Reducing household energy consumption is essential for meeting long-term climate and energy goals. This paper explores two key household-level actions for energy-conservation— investment in energy efficiency (EE) and engagement in energy-saving behaviours—and examines potential interconnections between them. Using original survey data from 500 Spanish households on washing machine purchases, we analyse the determinants of both the adoption of highly energy-efficient washing machines and the implementation of daily energy-saving practices. The results show that attitudes towards EE and the environment, risk and time preferences, prior experiences and habits, socio-economic characteristics, and EE policy measures are associated with both actions. However, the specific determinants often differ across the two energy-conservation dimensions or exert distinct effects. Moreover, we find no evidence of a significant causal effect of the purchase of energy-efficient appliances on the adoption of energy-saving behaviour, or vice versa. This suggests that focusing exclusively on a single conservation strategy may be insufficient to effectively reduce household energy consumption. Instead, a dual-pathway approach is required. Policies should therefore promote both the uptake of energy-efficient technologies and the adoption of curtailment behaviours. Our results suggest that a combination of informational, economic, and financial policy tools can contribute to more comprehensive household energy conservation.
Volume 15
Lower-carbon energy and Total Factor Productivity: Evidence from Vietnamese Firm-Level Panel Data
This study investigates the long-term and causal relationship between lower-carbon energy consumption and firm-level Total Factor Productivity (TFP) in Vietnam. Utilizing panel data cointegration, DOLS estimation, and Granger causality tests on a balanced panel dataset from 2011-2020, we find evidence of a long-term relationship across the economy. While overall lower-carbon energy consumption positively impacts TFP, sectoral analysis reveals a nuanced story: a positive long-term relationship in Manufacturing and Construction, but a negative one for Wholesale/ Retail and Logistics, particularly linked to LPG/natural gas consumption. Causality tests confirm a two-way relationship only for the full sample and Manufacturing, with other sub-sectors showing unidirectional causality from TFP to lower-carbon energy. These findings highlight the critical need for tailored, sector-specific energy transition policies in Vietnam. Policies should foster lower-carbon energy adoption in sectors showing positive TFP impacts, while actively discouraging reliance on LPG/natural gas in others. Furthermore, enhancing overall firm productivity and investing in robust green infrastructure are crucial to enable and accelerate sustainable energy transitions across the economy. These findings suggest that energy transition policies should be sector-specific and account for firms’ productive capacity, as the relationship between lower-carbon energy adoption and TFP varies markedly across sectors and firm types.
From Intention to Action: Policies for Addressing the Barriers of Smart Meter Penetration in Emerging Markets
The rapid global shift towards sustainable energy solutions has highlighted the crucial role of smart meters in effectively managing energy consumption. This study employs the “Theory of Planned Behaviour” to analyse the impact of attitude, socio-economic advantage, environmental benefit, and subjective norm on the intention to continue the use of smart meters, with a particular focus on the role of data privacy concerns. The study utilizes structural equation modelling to analyse the data collected from a randomly selected sample of 405 smart meter customers. The results demonstrate the strong effect of socio-economic advantage on the willingness to continue use, with a significant effect for environmental benefit and policy support. In addition, the study finds data privacy concerns to be a critical barrier to the continuing use of meters, significantly reducing their willingness to use them, even when they express a strong desire. Based on the findings, several policy implications for strengthening continued usage of smart meters among existing users. Further policies propose standardised installation training, consumer engagement through smart apps, digital billing and ease-of-
access, and comprehensive data protection measures. The study puts forward a comprehensive roadmap for higher penetration of smart meters by 2040.
Adverse effects of the use of solid fuels on health outcomes in Chile
This study provides nationally representative evidence on the health effects of household solid fuel use in Chile, where firewood remains a common heating source despite high electrification. Using pooled CASEN microdata for 2015, 2017, and 2022, we estimate the Average Treatment Effect on the Treated (ATT) of living in a solid-fuel household on multiple morbidity indicators. To strengthen identification in repeated cross-sections and ensure comparisons are made within common support, we apply Coarsened Exact Matching (CEM) on key socioeconomic, housing, territorial, and survey-year characteristics, and estimate weighted post-matching linear probability models with household-clustered standard errors. Using self-reported morbidity and medical-treatment indicators, we find that solid-fuel use is associated with higher probabilities of recent illness (+2.14 pp) and treated morbidity, with the most consistent evidence for chronic systemic conditions (+0.49 pp) and weaker but positive evidence for cardiovascular conditions (+0.46 pp). These estimates reflect differences in health outcomes between comparable matched groups rather than cumulative long-run exposure effects. Heterogeneity analyses suggest that effects are more consistently concentrated among women
and working-age adults, and that estimates vary meaningfully across macro-zones. Overall, the findings highlight household solid-fuel use as a relevant and unequal source of health risk in Chile, and point to the value of policies that facilitate cleaner residential heating and reduce exposure among vulnerable groups.
The Local Engagement, Assessment, and Planning (Leap) Framework: A Method for Community Engagement in Energy Project Development
Decisions about the siting of energy infrastructure have traditionally prioritized factors such as cost, access to transportation corridors, and proximity to existing infrastructure. While community input has sometimes been considered, it has not always been a principal component of the decision-making process. In some cases, this has contributed to tensions between local residents and industry. In recent years, there has been growing interest—from firms, government agencies, and academic researchers—in developing more structured approaches to community engagement. In this paper, we introduce the Local Engagement, Assessment, and Planning (LEAP) Framework as a method for community engagement related to energy projects. The LEAP includes four components: 1) Structured Community Listening Sessions; 2) Project and Community Mapping; 3) Economic and Tax Impact Modeling; and 4) Communication Back to the Community. The LEAP Framework aims to enhance local capacity for informed decision-making by providing high-quality information in a transparent and accessible format to support deliberative dialogue between project developers and local community stakeholders.
Empirical Stress Test of the Merit‑Order Mechanism Under Extreme Price Shocks: A Unit‑Level Analysis of Coal, Lignite, and Gas Units in Poland during the European Energy Crisis
European electricity markets experienced an exceptional stress test in 2021–2023, raising renewed questions about how marginal pricing and the merit‑order mechanism perform under extreme fuel and carbon price shocks. This paper provides a unit‑level empirical assessment of these dynamics for Poland, an electricity system still dominated by coal, with a smaller but growing Combined-Cycle Gas Turbines (CCGTs) fleet and rapidly rising renewables. A transparent short‑run marginal cost (SRMC) model for all centrally dispatched hard‑coal, lignite, and gas‑fired units has been constructed and presented annual merit‑order stacks for 2021–2023. The analysis decomposes SRMC into fuel, transport (hard coal), and EU ETS (Emissions Trading System) components to attribute observed reranking to interpretable cost channels rather than aggregate price movements. The results document a clear crisis‑related reshuffling: record gas prices in 2022 pushed CCGT units markedly rightwards, while the highest‑cost tail remained anchored in the oldest hard‑coal units in all three years. A structured ±25% sensitivity analysis demonstrates robust, technology‑specific exposure profiles: SRMC is fuel‑driven for CCGT, carbon‑driven (EU-ETS) for lignite, and jointly driven by coal and EU ETS costs for hard coal. These results provide a replicable empirical basis for economically coherent phase‑out sequencing and clarify how fossil‑price shocks transmit through marginal pricing to the European electricity market. Policy implications align with the emerging European consensus: maintain marginal pricing for dispatch efficiency, while reducing exposure to fossil‑driven marginality through long‑term contracting, targeted adequacy mechanisms, and accelerated deployment of low‑carbon flexibility
Carbon Capture Technologies for a Decarbonized Energy System –An Update of the Scenario-Reality Gap
In this paper we explore the development of two specific carbon capture technologies, namely Carbon Capture, Transport, and Storage (CCTS) and Direct Air Capture (DAC) with respect to the role attributed to them by long-term climate scenarios. We ask whether the critical assessment in earlier literature of the gap between ambitious targets in top-down energy and climate models and the modest level of real-world implementation still persists. We provide a survey of the full set of projects on CCTS in the energy and industry sectors, as well as of all DAC projects world-wide. For CCTS, we find that although several demonstration projects have been implemented over the past 15 years, the scale of deployment remains low. In the power sector, only a few large-scale projects remain operational as of 2025; others have been delayed or cancelled. Industrial CCTS shows broader engagement, yet most projects remain below the 1 MtCO2 /year threshold. The deployment of DAC, too, has remained at very low levels: While integrated assessment models (e.g., EMF-38 and AR6 scenarios) project deployment of several gigatons per year by 2050, the actual installed DAC capacity in June 2025 remains below 0.05 MtCO2 /year. The paper concludes that while carbon capture remains a compelling field for innovation, the gap between scenario optimism and real-world progress has not closed. This is not the “fault” of the models, but these findings suggest that optimal technology deployment strategies might be more complex to implement than these models suggest.
Demand-Side Flexibility under Alternative Electricity Market Designs: Insights from a Multi-Level Modelling Framework
The transformation of the European electricity system from centralized fossil-based generation to a decentralized renewable-based system poses challenges for the current market design with uniform national price zones. This design lacks spatially differentiated investment signals and market incentives for grid-supportive flexibility behavior. This study examines various market design options—such as bidding zone reconfigurations, capacity payments, and dynamic tariffs—and analyzes their combined effects on investment decisions, dispatch and ex-post congestion management. A multi-level electricity market model is applied to the German power system for the year 2030, incorporating market-driven investments and system operation. Results indicate that a uniform price zone leads to suboptimal investment signals and inefficient deployment of flexibility options. Capacity payments can ensure overall installed capacity levels but fail to provide regional incentives. In contrast, zonal pricing reflects structural congestion and aligns investment incentives with grid information, substantially improving flexibility deployment and reducing congestion. Overall, regional price differentiation emerges as the key driver of efficient investment and system operation, while capacity payments and dynamic tariffs only unfold additional value when combined with such locational signals.
The Role of Finance and Income in Energy Diversification: A Club Convergence Analysis of Asia-Pacific
The Asia-Pacific region is the world’s largest energy consumer, yet energy diversification across countries remains significantly uneven despite rising demand and renewable progress. This study examines whether energy diversification is converging in the region and how financial development and economic wealth influence this process. Using data from 40 countries between 1997 and 2021, we found that countries with initially low diversification have improved faster, and regional disparities have narrowed. However, the distribution of diversification levels reveals two distinct peaks, suggesting the presence of convergence clubs. The log-t test confirms this by rejecting full convergence and identifying two clubs: Club 1 (14 countries) with low and slightly declining diversification, and Club 2 (22 countries) with high and increasing diversification. Regional-level regression results show financial development as the strongest driver of energy diversification, followed by per capita income. At the club level, financial development consistently supports diversification, but income has mixed effects negatively associated with diversification in Club 1 and weakly positive in Club 2. These findings underscore the need for club-specific strategies, with policymakers tailoring interventions to their country’s club membership, energy diversification level, and development stage.
Spatial interdependencies and the role of PESTLE framework in shaping OECD energy transition pathways
The present study explores spatial spillover effects of PESTLE (Political, economic, social, technological, legal, and environmental) factors on energy transition (ET) across 31 OECD economies from 1996 to 2021. The inverse distance weight matrix (IDWM) is used for advance spatial econometrics analysis. Global Moran’s I and Local Moran’s tests confirm the presence of spatial autocorrelation. The empirical findings of a Spatial Durbin Model reveal that government policies (GP), financial inclusion (FI), human development (HD) and green technological innovations (GTI) create a positive spillover effect and accelerate the pace of energy transition (ET) in home and neighbouring economies. In contrast, ecological footprint (EF) and inflation produce a negative spillover effect and a decline in ET. The study’s insights, aligned with international accords and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 7 and 13, offer vital directions to decision-makers to strengthen the energy transition process and the challenges to a sustainable growth.