Indicator-based analysis of socially sensitive and territorially sustainable development in relation to household energy consumption

Abstract

One of the major fields of actions in sustainable development is energy. The correlation between the number of renewable energy sources and selected socioeconomic variables was already analysed, however, other energy indicators used for sustainable development assessment should be also checked. This issue is especially important outside the biggest cities in Poland due to the different energy use in relation to the density of urban development. The aim of the study is to identify the correlation between the energy use and other factors used to assess the sustainable development on the case of units of rural and semi-rural character. The studies used data from the public statistics system, the objects were NUTS-4 districts, according to the Eurostat classification. Classical statistical methods were used in the causality study: independence tests and correlation and association measures of random variables (Spearman's rank correlation), and materiality tests of particular variables and their groups in linear econometric models. There was a statistically significant cause and effect relationship between electricity consumption and the amount of mixed municipal waste collected from households during the year, the number of household sewage treatment plants, natural growth per 1000 population, demographic dependency ratio, average usable area of a flat, the number of unemployed registered with higher education in relation to the number of people of working age and the share of the long-term unemployed registered at the age of 55-64 in the total number of unemployed at that age. In addition, a strong non-linear correlation relationship with the usable area of a flat per person was obtained. Subsequent research will concern searching for indicated dependencies in groups of similar objects.

Investigating the Impact of Airport Noise and Land Use Restrictions on House Prices: Evidence from Selected Regional Airports in Poland

“…The research findings on airport externalities have several practical implications, as demonstrated in many recent papers [25]. Like many other papers on the nexus between environmental sustainability and economic development [61], our research related to the restrictions resulting from the introduction of limited use areas (LUAs) around two large Polish airports is a pioneering one, as it does not concern only acoustic damage. They are part of a wider problem related to the risk of airport management.…”

Evaluating the Potential Use of Forest Biomass for Renewable Energy: A Case Study with Elements of a Systems Approach

“…It was assumed that wood waste (edgings, sawdust, chips, shavings, etc.) account for approximately 20% of the initial total intended for processing [27]: (2) …where: Z DT -wood resources from the processing of wood for energy purposes [tonnes ⋅ year -1 ] P -timber for industrial purposes [tonnes] Estimated in this way, resources are converted into units of energy, taking the energy value of dry wood at 18.72 GJ • t -1 [27]. A limitation in using these resources for marketing is that a significant amount of waste generated during the processing of wood by processing industries is consumed for their own use by these plants.…”

“…There is a need to support the production of renewable energy. Development of and use of renewable energy resources has a positive impact on the environment [1,2], and it may also create local employment growth [3]. However, efficient energy management should provide energy not only for current generations but also for the future [4], and such management should minimize negative impact on the environment [5,6].…”

Spatial Planning Policy for Sustainability: Analysis Connecting Land Use and GHG Emission in Rural Areas

“…The agriculture sector is considered part of a strategy for the mitigation and recovery of CO 2 , as codified in the acronym AFOLU (Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use) of the WGIII [1,4]. Other studies have deepened the topic of renewable energy sources, distinguishing phenomena Sustainability 2020, 12 and analyzing rural and urban areas (districts) [5] or for different urban density conditions [6]. In general, the scientific research is currently divided into two principal topics: the first focused on city environmental problems [7][8][9] and the second focused on GHG emissions in relation to rural development [10][11][12].…”