Low carbon futures: Confronting electricity challenges on island systems

Abstract

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A Qualitative Based Causal-Loop Diagram for Understanding Policy Design Challenges for a Sustainable Transition Pathway: The Case of Tees Valley Region, UK

“…Despite this complexity, it is crucial for future generations and the Earth's climate that current energy systems evolve and transition towards a cleaner and fully decarbonised energy system [11,16,19,20]. Given the aims of the study, the working definition of the term "energy system" focuses on the regional and urban aspects of an energy system within the context of the Tees Valley Region in North East England.…”

“…Over the recent decades, the transition toward a low carbon energy system has become an increasingly significant and important element in global and national policy and decision making [5,11,13,16,17]. This necessary restructuring of the energy system (and associated socio-economic impacts, e.g., traditional energy market disruption) is imperative to avoid climate breakdowns, prevent loss of environmental ecosystems and enable secure, stable societal growth through localized production of clean and affordable energy [5,8,11,14,15,[18][19][20]. However, the energy transition is a highly complex and enormous task since, currently, close to 80% of the global energy comes from fossil fuels-based energy systems, and close to 75% of global GHG emissions come from energy systemrelated activities [2,11,13,17,21,22].…”

“…However, the energy transition is a highly complex and enormous task since, currently, close to 80% of the global energy comes from fossil fuels-based energy systems, and close to 75% of global GHG emissions come from energy systemrelated activities [2,11,13,17,21,22]. Furthermore, the tasks of the energy transition are multi-dimensional and require long-term economic planning involving both public and private investments into RET to enable technological innovation and adaptability, alongside the build-up of technological know-how and social aspects such as public and political acceptances [5,13,[16][17][18][19][20]. Lastly, it needs governmental policies and strategies that are derived based on a clear understanding of the multi-dimensional complexity of energy transition which does not threaten energy security and geopolitical stability (through the planned or unplanned shifting of power and capital away from owners of fossil fuel resources), whilst enabling mitigation of climate change, ecological degradation, and social inequality [5,13,14,17,20].…”

“…Furthermore, the tasks of the energy transition are multi-dimensional and require long-term economic planning involving both public and private investments into RET to enable technological innovation and adaptability, alongside the build-up of technological know-how and social aspects such as public and political acceptances [5,13,[16][17][18][19][20]. Lastly, it needs governmental policies and strategies that are derived based on a clear understanding of the multi-dimensional complexity of energy transition which does not threaten energy security and geopolitical stability (through the planned or unplanned shifting of power and capital away from owners of fossil fuel resources), whilst enabling mitigation of climate change, ecological degradation, and social inequality [5,13,14,17,20]. Clearly, given the complexities and impact potential of energy transition choices, the deployment of methodologies and tools for the accurate forecasting of the impact potential of complex decisions and their outcomes on multiple stakeholder groups would seem not only beneficial but mandatory.…”

“…As highlighted earlier, energy transition policymaking is a complex and multifaceted problem involving a large number of stakeholders, requires long-term planning and investments, as well as overcoming the structural internal and external dependency of energy systems [1,2,5,13,[16][17][18][19][20]. This often leaves the process of policymaking being performed under a degree of uncertainty, due to the multi-dimensional nature of the problem, with various changeable objectives and goals depending on the geographical location and international commitments [1,2,5,11,13,[15][16][17][18][19][20]22]. Furthermore, it involves a larger volume of variables, which are interlinked and crossover the economic, societal, environmental, and technological dimensions of society [12,[34][35][36][37].…”