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Regional Economic Adaptability and Sustainability Transition

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A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073). This special issue belongs to the section "C: Energy Economics and Policy".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 December 2021) | Viewed by 26431

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Dr. Maciej Tarkowski

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Guest Editor

Division of Regional Development, University of Gdańsk, Bażyńskiego 4, 80-309 Gdańsk, Poland
Interests: human geography; local and regional development; maritime economy; transport geography; regional economic adaptability; sustainability transition
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The question of why some regional economies successfully cope with sudden shocks and long-term structural challenges while others fail remains one of the vital issues in regional studies. Repeated attempts to explain this phenomenon through “general” theories of regional development did not yield satisfactory results in an evaluation of empirical research on the territorial variability of development factors. The concept of adaptability, sensitive to the specific, historically conditioned context of regional development, has provided exciting insights into the wealth and poverty of regions for several decades. Adaptability has shed light on the processes of industrial restructuring. Enriched with a multi-scalar agency, it allowed us to better understand the interactions between regional development and globalisation. The global financial crisis of 2008 prompted the development of this concept towards the notion of regional resilience. Sudden anthropogenic climate change is a crisis which requires a profound, sustainable transition. Although the issue of technology (renewable energy sources, saving and recovery of energy and raw materials) lies at the core of these transformations, they are also commonly dependent on social and cultural conditions (socio-technical regimes). As the research conducted so far shows, there are relatively few innovative regions, and they owe their success to unique endogenous factors. The Special Issue aims to combine the scientific achievement of the regional economic adaptability school with research outcomes in the field of sustainability transition. This transition occurs in real places, sometimes with connections to relevant spaces. It is hoped that showing the active role of different places and spaces in the processes of sustainability transition will pave the way toward obtaining significant scientific and practical results. The core topics of the Special Issue are as follows:

theoretical research at the crossroads of regional adaptability and sustainable transition,
regional adaptation–adaptability trade-off in the context of sustainable transition,
development pathways of sustainable socio-technical regimes,
organisations and industries in sustainability transitions,
practices of adaptation to sustainability,
places and spaces of sustainable transition,
participatory processes for sustainable transition,
sustainable place-based policies.

Dr. Maciej Tarkowski
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

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Keywords

Adaptation
Adaptability
Development pathways
Sustainability transition
Urban or regional resilience
Socio-technical regimes
Energy transition
Circular economy
Places and spaces
Regions
Multi-scalar agency
Place-based policies
Smart specialisation
Participatory process
Innovations

Published Papers (11 papers)

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Research

19 pages, 310 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Sustainable Energy Development and Climate Change Mitigation at the Local Level through the Lens of Renewable Energy: Evidence from Lithuanian Case Study

by Agnė Žičkienė, Mangirdas Morkunas, Artiom Volkov, Tomas Balezentis, Dalia Streimikiene and Indre Siksnelyte-Butkiene

Energies 2022, 15(3), 980; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/en15030980 - 28 Jan 2022

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2535

Abstract

The penetration of renewable energy is one of the main challenges for sustainable energy development. Local governments across the European Union commit to development and implementation of the Sustainable Energy (and Climate) Action Plan. This paper focuses on the case of Lithuania—a Central and Eastern European country. Almost one-third of Lithuanian municipalities have joined the Covenant of Mayors and prepared the plans that include SWOT analysis. However, there is a lack of information on how those plans contribute to climate change mitigation and sustainable energy development. This study identifies the links between key policy financial instruments, increasing energy efficiency. The Strategic Action Plans aimed at reducing GHG emissions and energy consumption in Lithuanian municipalities are analyzed. The challenges in promoting the renewable energy generation in Lithuanian rural regions are discussed. Moreover, the importance of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats identified is elicited at the local level. The study uses a combination of methods, such as expert surveys and SWOT analysis, that complements the tools used for regional energy climate planning and allows for overarching analysis. The expert survey shows that priority is given for renovation of buildings and modernization of energy infrastructure, making them more sustainable and more energy efficient. The results also show that, in the case of Lithuania (and possibly elsewhere in the post-Soviet countries), conditions and opportunities should be created beforehand to increase energy efficiency. Once this is achieved, the policies should focus on energy transition by switching to sustainable energy resources. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Regional Economic Adaptability and Sustainability Transition)

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27 pages, 14420 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Territorial Cooperation—A Factor Stimulating Baltic Sea Region Energy Transition

by Tomasz Studzieniecki, Tadeusz Palmowski and Remigiusz Joeck

Energies 2022, 15(2), 436; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/en15020436 - 08 Jan 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1655

Abstract

Energy transition is a multi-dimensional process of developing sustainable economies by seeking renewable energy sources, saving energy, and improving energy efficiency. This process follows the rules of sustainable development. The article presents an analysis of energy transition in the Baltic Sea Region (BSR) enjoying long-term and intensive territorial cooperation. The region embraces 11 countries diversified in terms of their economic development level and the use of renewable energy sources. The article strives to answer the question of whether territorial cooperation contributes to BSR energy transition, and if so, in what way. Another goal is to identify the transition drivers that arise from the Baltic Sea Region’s unique characteristics. The authors applied the system analysis methodology. The performed literature studies allowed the researchers to identify the attributes of energy transition. Empirical research relied on secondary sources, including the European Union (EU) statistics, The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region (EUSBSR), and related documents. The key role in the conducted research can be attributed to the EU projects database (keep.eu), which enabled identifying the 2016–2020 programmes and projects. The research identified 14 BSR territorial cooperation programmes and 1471 projects conducted under the programmes, including 137 energy transition-related projects. The project results were presented in quantitative and qualitative terms. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Regional Economic Adaptability and Sustainability Transition)

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18 pages, 324 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Efficiency of Implementing Climate/Energy Targets of the Europe 2020 Strategy and the Structural Diversity between Old and New Member States

by Malgorzata Klaudia Guzowska and Barbara Kryk

Energies 2021, 14(24), 8428; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/en14248428 - 14 Dec 2021

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1259

Abstract

The most important goals included in the Europe 2020 Strategy are climate/energy targets, which determine not only the achievement of its other goals but also climate neutrality by 2050. This article aims to assess the efficiency of implementing the climate/energy targets of the Europe 2020 Strategy and to analyse changes over time, taking into consideration the structural diversity between the old (EU 15) and new EU members (EU 13) in the period of 2014–2018. The assessment of changes in the efficiency of climate/energy targets over time adds value to the evaluation methods used to date in this area. This was done using data envelopment analysis (DEA) and the Malmquist index. Earlier works usually specified only the level of target achievement, mostly jointly in relation to all of the goals of the Europe 2020 Strategy. The efficiency of their implementation at the macroeconomic level has not been studied. Furthermore, the added value of this paper consists in obtaining additional information concerning the internal structure and character of the studied efficiency of old and new member states. Changes in the efficiency level have been analysed with regard to the key climate/energy indicators used to monitor the Europe 2020 Strategy. Based on the results, the EU countries were divided into six groups with similar levels of efficiency in achieving energy and climate objectives and ranked using the DEA–Malmquist index according to changes in their level over time. This makes it possible not only to assess the performance of countries but also to formulate recommendations for decision-makers. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Regional Economic Adaptability and Sustainability Transition)

14 pages, 2516 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Role of the Energy Sector in the Command and Control Function of Cities in Conditions of Sustainability Transitions

by Piotr Raźniak, Sławomir Dorocki, Tomasz Rachwał and Anna Winiarczyk-Raźniak

Energies 2021, 14(22), 7579; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/en14227579 - 12 Nov 2021

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 1482

Abstract

The largest companies that are part of the energy sector are defined by Forbes as those associated with the production of energy from nonrenewable sources and they play a very significant role in the world economy and in the generation of the command and control (C & C) function of cities. No comprehensive studies are available at the present time illustrating changes in financial performance in relation to the share of the largest firms in the energy sector in terms of their role in the generation of the C & C function. Thus, the aim of the paper is to show changes in financial performance and the impacts of energy sector companies on the C & C function of cities as well as to show spatial variances in the sector’s geography. The energy sector is developing most rapidly in Chinese cities, although it does not play a major role in the most important cities in the world via its impact on the C & C function—this may be due to rapid growth in other sectors of the economy. It is, however, very important in smaller cities. On the other hand, a large share of the energy sector involved in the development of renewable sources of energy may disturb the position of cities whose C & C function relies on energy sector companies. Thus, forecasts are needed for the sector and its impact on the command and control function of cities for the period of transition from nonrenewable sources to renewable ones. One new area of research is the formulation of methods that would allow the determination of the effects of economic recessions in the future on the financial health and C & C function impacts of the energy sector. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Regional Economic Adaptability and Sustainability Transition)

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21 pages, 2341 KiB

Open AccessArticle

On the Emergence of Sociotechnical Regimes of Electric Urban Water Transit Systems

by Maciej Tarkowski

Energies 2021, 14(19), 6111; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/en14196111 - 25 Sep 2021

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1999

Abstract

Urban activities, including urban mobility, play a crucial role in climate change mitigation. Urban mobility is currently at a crossroads. In a business as usual scenario, CO₂ emissions from urban transportation will grow by one fourth by 2050. Nevertheless, during this period, it may drop by about one third. To make the drop happen, we need to introduce comprehensive policies and measures. Electrifying urban transit is one feasible solution. This study investigates whether and how urban water transit systems have been electrified—a means of transport which has not been well researched in this respect. A multilevel perspective and the comparative case study method were employed to answer the research questions. The comprehensive study focussed on 24 cities representing the current experience in planning and operating water transport, based mainly on secondary, primarily qualitative, data, such as industry reports, feasibility studies, urban policies, and scientific papers. The primary outcome is that urban electric passenger ferries left their market niches and triggered a radical innovation, diffusing into mainstream markets. However, urban diversity results in various paths to electrification, due to the system’s physical characteristics, local climate and transport policies, manufacturing capacity, green city branding, and the innovativeness of international ferry operators. Three dominant transition pathways were identified—a comprehensive carbon neutral policy, a transport sector policy, and a research and development policy. From a multilevel perspective, cities can be considered a bridge between niches and regimes that provide the actual conditions for implementing sociotechnical configurations. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Regional Economic Adaptability and Sustainability Transition)

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16 pages, 494 KiB

Open AccessArticle

On the Road to a Green Economy: How Do European Union Countries ‘Do Their Homework’?

by Armand Kasztelan

Energies 2021, 14(18), 5941; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/en14185941 - 18 Sep 2021

Cited by 20 | Viewed by 2385

Abstract

Multidimensional crisis phenomena (financial–economic, environmental and social), plaguing the international community, especially in the last 30 years, have intensified resentment towards traditional models of growth and socio-economic development. The European Commission has placed the idea of a green economy (GE) at the heart of the Europe 2020 strategy. This paper presents an assessment of the implementation of the green economy assumptions in EU countries in 2018, taking 2010 as the base year. Using taxonomic methods, a synthetic evaluation index (GEI—Green Economy Index) was constructed based on a multi-criterion set of 27 indicators. This paper attempts to answer the following questions: How green are the European economies? What are the main challenges in this context? The average value of the index for the EU countries decreased in the studied years from 0.3423 to 0.3294, which can be interpreted as a slowdown in the greening processes. The key recommendations for the upcoming years include the improvement of energy efficiency indicators, the further increase in the share of renewable energy sources in the energy balance. Moreover, a significant problem continues to be the high percentage of the population at risk of poverty or social exclusion, as well as low CO₂ and resource productivity rates. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Regional Economic Adaptability and Sustainability Transition)

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18 pages, 789 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Carbon Accounting Measurement with Digital Non-Financial Corporate Reporting and a Comparison to European Automotive Companies Statements

by Árpád Tóth, Cecília Szigeti and Alex Suta

Energies 2021, 14(18), 5607; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/en14185607 - 07 Sep 2021

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3121

Abstract

The regulatory environment for both sustainability and financial reporting is changing as standardisation and digital reporting (e.g., XBRL) are gaining traction within regulators. The measurement methodology and mandatory information content of disclosures are yet to be decided for corporate CO₂ reporting by EU regulators and standard-setting organisations. In our study, we reviewed the sustainability reports of three leading German automotive groups by revenue for the period 2016–2020 as a case study. The research methodology was carried out with text-mining-aided content analysis to provide a collection of sustainability standards (GRI and SASB) in the evaluation of emissions reporting. As an addition to prior literature, conditions of relevance and clarity regarding published information were introduced in the evaluation process of compliance to CO₂ disclosures. Companies by reporting practice were assigned to different stages of carbon management and actual emissions were evaluated. In the conclusions, discussion of the reliability of reported sustainability information, the applicability of digital reporting is provided through regional perspectives. We found that although analytical methods are available to assess the level of corporate carbon management, their usefulness is limited if the data are not reliable. Significant progress can be expected from analyses using standardised, comparable corporate carbon data. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Regional Economic Adaptability and Sustainability Transition)

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14 pages, 1008 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Utility Method as an Instrument of the Quality of Life Assessment Using the Examples of Selected European Cities

by Piotr Przybyłowski, Adam Przybyłowski and Agnieszka Kałaska

Energies 2021, 14(10), 2770; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/en14102770 - 12 May 2021

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 1952

Abstract

Improving quality of life still remains the main goal of strategic documents and is promoted by leaders on the global, national, regional, and local levels. Moreover, this ambitious challenge should be consistent with the principles of sustainable development, including the social, economic, and environmental aspects. The ISO 37120 indicators within the World Council on City Data (WCCD) database may be used to monitor the urban performance over time. However, the interpretation of the results is not always easy and sometimes requires a complex analysis. The aim of this paper was to investigate the possibility of illustrating in a transparent way the urban quality of life using the utility method. This study also presents that this method may facilitate making data-driven decisions on urban management, planning and investment. Thus, it may be useful for decision makers and help cities and communities of all sizes to become more sustainable, safe and resilient, prosperous, inclusive, and smart. The analysis has been carried out using the examples of selected European cities: Amsterdam, Gdynia, London, and Zagreb. The hypothesis reads as follows: it is possible to use the total and partial utility method in order to assess the level of urban quality of life with regard to the three dimensions of sustainable development in order to monitor progress and results and prioritize and implement the changes within urban policy. Research results indicate that there are significant differences between the compared cities within the economic, social, and ecological aspects. This analysis may constitute an introduction to the development of more complex models in the future. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Regional Economic Adaptability and Sustainability Transition)

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18 pages, 1673 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Newcomers from the Periphery: The International Expansion of Polish Automotive Companies

by Grzegorz Micek, Robert Guzik, Krzysztof Gwosdz and Bolesław Domański

Energies 2021, 14(9), 2617; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/en14092617 - 03 May 2021

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2325

Abstract

The rapid growth of Central European economies has been related to inward FDI, so these countries are often regarded as dependent market economies. What is interesting in this context is the international expansion of some domestic-owned manufacturing companies from Central Europe. Looking through the lens of global production networks (GPN) and evolutionary resilience perspectives, the paper aims to identify paths and mechanisms of development of new multinational companies, namely Polish automotive firms expanding from around 2010 onwards in the global markets through acquisitions and greenfield investments in Western Europe, North America, and Asia. The authors ponder on the underlying motives and barriers of this process, the capabilities, and features of Polish-owned companies. In order to do it, both qualitative (13 interviews with representatives of new multinationals and the other stakeholders preceded by content analysis of various documents, including company annual reports in particular) and quantitative (analysis of international trade, revenues, employment, locational data) insights are used for the period covering the time span between 1999 and 2020. As the result, the international expansion of domestic-owned firms is interpreted as a specific critical conjuncture of three mechanisms: (1) development of Central-Eastern European economies since the end of communism, (2) the evolution of the Western European core, and (3) the trajectory of individual Polish firms. We argue development trajectories of the firms going global cannot be understood without taking into account the dynamic interdependence between firm-specific capabilities (including the position within GPNs) and the changing characteristics of the countries (e.g., evolving regional assets). Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Regional Economic Adaptability and Sustainability Transition)

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32 pages, 7647 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Stakeholders of the Multimodal Freight Transport Ecosystem in Polish–Czech–Slovak Cross-Border Area

by Marzena Kramarz, Lilla Knop, Edyta Przybylska and Katarzyna Dohn

Energies 2021, 14(8), 2242; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/en14082242 - 16 Apr 2021

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2631

Abstract

The research on the multimodal transport development within the cross-border area is a result of identified gaps in the system solutions and cooperation between stakeholders of three countries: Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Freight transport is an especially complex problem. It is an area that is not comprehensively recognized in the context of cross-border cooperation. The results of the research presented in this paper are the continuation of analyses performed within the scope of the international project framework TRANS TRITIA. At the moment, transport policy assumes the struggle for the utilization of multimodality within freight transport. This is justified by the need to reduce external transport costs. At the same time, this necessitates actions of a technical, organizational, and legislation nature as well as cooperation between stakeholders. The multimodal transport ecosystem is a vision of the transport within cross-border areas that assumes the increase in the flow dynamics within the multimodal transport. The main goal of this paper was the stakeholders’ analysis and identification of their roles in the ecosystem of multimodal freight transport within the Polish–Czech–Slovak cross-border area. The conceptualization of the multimodal freight transport ecosystem was essential to achieving the objective. To achieve the objective, a stakeholder analysis has been performed based on expert research. As a result of the research, organizational projects have been proposed to strengthen the idea of the coevolution of the multimodal transport ecosystem. The key conclusion from the performed research is the declaration that a holistic view of the multimodal transport ecosystem necessitates the appointment of a coordinator who will synchronize knowledge, business, and innovation ecosystems. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Regional Economic Adaptability and Sustainability Transition)

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13 pages, 482 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Comparative Analysis of Long-Distance Transportation with the Example of Sea and Rail Transport

by Tomasz Neumann

Energies 2021, 14(6), 1689; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/en14061689 - 18 Mar 2021

Cited by 13 | Viewed by 3329

Abstract

The subject of the article is a comparative long-distance transport analysis based on the relationship between central and eastern China and Poland. It provides an overview of issues related to long-haul China–Poland. The technique for order of preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) method was proposed in the multi-criteria analysis. This method was briefly discussed, and its choice was justified. Then, the criteria adopted in the analysis were presented, i.e., time, cost, maximum number of containers, and ecology index. Multi-criteria analysis was carried out for three cases: the transport of one loading unit, 82 loading units, and 200 loading units. The geopolitical and operational situation on the transport route for the analyzed modes of transport was discussed. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Regional Economic Adaptability and Sustainability Transition)

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