Impact of Policy Instruments in the Implementation of Renewable Sources of Energy in Selected European Countries

Elnaz Nasiri, Lisandra Rocha-Meneses, Abrar Inayat and Timo Kikas
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Elnaz Nasiri: Department of Law, Faculty of Humanities, Islamic Azad University, Tehran North Branch, Vafadar Blvd., Shahid Sadoughi St., Hakimiyeh Exit, Shahid Babaee Highway, Tehran 1651153311, Iran
Lisandra Rocha-Meneses: Biomass & Bioenergy Research Group, Center for Sustainable Energy and Power Systems Research, Research Institute of Sciences and Engineering, University of Sharjah, Sharjah 27272, United Arab Emirates
Abrar Inayat: Biomass & Bioenergy Research Group, Center for Sustainable Energy and Power Systems Research, Research Institute of Sciences and Engineering, University of Sharjah, Sharjah 27272, United Arab Emirates
Timo Kikas: Institute of Forestry and Engineering, Chair of Biosystems Engineering, Estonian University of Life Sciences, Kreutzwaldi 56, 51006 Tartu, Estonia

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 10, 1-33

Abstract: Nowadays, great attention has been paid to alternative sources of energy that can be used as a replacement for fossil fuels and help to reduce their utilization in the overall energy mix. In Europe, the development and implementation of renewable sources of energy is regulated and supported by legal frameworks. This paper investigates the impact of European Directives and its transposition to national policies on the share of renewable sources of energy in electricity, heating and cooling, and transport in Denmark, Ireland, the Netherlands, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. For this, quantitative and qualitative data were utilized. The quantitative data refer to the gross energy consumption, energy consumption for heating and cooling purposes (by category), and energy consumption in the transportation sector, while the qualitative data refer to the main directives and legal frameworks utilized to regulate the utilization and implementation of renewable energy in the selected countries. The results of this study show that the European Directives are not as effective as expected in the promotion and adoption of renewable sources of energy. Although none of the countries investigated in this paper were able to achieve the 10% share of energy produced from renewable sources for the transportation sector, certain goals were still achieved. For instance, in 2018, 6.57% of the energy utilized in the transportation sector in Denmark was from renewable sources, while in Estonia it was 3.29%, in Ireland 7.17%, in Latvia 4.73%, in Lithuania 4.33%, and in the Netherlands 9.59%. These results suggest that the current regulations should be revised and that clear, accountable, and predictable regulations should be put in place to ensure the energetic independence in Europe.

Keywords: bioenergy legislation; climate and energy targets; EU directives; legal framework; member states; Renewable Energy Directive (RED) (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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