Energy consumption reduction and energy efficiency improvement are recognized as global priorities in the context of the green economy and sustainable development. In this paper, determinants of energy efficiency and energy consumption for the panel of 11 post-communist countries in the Eastern Europe during 1996-2013 are investigated. The stochastic frontier function approach and comparative analysis were used to examine long-run dynamic relations. The research results show that GDP growth is a key factor increasing both energy efficiency and energy consumption. The research results on energy efficiency relations show that CO 2 emissions per capita, a fixed capital and the share of industry in the economy are other important drives. In the context of per capita energy consumption growth, the factors of structural changes determined by industry share in the national economy and innovation concerned with development and implementation of high technologies are significant. The European Union accession and participation in the European energy policy promote to energy efficiency improvements in the post-communist countries while progress in governance and enterprise restructuring as measured by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is not important for energy efficiency and per capita energy consumption in the post-communist countries. According to the research results, energy efficiency policy in the sample countries should be aimed at providing further economic growth enhancing a positive impact of other factors and implementing energy efficiency projects.

The paper deals with modern trends in global renewable energy development. Despite the fact that nowadays the dynamic deployment of renewable energy capacities is observed around the world, global energy market continues to be based on non-renewable energy resources. In the paper the drivers for global renewable energy market development and their impact on renewable energy plants construction are examined. The analysis has shown that the main driving forces for world renewable energy sector growth are policy factors, especially implementation of well-designed support mechanisms to promote energy production from renewables. As such support tools were mainly implemented in power sector, now it holds leading position, while insufficient implementation of motivational tools in transport, heating and cooling sectors slowed down their development. In addition, the main challenges, which inhibit increasing the competitiveness of renewable energy on the global energy market, are outlined.

CO2 emissions have become a key environmental contaminant that is responsible for climate change in general and global warming in particular. Two geographical groups of countries that previously belonged to the former bloc of socialist countries are used for the estimations of CO2 emissions drivers. The research covers such Eastern European countries as Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Russian Federation, Poland, Romania, Slovak Republic, and Ukraine and such Central Asian states as Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan during the period 1996–2018. The main goal of the research is to identify common drivers that determine carbon dioxide emissions in selected states. To control for the time fixed effects (like EU membership), random effect model was used for the analysis of the panel data set. Results: It is found that energy efficiency progress reduces per capita CO2 emissions. Thus, an increase in GDP by 100 USD per one ton of oil equivalent decreases per capita CO2 emissions by 17–64 kg. That is, the more energy-efficient the economy becomes, the less CO2 emissions per capita it produces in a group of selected post-communist economies. Unlike energy efficiency, an increase in GDP per capita by 1000 USD raises CO2 emissions by 260 kg per capita, and the richer the economy becomes, the more CO2 emissions per capita it generates. The increase in life expectancy by one year leads to an increase in CO2 emissions per capita by 200−370 kg, with average values of 260 kg per capita. It was found that an increase in agriculture, forestry, and fishing sector share (as a % of GDP) by one percentage point leads to the decrease in CO2 emissions by 67–200 kg per capita, while an increase in industrial sector share by one percentage point leads to the increase in CO2 per capita emissions by 37–110 kg. Oil prices and foreign direct investment appeared to be statistically insignificant factors in a group of selected post-communist economies. Conclusions: The main policy recommendation is the promotion of energy efficiency policy and the development of green economy sectors. The other measures are the promotion of a less energy-intensive service sector and the modernization of the industrial sector, which is still characterized by high energy and carbon intensity.

This paper proposes methodological approaches to assessing the impact of renewable energy and energy efficiency development on emerging economies’ energy security. It is suggested to supplement the current methodology for assessing energy security with the decoupling index of the renewable energy financial burden on the state budget, the energy efficiency decoupling index, the households’ energy poverty indicator, the index of capacity development for balancing electricity generation volumes, and the energy fluctuations indicator. These indices provide a comprehensive assessment of energy security under the latest challenges. Thus, the COVID-19 pandemic in the Ukrainian energy sector led to the “green and coal paradox”, when the government decided to keep green electricity generation but limit nuclear generation. It required increased flexible capacities (thermal generation) and led to a rise in electricity prices and environmental pollution. Forecasting energy fluctuations with Butterworth filters allows minimizing the risks of maximum peak loads on the grid and timely prevention of emergencies. The energy fluctuations within the 20% range guarantee energy security and optimal energy companies’ operation. It is proposed to smooth out energy consumption fluctuations through green energy development, smart grids formation, energy efficiency improvements, and energy capacities balancing to ensure energy and economic sustainability.

In the article, mathematical modeling methods are used to study the main trends and macroeconomic determinants of the electric car market development in 2011-2018 on the example of the US. The determinants include economic (GDP), socioeconomic (household income), energy (electricity use), and environmental (СО 2 emissions) factors. The authors justify the role of electric transport in strengthening national energy security due to the transition to renewable energy technologies and the reduction of fossil fuel use. Based on the constructed linear regression equations, a weak relationship has been revealed between the number of electric vehicles sold and the environmental factor, which can be explained by the small share of electric cars in the US market. The formed multifactor linear model showed a positive impact of both the country's GDP growth and electricity consumption increase on the number of electric vehicles sold. However, the rise in household incomes negatively influences market development due to insufficient consumer awareness of the electric transport operation benefits, an underdeveloped network of electric vehicle charging stations, etc. Based on the obtained multifactor model, the authors have built optimistic, optimal and pessimistic scenarios for the US electric vehicle market deployment for the next five years. In order to implement the most favorable scenarios, recommendations for market development factors' management have been made. The results of the study can be used to improve public policy in the US transport and energy sectors, as well as in other countries to optimize the fuel and energy balance, strengthen the energy independence of states by developing clean transport and adapting the model to national specifics.

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The growth of renewable energy facilities worldwide creates new challenges for sustainable regional development. Unregulated investment flows in the green energy sector cause disparities in the deployment of various renewable energy technologies, worsen the ability to balance national energy systems, etc. This article is the first comprehensive study that offers a methodology for multifactor modeling of investment flows in regional green energy deployment considering the priorities of national, regional, and local authorities within the sustainable development concept. The proposed methodological approaches help (1) determine the types of renewable energy technologies for priority development in the region, (2) select specific green energy projects to receive budgetary support on territories, and (3) form the optimal mechanism for budget financing distribution on regional development of renewable energy technologies. The modeling factors include natural conditions and resource base of a territory; its economically feasible renewable energy potential; the territory’s energy needs; installed capacity and electricity generation of new green energy facilities; power plants’ life cycle duration, the investment amount, etc. The model approbation on the example of household solar and wind power plants in the Sumy region, Ukraine, has shown the need to significantly increase financial support for renewable energy projects, primarily due to the region’s energy deficit. Calculations revealed that the interest-free loan share for both technologies should be 2.843 and 2.844 times higher than the basic share of lending (20%). For the 30-kW solar power plant project, the indicator should be 64.67% instead of the basic one of 56.86% for home solar energy facilities. Thus, the methodological approaches presented in the article are new tools that allow territorial authorities to purposefully shape and manage investment flows in the renewable energy sector to ensure sustainable energy development of regions worldwide.

This paper elaborates on the theoretical and methodological fundamentals of a tradable green certificates system to foster renewable energy development in Ukraine. It proposes a management mechanism premised on the classical market model of tradable green certificates aiming at increasing the share of electricity from renewable energy sources in the country’s energy mix. Organizational stages of the mechanism formation at the national level and a methodological approach to assess green electricity generation cost are developed. The modeling has shown that the annual increase in the cap for green electricity consumption by 1% will raise the electricity tariff by 3%, which is not a significant financial burden for consumers. The proposed changes in the tradable green certificates system can be an effective management tool to achieve the required amount of electricity from renewable energy sources in the country’s total electricity consumption and to foster the development of the Ukrainian renewable energy sector.