Applying Energy Taxes to Promote a Clean, Sustainable and Secure Energy System: Finding the Preferable Approaches

Abstract

The growing importance of climate change and the depletion of natural resources, as well as geopolitical risks associated with the distribution of energy resources, cause an increase in the urgency of ensuring energy security. In modern conditions, the criteria of energy security are the level of production of traditional and renewable energy, the efficiency of energy production, the rationality of its consumption, and the level of pollution arising in the process of the functioning of the energy sector. Different types of regulatory instruments are used internationally to achieve different goals related to energy security. This study involves testing the hypothesis that the effectiveness of energy taxes in ensuring energy security is determined based on the choice of the object of taxation and should be measured via the complex effect of changes in various parameters of energy security. To test this hypothesis, a sample of data from 24 European countries for the period 1994–2020 was formed and energy taxes were grouped into 12 groups (energy taxes on the consumption of different energy sources, energy taxes on fossil fuels, taxes on electricity consumption, taxes to stimulate renewable energy production, contributions to energy funds, etc.). The assessment was carried out with the help of panel regression modeling tools with the installation of a three-year time lag in the model. This method made it possible to determine the short- and medium-term effects of the regulatory influence of certain types of energy taxes. Moreover, the research provides an assessment of the regulatory effectiveness of various types of energy taxes across countries with different initial structures of energy production. The obtained results proved that the comprehensive efficiency of different types of energy taxes is different and depends on the features of the construction of the country’s energy system. In general, complex energy taxes are the most effective method of taxation, while contributions to energy funds are the least effective method of taxation. In the countries with energy systems based on fossil fuels, taxes on mineral oils are the most effective in ensuring of energy security, as well as in the countries with a high initial level of renewable energy use, while complex energy taxes are the most effective in the countries with well-diversified energy systems. This study creates the basis for improving strategies for the use of regulatory instruments of energy transformation in building a clean, secure, and sustainable energy system for the country.

Interplay of Urbanization and Ecological Environment: Coordinated Development and Drivers

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“…The creation of green spaces and ecological parks should be emphasized to improve urban air and water quality. Energy conservation and environmental protection should be regarded as essential elements of urban planning, with comprehensive promotion of energy-saving and emission reduction technologies [80,83], facilitating the coordinated development of new urbanization and ecological/environmental protection. Thus, Curitiba (the capital city of the state of Paraná in Brazil) is often hailed as a model for sustainable urban planning.…”

Analysis of Information Security Under the Conditions of Hybrid War in Ukraine: Social Aspects

“…The operation stage includes: analysis of objects of influence and their sorting; receiving information from the monitoring system; formation of "goal-countermeasure" matches; launching countermeasures. The proposed algorithms and method are implemented within the framework of the system for countering and spreading harmful influence in social networks [22]. The architecture of the system for countering the spread of harmful information in social networks includes eight components and three levels (Figure 6) -management level: visualization component, management component; content assessment level: component of assessment and analysis of message sources, database, SQL server; level of implementation of countermeasures: component of selection of countermeasures, component of implementation of countermeasures.…”

Optimization of Financial Management for Enhancing the Electric Vehicle Market in Medan, Indonesia

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