When ‘green’ is not always sustainable: the inconvenient truth of the EU energy policy

Morata, Francesc; Sandoval, Israel Solorio

doi:10.4155/cmt.13.42

Cited by 6 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…The large energy companies were not only successful in lobbying for an EU ETS that largely corresponds to their interests but have also succeeded together with their political allies, such as conservative think tanks or parties, in slowing down the transition to renewable energies (Haas, 2019). In addition to a general narrowing of the sustainability discourse to the aspect of decarbonization (Morata and Solorio Sandoval, 2013;Eckert, 2023) and the decline of investment in renewables due to austerity policies in the aftermath in the Eurozone crisis, the abolition of feed-in tariff systems and the massive expansion of influence on green trade associations by large incumbent energy companies delayed the energy transition (Haas, 2019).…”

Section: The Political Economy Of Climate Neutrality In the Eumentioning

confidence: 99%

Whose negative emissions? Exploring emergent perspectives on CDR from the EU's hard to abate and fossil industries

Brad,

Haas,

Schneider

2024

Front. Clim.

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Net zero targets have rapidly become the guiding principle of climate policy, implying the use of carbon dioxide removal (CDR) to compensate for residual emissions. At the same time, the extent of (future) residual emissions and their distribution between economic sectors and activities has so far received little attention from a social science perspective. This constitutes a research gap as the distribution of residual emissions and corresponding amounts of required CDR is likely to become highly contested in the political economy of low-carbon transformation. Here, we investigate what function CDR performs from the perspective of sectors considered to account for a large proportion of future residual emissions (cement, steel, chemicals, and aviation) as well as the oil and gas industry in the EU. We also explore whether they claim residual emissions to be compensated for outside of the sector, whether they quantify these claims and how they justify them. Relying on interpretative and qualitative analysis, we use decarbonization or net zero roadmaps published by the major sector-level European trade associations as well as their statements and public consultation submissions in reaction to policy initiatives by the EU to mobilize CDR. Our findings indicate that while CDR technologies perform an important abstract function for reaching net zero in the roadmaps, the extent of residual emissions and responsibilities for delivering corresponding levels of negative emissions remain largely unspecified. This risks eliding pending distributional conflicts over residual emissions which may intersect with conflicts over diverging technological transition pathways advocated by the associations.

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Section: The Political Economy Of Climate Neutrality In the Eumentioning

confidence: 99%

Whose negative emissions? Exploring emergent perspectives on CDR from the EU's hard to abate and fossil industries

Brad,

Haas,

Schneider

2024

Front. Clim.

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“…The need to recover the environment from depletion of its non-renewable resources and combat increasing pollution has prevailed on the global goal of creating a built environment able to balance natural and human life. Reasons for this are several and interlaced, with energy policies among the most important [22]. Some essential elements that have supported the greening process of buildings and the built environment are described in the following.…”

Section: Sustainable Buildings and The Built Environmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Era of Sustainability: Promises, Pitfalls and Prospects for Sustainable Buildings and the Built Environment

Conte

2018

Sustainability

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Following 25 years of efforts in the field, the author discusses the situation of the construction sector by reflecting on the 3Ps of the era of sustainability: the promises of sustainability; the pitfalls in the interpretation of sustainability for construction; the prospects for sustainable buildings and the built environment in the future. The paper is organized into five sections. The first section introduces the emergence of sustainable construction, its promises and challenges for architects and engineers. The second section considers how sustainability has been interpreted in practice in construction, i.e., primarily through the process of greening buildings and the built environment. The third section describes the main pitfalls that such interpretation has determined, including the role played by evaluation and assessment systems for sustainable buildings. The fourth section examines prospective paths to overcoming such pitfalls, with particular concerns for new professionalisms and the ensuing role for higher education. The fifth section concludes by supporting the idea that the era of sustainability is still necessary, if sustainability itself becomes a sort of 'container concept' of all that is necessary for long-lasting natural and human life on Earth.

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The German Energy Transition in the Context of the EU Renewable Energy Policy

Solorio

Öller

Jörgens

2014

Im Hürdenlauf Zur Energiewende

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When ‘green’ is not always sustainable: the inconvenient truth of the EU energy policy

Cited by 6 publications

References 7 publications

Whose negative emissions? Exploring emergent perspectives on CDR from the EU's hard to abate and fossil industries

Whose negative emissions? Exploring emergent perspectives on CDR from the EU's hard to abate and fossil industries

The Era of Sustainability: Promises, Pitfalls and Prospects for Sustainable Buildings and the Built Environment

The German Energy Transition in the Context of the EU Renewable Energy Policy

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