Suchergebnisse

Preface -- Abstract -- List of abbreviations -- Natural monopolies and their impact on country's competitiveness -- Review of Lithuanian energy sector natural economies -- The impact of energy market reforms on energy prices and competitiveness -- The model for multi-criteria assessment of energy market liberalization on competitiveness of the country -- Conclusions -- References -- Index

The low carbon transition of the energy sector towards a greater penetration of renewable energy sources (RES) is one of the most impressive examples of political and economic change in the European Union. For nearly two decades, the European Union was rightly considered to be a frontrunner in RES development and deployment around the world. This culminated in March 2007 when the 20-20-20-targets were agreed under the European Council Conclusions. They aimed at creating a carbon neutral society by 2050 and replacing fossil fuels with renewables. This target requires huge transformations of energy systems and transformative shifts in economics and society. Even as renewables can provide numerous environmental, social, and economic benefits, their fast penetration may cause various societal challenges and encounter many barriers. Therefore, this paper aims to analyse the achievements of select EU countries in renewable energy development. For this purpose, an indicators framework is applied to monitor the RES drivers and achievements, RES penetration, and attained benefits of low carbon transformations. The case study focuses on Nordic and Baltic countries that are EU member states.

In EU waste management policy the waste avoidance and reuse are under the highest priority and the recycling takes the third place while recovery and disposal are the least favourable options. The EU member states have to implement strict waste management policies based on this approach however though all countries have to prepare and implement waste management plants, their have achieved different results in waste management. The article aims to analyse the selected waste management indicators covering all stages of various wastes management ranging from prevention to recycling etc. available at Eurostat database and to present empirical comparative case study on waste management for Baltic. The different Multi Criteria Decision Making models were applied for comparing and ranking Baltic States based on their achievements in waste management in 2020. The case study revealed that the best performing country in waste management among Baltic States was Lithuania having the best indicators of waste generation per GDP and recycling rates of municipal waste and plastic packaging waste. Estonia was lowest ranked country according waste management due to very high overall total generated waste per capita and packaging and plastic waste per capita etc.

Moving to 100% renewables scenario in EU requires huge support to renewable energy technologies, however this support needs to integrate positive externalities of renewables, therefore it is important to analyse dynamics of external costs of electricity generation in Visegrad countries and to compare them with support allocated to renewable energy sources in these countries. Therefore, the paper aims to compare the Visegrad countries in terms of reduction of external electricity generation costs due to increased share of renewables in electricity generation and the government support provided for renewables. ExternE methodology and CASES database is applied in this research. The results of study provide guidance for policy makers with regards to promotion of RES for achieving low-carbon energy transition by 2050.

This paper deals with quality of life in terms of the environment and develops a system of indicators to assess this. An improvement in quality of life is the main aim of sustainable development and is evaluated by applying various factors and indicators. The environmental dimension is one of the major influences on quality of life, and this can be assessed by applying the following groups of indicators: environmental quality, environmentally responsible behaviour and consumption of environmental services. These groups are related because responsible behaviour has a positive impact on environmental quality and leads to greater consumption of services provided by the environment. This paper presents the concept of assessing the environmental dimension in quality-of-life measurements and the main associated indicators. These dynamics were investigated and compared in Lithuania and other EU member states, with policy recommendations developed.

Th e aim of this paper is to review Lithuanian cultural policy system and achieve-ment in its improvement. Th e main tasks to achieve this aim are: to give brief overview of Lithuanian cultural policy and its major developments; to compare Lithuanian cultural indicators with other EU member states; to develop policy recommendations based on analysis conducted. Studies show that adults' culture consumption habits are influenced by the frequency and the earliness of encounter with culture and whether they are taught to participate in cultural life. Therefore, increasing the accessibility of culture to children regardless of their family and social environment is an important priority of our culture policy. It can take the form of both integrating cultural education disciplines into the curriculum of general education and creating educational programmes adapted to the young generation and the cultural activity centers.

The paper deals with quality of life in terms of housing and develops the indicator system for quality of life assessment in the housing sector. The increase of the quality of life is the main aim of sustainable development. The quality of life is being assessed by applying various dimensions, various indicators. The housing dimension is one of the major issues affecting the quality of life. The housing indicators reflecting the quality of life can be assessed by applying quality of housing, quality of housing environment and housing cost burden indicators. The paper presents the concept of assessment of housing dimension in the quality of life measurements and the main indicators relevant to this dimension of quality of life. The dynamics of housing indicators relevant to quality of life were investigated in Lithuania and other EU Member States, the housing indicators were compared for three Baltic States and policy recommendations were developed. ; Straipsnyje yra analizuojami būsto rodikliai, lemiantys gyvenimo kokybę. Kadangi gyvenimo kokybės didinimas yra pagrindinis darnaus vystymosi tikslas, būtina įvertinti gyvenimo kokybę bei palyginti šį rodikli tarp šalių. Būstas yra vien svarbiausių gyvenimo kokybės dimensijų ir atspindi tokius svarbius aspektus, kaip būsto kokybė, būsto aplinka ir mokesčių už būstą našta. Straipsnyje pristatyta būsto rodiklių, skirtų gyvenimo kokybei vertinti, koncepcija bei sudaryta rodiklių sistema, taip pat apskaičiuotas agreguotas rodiklis. Straipsnyje surinkti Lietuvos būsto rodikliai, atspindintys gyvenimo kokybę, bei atliktas šių rodiklių dinamikos palyginimas tarp Baltijos šalių. Remiantis atlikta analize, parengtos politikos rekomendacijos Lietuvai.

The aim of the paper is to address the EU policy for achieving low carbon economy by assessing energy technologies in electricity and road transport sector based on costs and impact on climate change and to indicate the most competitive electricity and transport technologies taking into account EU policy targets in GHG emission reduction, utilization of renewable and energy efficiency improvements. The main tasks of the paper are: to develop the multi-criteria framework for comparative assessment of energy technologies by applying MCDM methods for the electricity generation and transport technologies assessment. The interval TOPSIS method is employed in order to tackle the uncertain criteria. The assessment framework allows the comparison of electricity generation technologies and road transport technologies in terms of their GHG emission reduction and economic impacts and facilitates decision making process in energy sector seeking to implement EU energy policies. The main indicators selected for technologies assessment are: private costs and life cycle GHG emissions. The ranking of energy technologies based on private costs and GHG emissions allowed prioritizing these technologies taking into account the lowest GHG emission reduction costs.

The aim of the paper is to address the EU policy for achieving low carbon economy by assessing energy technologies in electricity and road transport sector based on costs and impact on climate change and to indicate the most competitive electricity and transport technologies taking into account EU policy targets in GHG emission reduction, utilization of renewable and energy efficiency improvements. The main tasks of the paper are: to develop the multi-criteria framework for comparative assessment of energy technologies by applying MCDM methods for the electricity generation and transport technologies assessment. The interval TOPSIS method is employed in order to tackle the uncertain criteria. The assessment framework allows the comparison of electricity generation technologies and road transport technologies in terms of their GHG emission reduction and economic impacts and facilitates decision making process in energy sector seeking to implement EU energy policies. The main indicators selected for technologies assessment are: private costs and life cycle GHG emissions. The ranking of energy technologies based on private costs and GHG emissions allowed prioritizing these technologies taking into account the lowest GHG emission reduction costs.

Household energy conservation and GHG emission reduction have been a topic of interest within applied social and environmental psychological research for a number of decades. Especially with commitments made by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to take more efforts to assess the impact of behavioural changes on GHG emission reduction in their Fifth Report this field of researcher is gaining a lot of attention recently. The article deals with the effectiveness of interventions aiming to encourage households to conserve energy and provides comparison of results of intervention studies aimed at household energy conservation in other countries with the case study conducted in Lithuania. The pilot study conducted in Lithuania aimed at evaluation of energy saving and GHG emission reduction potential in households by applying intervention measures targeting household behavioural changes. The study conducted in Lithuania revealed that energy saving potential makes 0.132 tne per year and GHG emission reduction potential in Lithuanian households makes 1.95MtCO2/ year. In comparison to saving potential and measures used for encouraging households to save energy in other countries, climate change mitigation policies used for Lithuanian households are not sufficient for exploiting all GHG mitigation potential. ; Energijos taupymas ir šiltnamio dujų emisijų mažinimas keičiant gyventojų elgseną jau keletą dešimtmečių yra tiriamas sociologų bei aplinkosaugos psichologų. Tarptautinės klimato kaitos grupei nutarus savo penktojoje ataskaitoje pagrindinį dėmesį skirti šiam klausimui, mokslininkų tyrimai šioje srityje labai suaktyvėjo visame pasaulyje. Straipsnyje analizuojamas intervencinių priemonių, skirtų keisti gyventojų elgesį, susijusį su energijos vartojimu namų ūkiuose, efektyvumas. Lietuvoje atlikto pilotinio tyrimo rezultatai palyginti su kitose šalyse atliktų panašių studijų rezultatais. Lietuvoje atliktas energijos taupymo ir šiltnamio dujų emisijų mažinimo, keičiant gyventojų elgesį, potencialo vertinimas parodė, kad Lietuvos namų ūkiuose per metus galima sutaupyti 0,132 tne energijos ir taip sumažinti šiltnamio efektą sukeliančių dujų emisijas 1.95MtCO2 per metus. Kaip rodo kitose šalyse atliktos studijos, Lietuvoje energijos taupymo namų ūkiuose potencialas panašus kaip ir kitose šalyse, tačiau Lietuvos klimato kaitos švelninimo politika nukreipta į gamybos sektorių, o vartotojų pusėje taikomos priemonės yra nepakankamos, siekiant išnaudoti energijos taupymo potencialą Lietuvos namų ūkiuose.

"Focuses on the linkage between climate change threats and sustainable development goals. It analyses the policies of climate change mitigation and adaptation from an economic point of view by addressing globalization, international trade, and business opportunities and challenges. Based on extended research on energy, transport, agriculture, etc., the case studies included are on business opportunities linked to mitigation and adaptation actions; from European Union greenhouse gas emission trading, to climate change adaptation policies in developing countries. It presents a framework for the harmonization of climate and sustainable development policies and their mutual outcomes"--

Sustainable development is the main aim of society development all over the world. It is also the priority policy area in the EU and Lithuania. The main mission of the State in implementing the Sustainable Development Strategy is the coordination and harmonisation of evolution of the main elements of sustainable development (environmental, economic and social spheres), provision of an opportunity for the population to actively participate in the sustainable development process and enjoy the results of the progress made through joint efforts. Measurement of the country's sustainability and progress achieved towards implementing the sustainable development targets is an important part of the sustainable development policy. Therefore, novel measures and tools are developed to aid the sustainability analysis. Multi-criteria methods can be applied in order to solve the intricate problem. Multicriteria decision making (MCDM) methods are suitable to tackle the sustainability assessment problem. In this study, we will apply two MCDM methods, namely ARAS and TOPSIS for a more robust assessment. The aim of the paper is to analyse and apply several MCDM methodologies for sustainability assessment in Lithuania and to evaluate the progress achieved in implementing sustainable development priorities in the country. ; Darnus vystymasis yra prioritetinė visuomenės vystymosi kryptis pasaulyje. Tai yra Europos Sąjungos ir Lietuvos politikos prioritetinė kryptis. Pagrindinė valstybės misija yra Darnaus vystymosi strategijos įgyvendinimo koordinavimas ir pagrindinių darnumo dimensijų evoliucijos harmonizavimas bei sudarymas galimybių šalies gyventojams aktyviai dalyvauti įgyvendinant darnaus vystymosi procesą bei džiaugtis pažangos, pasiektos įgyvendinant prioritetinius darnaus vystymosi tikslus, rezultatais. Todėl labai svarbu nuolat vykdyti darnaus vystymosi šalyje monitoringą bei vertinti šalies pasiektą darnumo lygį. Šalies darnumo arba pasiektos pažangos įgyvendinant konkrečios šalies darnaus vystymosi prioritetinius tikslus vertinimas yra svarbi darnaus vystymosi politikos dedamoji. Todėl yra kuriami ir taikomi nauji darnumo matavimo ir įvairių darnaus vystymosi dimensijų analizės metodai. Daugiakriterinės analizės metodai leidžia vienu metu įvertinti vienas kitam prieštaraujančias darnumo dimensijas. Šiame straipsnyje darnumo vertinimui Lietuvoje pritaikyti keli daugiakriteriniai vertinimo metodai bei nustatyta šalies pasiekta pažanga, įgyvendinant Lietuvos Nacionalinės darnaus vystymosi strategijos prioritetinius tikslus. Nustatyta, kad Lietuvos raida atitinka darnaus vystymosi principus bei nustatytus prioritetinius tikslus.