This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in International Spectator on 06/09/2021, available online: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03932729.2021.1959755 ; The Energy Union and the European Green Deal advocate the participation of citizens and communities in the energy transition, which encourage a bottom-up approach in the implementation of sustainable energy initiatives. Both are in tune with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, which attempt to involve all members of society in the sustainability path. The reality in EU Member States however, is that community energy still lacks the necessary regulatory framework to compete with large utility companies. This can indicate that the governance framework is lagging behind, still not ready to include communities (collective citizens) as full participants in the energy transition.
The traditional model of European energy company has been characterised by big entities that usually play a relatively important role as national champions in terms of market share, assets value, vertical integration, political influence and employment volumes, among other factors. However, last decade has seen how these big dinosaurs are losing market power in favour of new actors. On one side Russian and Chinese competitors have started showing interest in the Western European energy sector, and they are developing purchasing strategies to acquire part of the business in different countries, taking advantage of the vulnerable financial position that many of these companies suffer. On the other side having been unable to change their business models away from the focus on fossil fuels into the renewable energies sector has made traditional companies lose market share in favour of a new model of companies, smaller in terms of assets but quite focused on a market segment with a privileged institutional support, particularly thanks to the European Union targets for 2020 on renewable energy. This chapter uses the framework of green economy as the one that approaches macroeconomic issues through innovative ways, promoting green investments through the most adequate regulatory measures, and considering green energy as one of the sectors where these investments should be focused. Bearing this in mind, the chapter will try to point out the existing constraints to reach the new model of development (sustainable development, as promoted by a green economy) and also the barriers that energy companies impose themselves through old fashioned strategies that do not take into consideration the wider demands from a much larger group of stakeholders in a changing society. It will also address the changing governance framework caused by recent political events such as Brexit and the shifting EU institutional discourse towards 2030 targets.
This paper uses a new approach to the concept of green budgeting within the context of green economy to analyse the different factors influencing the lack of consistency on environmental policies in Spain. It appears that structural issues have prevented Spain from becoming a real green economy, and thus from taking the right measures that could lead it into a sustainable growth path. This case study is presented as example of failure to integrate environmental issues in policy-making, with political factors being one of the main variables under analysis. A quantitative analysis on the approach to public environmental budget management during the period prior to the recent economic crisis is conducted at national and regional levels. Some of the findings are consistent with other European countries but some distinctive structural issues are also identified.
This chapter reflects on the influence that the economic crisis of 2007-2008 had in Spain's environmental policy by looking at policy change in four areas: climate change, renewable energy, energy efficiency and biodiversity. It is part of a book where similar analysis for other European countries is undertaken. The Spanish case is unique due to its inherent structural problems. ; The economic crisis has had a profound effect upon Spanish environmental policy. The government abandoned its once praised support schemes and instead adopted measures that penalise the development of renewable energy. This chapter provides an in-depth investigation of environmental policy implementation since the crisis, focusing on renewables, biodiversity, energy efficiency, and climate change. These four policy areas are compared in order to outline differences in policy approaches and the possibility of differentiated influential factors for policy change. The chapter identifies structural barriers as the main cause of recent policy reversals. Political preferences and decentralisation of the Spanish government system emerge as central explanatory variables for environmental policy implementation and change. The chapter also looks ahead into the possible future development of environmental policy in Spain. Governmental instability may mitigate against future investment, exacerbating existing problems of poor environmental policy integration, and a lack of civil society engagement with the environment.
This is one of the topics covered by the Encyclopedia of the Sustainable Development Goals, dedicated to goal 3, Health and Well-Being. It discusses the use of utilitarianism as philosophical approach to justify the purpose of most existing health care systems and delves on the evolution and current trends on the implementation and development of health care systems, required to achieve sustainable development patterns. ; Healthcare systems vary across countries but the access to health is considered fundamental both individually and collectively. Individually, good health is one of the main contributors to well-being, and collectively it has an important effect on countries' productivity. From a utilitarian perspective, governmental intervention in health coverage has the purpose to maximise the total 'utility', in this case the total welfare, of all the members of society. Health services must therefore be produced and allocated efficiently, and distributed in accordance to equity. This approach gave origin to the so-called 'universal' healthcare systems, in trying to provide healthcare for as many members of a community as possible. Such systems can be considered inclusive insofar to try not to leave anyone out of coverage, but their implementation is not free of criticism. One of the limitations is that they tend to provide the same level of coverage for everyone, regardless of their differing characteristics, circumstances, and needs. This also means that some health issues will not be covered by the public health system, and if patients need specialised attention they will need to use private health provision, with the subsequent exclusion of those without enough resources. It is for this reason that healthcare systems are evolving to become 'inclusive' in a different manner, away from the 'one size fits all' approach covering only basic minimum health services, and aiming to provide different services to people with different needs, including giving access to health to the poorest of society.
This book chapter gives a view of the possible role that regional energy initiatives such as MedReg and the Energy Community can play in the future European Energy Policy. The context is given by the last international economic crisis and the targets of the 2020 Strategy with regard to energy. The international side of energy policy is foreseen as being reinforced, particularly in light of the EU high energy dependency.
This book chapter describes the evolution in the approach to renewable energy promotion in Spain, and explains the reasons underpinning its identification first as a frontrunner and then as a laggard with regard to European Union energy policy integration. ; N/A
This document is the Accepted Manuscript version of a published work that appeared in final form in The International Spectator. To access the final edited and published work see http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03932729.2021.1966188 ; The European Union has developed an international reputation as an advocate of sustainability and as a leader in environmental policy and in tackling climate change. The European Green Deal is the latest amongst numerous policy initiatives indicating an aspiration to lead. The contributions to this special issue show, however, that the path to sustainability in the EU (and beyond) is far from clear cut, with uneven progress in a number of policy areas. Some Member States are lagging behind, and there are barriers both within and outside the EU. Moving forward, a successful transition still requires substantial policy effort.
Spain is lagging behind in the transition to a sustainable energy system compared to other EU member states. Its unique position as an energy island, coupled with errors in energy planning inherited from previous government regimes, constitute a legacy that makes changes in the system difficult to achieve. Current political instability adds to the difficulties, under a governance framework characterised by lack of coordination and supremacy of the central government in the decision making process, in an environment where traditional energy companies still exert lobby power. The continuous changes in the regulatory framework of the energy sector have hindered investments in low carbon sources of energy due to perceived uncertainty. Small changes in the right direction are being observed though, with a more prominent role expected from the local levels of government. But many measures still originate on requirements linked to EU commitments and more initiatives at the national level need to be seen.
