband peak. This method could easily be applied to a full-scale rotor and should result in measurable noise reductions. At low tip speed ratios (TSR) the blades on a VAWT experience dynamic stall and it was found that this led to significant noise radiation from the upstream half of the rotor. As the TSR was increased the dominant source was seen to move to the downstream half of the rotor; this noise was thought to be due to the interaction of the blades in the downstream half of the rotor with the wake from the blades in the upstream half. It was suggested that blade wake interaction is the dominant noise source in the typical range of peak performance for the full-scale QR5 rotor. Different solidity rotors were investigated by using 2-, 3- and 4-bladed rotors and it was found that increasing the solidity had a similar effect to increasing the TSR. This is due to the fact that the induction factor, which governs the deflection of the flow through the rotor, is a function of both the rotor solidity and the TSR. With a large body of experimental data for validation, it was possible to investigate computational noise prediction methods. A harmonic model was developed that aimed to predict the sound radiated by periodic fluctuations in the blade loads. This model was shown to agree with similar models derived by other authors, but to make accurate predictions very high resolution input data was required. Since such high resolution blade loading data is unlikely to be available, and due to the dominance of stochastic sources, the harmonic model was not an especially useful predictive tool. However, it was used to investigate the importance of the near-field components of the sound radiated by the wind tunnel model to the acoustic array. It was shown that the near-field terms were significant over a wide range of frequencies, and the total spectrum was always greater than that of the far-field component. This implied that the noise levels measured by the acoustic array represented an upper bound on the sound radiated to the far-field, and hence that the latter would also be dominated by stochastic components. An alternative application of the harmonic model, which attempted to determine the blade loading harmonics from the harmonics in the sound field was proposed. This inversion method utilised a novel convex optimisation technique that was found to generate good solutions in the simulated test cases, even in the presence of significant random noise. The method was found to be insensitive at low frequencies, which made it ineffective for inverting the real microphone data, although this was shown to be at least partly due to the limitations imposed by the array size. In addition to the harmonic models, an empirical noise prediction method using the spectral scaling laws derived by \citet*{Brooks_1989} was trialled, and was found to be capable of making predictions that were in agreement with the measured data. The model was shown to be sensitive to the exact choice of turbulence parameters used and was also found to require good quality aerodynamic data to make accurate noise predictions. If such data were available however, it is expected that this empirical model would be able to make useful predictions of the noise radiated by a VAWT rotor. ; This work was supported by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and Quiet Revolution Ltd.

The livelihoods of rural population in Uzbekistan, Central Asia, highly depend on irrigated agriculture. However, agricultural production is threatened by the impacts of land degradation, irrigation water scarcity and climate change. The conversion of marginal croplands to tree plantations could represent an option to tackle such problems, while also improving population welfare. Yet, this land use is currently not practiced, owing to lack of farmers' knowledge on revenues and impacts on livelihoods. In addition, state policies prohibit the conversion of croplands into tree plantations. Therefore, the main objective of this study is to investigate economically viable options of afforestation of degraded irrigated croplands using an example of the Khorezm region and three southern districts of the Autonomous Republic of Karakalpakstan, Uzbekistan. This includes analyzing the impacts on the rural livelihoods by Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) afforestation with its carbon sequestration reward of temporary Certified Emission Reduction (tCER). Using an example of irrigated areas in Uzbekistan, this study contributes to the general knowledge of sustainable rural development via converting marginal lands from crop cultivation to tree plantations. This research employed various methodologies at different scales to evaluate the economic conditions of introducing short-rotation tree plantations along with the CDM requirements. At the field level analysis (1 ha), the net present value and stochastic dominance analyses were employed to investigate the financial attractiveness of afforestation on marginal croplands and to derive tCER payments that would initiate CDM afforestation. At the farm level, the expected utility method was employed to determine the tCER price that would facilitate CDM afforestation on marginal croplands, and to analyze respective effects on land use and farm incomes. At the system level, that comprises commercial farms and rural households, the farm-household stochastic dynamic nonlinear programming model was developed to analyze the effects on rural livelihoods from converting marginal farmlands to tree plantations The results of the study indicate that due to benefits from non-timber products the short-term afforestation can be a more viable land use option on marginal croplands than the cultivation of major crops. At the same time, using the field level analysis while considering variabilites in land use revenues would necessitate an extreme increase in tCER prices, from the current tCER price of 4.76 USD (as of 2009). In contrast, when considering uncertainties in land use returns at the whole farm level, the current tCER price would be sufficient to initiate CDM afforestation. This is because tree plantations would economically improve a commercial farmer's cropping pattern, while mitigating the impacts of revenue risks via a land use diversification option. Afforestation of marginal croplands at a commercial farm would affect the structure of employment and agricultural contracts between commercial farm and rural households, and thus have positive spillover effects on the rural population and increase of rural households' income by 27,400 USD in comparison to crop cultivation on marginal lands. The spillover effects would come from the reduced labor demand at commercial farm between the periods of tree plantation establishment and harvest, while the subsequent increase in farm employment would occur during the establishment and harvest of trees. The inclusion of fuelwood and tree foliage into the payment schemes would replace fossil fuels and fodder products and reduce rural households' expenditure for domestic energy (36%) and fodder products (15%). ; Bäume, Getreide und ländlichen Existenzgrundlage: Aufforstung auf unproduktiven landwirtschaftlichen Flächen in Usbekistan Bewässerungslandwirtschaft stellt die Existenzgrundlage der ländlichen Bevölkerung in Usbekistan (Zentralasien) dar. Die landwirtschaftliche Produktion wird jedoch durch Bodendegradation, Wasserknappheit und die Folgen des Klimawandels bedroht. Die Umnutzung nicht produktiver Landwirtschaftsflächen zu Baumplantagen stellt eine Möglichkeit dar solchen Problemen zu begegnen und gleichzeitig die Gesamtwohlfahrt zu steigern. Da Erträge und Rückkopplungen dieser alternativen Nutzungsstrategien noch unklar sind, wird diese Landnutzung jedoch noch nicht praktiziert. Politische Richtlinien verbieten die Umnutzung von landwirtschaftlicher Produktionsfläche zu Baumplantagen ohnehin. Entsprechend sind die Ziele der vorliegenden Arbeit ökonomisch durchführbare Aufforstungsvarianten an Beispielen in der Region Khorezm sowie den drei südlichen Distrikten der autonomen Republik Karakalpakstan zu untersuchen. Dies beinhaltet die Analyse der Auswirkungen des Mechanismus für umweltverträgliche Entwicklung (Clean Development Mechanism–CDM) samt der temporären Emissionsreduktionseinheiten (temporary Certified Emission Reduction–tCER) auf die Existenzgrundlage der ländlichen Bevölkerung. Anhand des Beispiels der Bewässerungslandwirtschaft in Usbekistan trägt diese Studie zum generellen Verständnis nachhaltiger ländlicher Entwicklung durch Umnutzung nicht produktiver landwirtschaftlicher Flächen zu Baumplantagen bei. Auf verschiedenen Skalen wurden verschiedene Methoden angewandt um die ökonomischen Rahmenbedingungen der Einführung von Kurzumtriebsplantagen unter Berücksichtigung der CDM Anforderungen zu analysieren. Auf Feldskala wurden die Kapitalwertmethode sowie die stochastische Dominanzanalyse angewandt um zu bestimmen, wie attraktiv besagte Aufforstungensstrategien aus finanzieller Sicht sind und um tCER Zahlungen abzuleiten, die Aufforstungen unter CDM anstoßen könnten. Auf Betriebsebene wurde die Erwartungsnutzen Methode andewandt um die tCER Preise zu bestimmen, die CDM Aufforstung ermöglichen würden sowie um die entsprechenden Effekte auf Landnutzung und Einkommen der Landwirte und Haushalte zu analysieren. Auf Systemebene, die landwirtschaftliche Großbetriebe sowie ländliche Haushalte beinhaltet, wurde das Stochastische Dynamische Betriebs-Haushalts Programmierungsmodell entwickelt um die Effekte der Aufforstung auf die ländlichen Existenzgrundlage zu analysieren.Die Ergebnisse der vorliegenden Studie lassen darauf schließen, dass kurzfristige Aufforstungsmaßnahmen durch Gewinne aus Nichtholzprodukten für den Landwirt mehr Einkommen generieren als der Anbau der gängigen Feldfrüchte. Gleichzeitig zeigt die Analyse auf Feldskala unter Berücksichtigung von Ertragsvariabilitäten, dass eine Erhöhung der tCER Preise vom momentanen Stand (4.76 USD im Jahr 2009) nötig wäre. Gegenläufig verhalten sich die Ergebnisse auf Betriebsebene; hier wären die angenommenen tCER Preise ausreichend um CDM Aufforstung zu initialisieren. Grund hierfür ist die Tatsache, dass Baumpflanzungen die Fruchtfolge von Großbetrieben ökonomisch verbessern würden und gleichzeitig das Umsatzrisiko durch die Möglichkeit zur Diversifikation herabsetzen. Aufforstung von unproduktiven Landwrtschaftsflächen auf Ebene der Großbetriebe hätte Auswirkungen auf die Beschäftigungsstrukturen und die Vertragsverhältnisse zwischen Großbetrieben und der ländlichen Bevölkerung. Externe Effekte würden hier das Einkommen der ländlichen Haushalte im Vergleich zum Anbau klassischer Feldfrüchte um 27,400 USD erhöhen. Diese externen Effekte beruhen auf dem niedrigeren Bedarf an Arbeitskräften in Großbetrieben zwischen Pflanzung der Bäume und Rodung. Die Einführung von Brennholz und Blattwerk in die Vergütungsstruktur würde fossile Brennstoffe und Futterkäufe ersetzen und dadurch die Ausgaben der Haushalte für Energie (36%) und Futterzukäufe (15%) verringern.

This dissertation concerns the question of how economics can contribute to the analysis of trade-offs between values (or normative objectives). The analysis is illustrated for the case of policies that pursue the goal of sustainability. Methodologically, this is done by reflecting economic concepts in light of philosophical theories and using generic models to analyze trade-offs between particular values. In sum, the work shows how economics can help in analyzing the factual relationships between values by clarifying the set of feasible acts and outcomes. The first paper of this cumulative dissertation concerns the question what a general definition of efficiency with respect to normative objective implies about relationships between two values. In order to conceptualize relationships between values carefully, the analysis distinguishes instrumental from intrinsic values and discusses the question whether there is one intrinsic value (value monism) or many intrinsic values (value pluralism). Next, a small economic model is used to show that there can be different relationships between values such as win-win relationships and trade-offs in value-efficient states if there are three or more values. Further, the distinction between Pareto-efficiency (based on individual preferences) and value-efficiency (which can also include non-preference values) is used to study relationships between values. The second paper uses the definition of sustainability as inter- and intragenerational justice to discuss the relationship between these two objectives. The general aim of this paper is to discuss what economic concepts can contribute to the discussion of tradeoffs between justices. For this, a syntax of the concept of justice is employed, different relationships between justices are defined and economic concepts such as scarcity, efficiency and opportunity costs are transferred to the justice context. One result from this analysis is that there must be a trade-off between these two justices in such respective efficient outcomes. The third paper concerns an intertemporal mechanism leading to the well-known equity-efficiency trade-off in an intergenerational setting. For this, two central characteristics of intergenerational policy making are taken into account: irreversibility and ignorance (or unawareness). A pertinent example is the irreversible use of fossil fuels before and after the discovery of the effect of CO2 emissions on climate change. The trade-off between Pareto-efficiency and intergenerational equity that results from these two characteristics is shown in a model with two non-overlapping generations which use a non-renewable resource. In the model there is initial unawareness about an intergenerational externality from resource use that is only discovered after the irreversible use of the resource. A central result of the paper is the trade-off between intergenerational equity and efficiency that emerges if initially unknown sustainability problems arise after irreversible policies have been enacted. The fourth paper concerns the question what the concept of merit goods can contribute to discussions of sustainability. For this, the history of the concept is discussed, then merit goods are defined and connected to the philosophical literature on different conceptions of well-being. In the next step different challenges and opportunities of merit good arguments are discussed for the sustainability context. For example, it becomes clear that merit good arguments concern conceptions of well-being and do not directly concern the aspect of intergenerational distribution in sustainability problems. ; Diese Dissertation behandelt die Frage, wie die Ökonomik zur Analyse von Zielkonflikten zwischen Werten (oder normativen Zielen) beitragen kann. Dies wird illustriert am Beispiel von Politiken, die das Ziel der Nachhaltigkeit verfolgen. Methodisch werden ökonomische Konzepte im Hinblick der philosophischen Literatur reflektiert und generische Modelle verwendet um Zielkonflikte zwischen konkreten Werten zu untersuchen. Insgesamt wird deutlich, dass die Ökonomik durch Klärung von Handlungsmöglichkeiten zur Analyse der faktischen Beziehungen zwischen normativen Zielen beitragen kann. Das erste Papier der kumulativen Dissertation behandelt die Frage, was ein allgemeiner Effizienzbegriff im Hinblick auf normative Ziele über die Beziehungen zwischen zwei Werten aussagen kann. Um Beziehungen zwischen Werten genau zu fassen, wird zunächst die Unterscheidung zwischen instrumentellen und intrinsischen Werten gemacht und die Frage diskutiert, ob es einen intrinsischen Wert gibt (Wertemonismus) oder viele intrinsische Werte (Wertepluralismus). Im nächsten Schritt wird in einem kleinen ökonomischen Modell gezeigt, dass in Wert-effizienten Zuständen verschiedene Beziehungen zwischen Werten wie zum Beispiel Win-Win Beziehungen und Zielkonflikte auftreten können, wenn drei oder mehr Werte bestehen. Weiterhin wird die Unterscheidung zwischen Pareto-Effizienz (die auf individuellen Präferenzen basiert) und Wert-Effizienz (die auch nicht-präferenzbasierte Werte umfassen kann) genutzt um Beziehungen zwischen Werten zu analysieren. Das zweite Papier nutzt die Definition von Nachhaltigkeit als inter- und intragenerationelle Gerechtigkeit um die Beziehung zwischen diesen beiden Zielen zu diskutieren. Es wird diskutiert, wie ökonomische Konzepte bei der Diskussion von Zielkonflikten zwischen Gerechtigkeitszielen hilfreich sein können. Hierfür werden zunächst die Syntax des Gerechtigkeitsbegriffs, dann mögliche Beziehungen zwischen Gerechtigkeitszielen definiert und schließlichökonomische Konzepte wie Knappheit, Effizienz und Opportunitätskosten auf den Gerechtigkeitskontext übertragen. Aus der Analyse wird unter anderem deutlich, dass in solch entsprechend effizienten Zuständen immer ein Zielkonflikt zwischen diesen beiden Zielen bestehen muss. Das dritte Papier behandelt einen intertemporalen Mechanismus, der zum bekannten Zielkonflikt zwischen Effizienz und Gerechtigkeit im intergenerationellen Kontext führt. Hierfür werden zwei zentrale Charakteristika intergenerationellen politischen Entscheidens miteinbezogen: Irreversibilität und Unwissenheit. Ein einschlägiges Beispiel ist die irreversible Nutzung fossiler Energieträger vor und nach der Entdeckung des Effekts von CO2 Emissionen auf den Klimawandel. Der aus diesen beiden Charakteristika folgende Zielkonflikt zwischen Pareto-Effizienz und intergenerationaller Gerechtigkeit wird in einem ökonomischen Modell gezeigt, in dem zwei sich nicht überlappende Generationen eine nicht erneuerbare Ressource nutzen. Im Modell besteht anfänglich Unwissenheit über eine intergenerationelle Externaltität der Ressourcennutzung, die erst nach der irreversiblen Nutzung der Ressource entdeckt wird. Ein zentrales Ergebnis des Papiers ist der Zielkonflikt zwischen Effizienz und intergenerationeller Gerechtigkeit, der auftritt, wenn auf anfänglich unbekannte Nachhaltigkeitsprobleme reagiert werden muss, nachdem irreversible Handlungen vollzogen wurden. Das vierte Papier behandelt die Frage, welchen Beitrag das Konzept der meritorischen Güter für den Nachhaltigkeitskontext liefern kann. Hierfür wird zunächst die Geschichte des Konzepts diskutiert, dann meritorische Güter definiert und schließlich mit der philosophischen Literatur zu verschiedenen Konzeptionen menschlichen Wohlergehens verbunden. Im nächsten Schritt werden verschiedene Möglichkeiten und Herausforderungen für meritorische Güter im Nachhaltigkeitskontext diskutiert. Hierbei wird zum Beispiel deutlich, dass meritorische Güter auf Konzeptionen menschlichen Wohlergehens und damit nicht direkt auf den Aspekt intergenerationeller Verteilung von Nachhaltigkeitsproblemen zielen.

Climate change, limited fossil fuel availability and the dependency on energy carrier imports lead the European Union to the formulation of an energy policy for Europe. The EU sets the following criteria for its future energy supply: sustainability, security of supply and competitiveness. Considering the carbon dioxide emissions of fossil fuels and the unsolved problem of the ultimate disposal of radioactive waste, only renewable energy can currently be considered sustainable if applied in a socially acceptable way and in accordance with nature conservation. The use of renewable energy can also reduce the dependency on energy carrier imports. Contrary to fossil fuels, renewable energy will become cheaper in the future due to technological learning. The main disadvantage of some renewable energy resources is their fluctuating availability. Adaptation of the energy supply system must take place especially in the power sector in order to reliably cover fluctuating demand with fluctuating resources at any time. In this work, the energy system model 'REMix' (Renewable Energy Mix for Sustainable Electricity Supply) is developed. It uses data on the availability of renewable energy across Europe and North Africa (EUNA) to dimension low-cost power supply structures for the EUNA-region, or parts of it, under specific conditions, such as specified shares of renewable energy in the power supply or specified national self-supply shares. The model takes into account the costs of generation technologies, transmission lines and storage units, and finds a combination of these technologies and their geographic locations that is least-cost under the given assumptions. A geographic information system was used for the analysis of the installable capacities and power generation potentials of typical technologies for harnessing renewable energy resources. This analysis is described and the potentials of solar PV, solar CSP, wind onshore and wind offshore, biomass, hydro and geothermal power plants are shown in tables and maps. The data are used as input into a linear programming energy system model which uses them as constraints on the power supply system to be dimensioned. The model, its sensitivity to input parameter variations and a test application are described. The findings confirm the basic findings of other work in this field: transmission lines can be a crucial element of a low-cost, renewable-energy-based electricity supply because they enable balancing effects in a large grid and the use of the highest quality resources even in remote areas, such as deserts or at sea. However, the international cooperation that is necessary to reach the cost-minimum for a given supply task may not be reached by politics or resulting dependencies may be opposed to political goals. Therefore, REMix was built such that countries can be examined individually and the influence of different parameters on their energy supply costs and structure can be investigated. In the test model application, power supply systems for 36 regions in Europe and North Africa, almost all individual countries, are designed with REMix as island grids on the one hand and on the other hand as a network without transmission restrictions (other than the costs of the transmission lines). The model shows that in certain regions the island grid electricity costs can be much higher than, only a little higher than, or even lower than the electricity costs in the network, under the given technological and economic assumptions. The sensitivity to parameter variations is shown to be high; the results of the test application must therefore be considered one example of a technically feasible and efficient supply system but cannot claim to be least-cost in general. ; Mit ihrer Energiepolitik begegnet die Europäische Union dem Klimawandel, der begrenzten Verfügbarkeit fossiler Brennstoffe und der Abhängigkeit von Energieträgerimporten. Dabei setzt sie die folgenden Kriterien für ihre zukünftige Energieversorgung fest: Nachhaltigkeit, Versorgungssicherheit und Wettbewerbsfähigkeit. Angesichts der Kohlendioxidemissionen durch fossile Brennstoffe und der ungelösten Endlagerung radioaktiver Abfälle können derzeit nur sozial- und umweltverträglich genutzte erneuerbare Energieträger als nachhaltig betrachtet werden. Ihr Einsatz kann darüber hinaus die Abhängigkeit von Energieträgerimporten verringern und durch technologisches Lernen die Kosten der Stromversorgung langfristig niedrig halten. Ein Problem bei der Nutzung mancher erneuerbarer Energieträger ist ihre unregelmäßige Verfügbarkeit. Das Energieversorgungsystem muss angepasst werden, um den Energiebedarf auf Basis des schwankenden Angebots jederzeit zuverlässig decken zu können. In dieser Arbeit wird das Energiesystemmodell REMix (Renewable Energy Mix for Sustainable Electricity Supply) entwickelt. Es verwendet Daten über die Verfügbarkeit erneuerbarer Energieträger in Europa und Nordafrika (EUNA), um kostengünstige Stromversorgungssysteme für diese Region oder Teile davon zu dimensionieren. Dabei gelten Randbedingungen wie z.B. benutzerdefinierte Anteile erneuerbarer Energieträger an der Stromversorgung oder nationale Selbstversorgungsgrade. Das Modell berücksichtigt Kosten und technische Randbedingungen von Stromerzeugungs-, Stromtransport- und Speicheranlagen und findet die unter den gegebenen Annahmen kostenminimale Kombination dieser Technologien und ihrer geografischen Standorte. Für die Analyse der Leistungs- und Stromerzeugungspotenziale charakteristischer Technologien zur Nutzung erneuerbarer Energieträger wird ein geografisches Informationssystem (GIS) verwendet. Die Analyse wird beschrieben und die Potenziale der Stromerzeugung mit PV-, CSP-, Windenergie-, Biomasse-, Wasserkraft- und Geothermieanlagen werden in Tabellen und Karten dargestellt. Die Daten dienen als Input in ein lineares Energiesystemmodell, welches sie als Randbedingungen des zu dimensionierenden Stromversorgungssystems verwendet. Das Modell, eine Sensitivitätsuntersuchung und eine Testanwendung werden beschrieben. Die Erkenntnisse bekräftigen die Ergebnisse früherer Arbeiten auf diesem Gebiet: Übertragungsleitungen können ein entscheidendes Element einer kostengünstigen, auf erneuerbaren Energieträgern basierenden Stromversorgung sein, da sie Ausgleichseffekte in einem großräumigen Netzwerk und die Nutzung guter Ressourcen auch an verbrauchsfernen Standorten ermöglichen, z.B. auf See oder in der Wüste. Dazu ist jedoch internationale Kooperation erforderlich, die politisch womöglich schwer zu erreichen ist. Daher wurde REMix so aufgebaut, dass einzelne Länder und der Einfluss unterschiedlicher Parameter auf ihre Stromversorgungskosten untersucht werden können. In der Testanwendung werden Versorgungsstrukturen für 36 Regionen in Europa und Nordafrika als unabhängige Inselsysteme einerseits und als Netzwerk andererseits untersucht. Es ergeben sich in manchen Regionen deutlich und in anderen nur geringfügig verschiedene Kosten im Inselsystem und im Netzwerk. Die Sensitivität gegenüber Parametervariationen ist hoch; die Testergebnisse müssen daher als Beispiele technisch machbarer Systeme ohne absoluten Anspruch auf Kostenminimalität betrachtet werden.