IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jeners/v14y2021i5p1509-d513737.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Tackling Complexity of the Just Transition in the EU: Evidence from Romania

Author

Listed:
  • Roxana Voicu-Dorobanțu

    (The Faculty of International Business and Economics, The Bucharest University of Economic Studies, 010374 Bucharest, Romania)

  • Clara Volintiru

    (The Faculty of International Business and Economics, The Bucharest University of Economic Studies, 010374 Bucharest, Romania)

  • Maria-Floriana Popescu

    (The Faculty of International Business and Economics, The Bucharest University of Economic Studies, 010374 Bucharest, Romania)

  • Vlad Nerău

    (The Faculty of Theoretical and Applied Economics, The Bucharest University of Economic Studies, 010374 Bucharest, Romania)

  • George Ștefan

    (The Faculty of Theoretical and Applied Economics, The Bucharest University of Economic Studies, 010374 Bucharest, Romania)

Abstract

The process of reaching carbon neutrality by 2050 and cutting CO 2 emissions by 2030 by 55% compared to 1990 as per the EU Green Deal is highly complex. The energy mix must be changed to ensure long-term environmental sustainability, mainly by closing down coal sites, while preserving the energy-intensive short-term economic growth, ensuring social equity, and opening opportunities for regions diminishing in population and potential. Romania is currently in the position of deciding the optimal way forward in this challenging societal shift while morphing to evidence-based policy-making and anticipatory governance, mainly in its two coal-mining regions. This article provides possible future scenarios for tackling this complex issue in Romania through a three-pronged, staggered, methodology: (1) clustering Romania with other similar countries from the point of view of the Just Transition efforts (i.e., the energy mix and the socio-economic parameters), (2) analyzing Romania’s potential evolution of the energy mix from the point of the thermal efficiency of two major power plants (CEH and CEO) and the systemic energy losses, and (3) providing insights on the socio-economic context (economic development and labor market transformations, including the component on the effects on vulnerable consumers) of the central coal regions in Romania.

Suggested Citation

  • Roxana Voicu-Dorobanțu & Clara Volintiru & Maria-Floriana Popescu & Vlad Nerău & George Ștefan, 2021. "Tackling Complexity of the Just Transition in the EU: Evidence from Romania," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-22, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:14:y:2021:i:5:p:1509-:d:513737
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/5/1509/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/5/1509/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Michael Metzger & Mathias Duckheim & Marco Franken & Hans Joerg Heger & Matthias Huber & Markus Knittel & Till Kolster & Martin Kueppers & Carola Meier & Dieter Most & Simon Paulus & Lothar Wyrwoll & , 2021. "Pathways toward a Decarbonized Future—Impact on Security of Supply and System Stability in a Sustainable German Energy System," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(3), pages 1-28, January.
    2. Daniel Ştefan Armeanu & Ştefan Cristian Gherghina & George Pasmangiu, 2019. "Exploring the Causal Nexus between Energy Consumption, Environmental Pollution and Economic Growth: Empirical Evidence from Central and Eastern Europe," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(19), pages 1-27, September.
    3. Glenn Milligan & Martha Cooper, 1988. "A study of standardization of variables in cluster analysis," Journal of Classification, Springer;The Classification Society, vol. 5(2), pages 181-204, September.
    4. Bointner, Raphael, 2014. "Innovation in the energy sector: Lessons learnt from R&D expenditures and patents in selected IEA countries," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 733-747.
    5. Anderson, Kym, 1995. "The political economy of coal subsidies in Europe," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 23(6), pages 485-496, June.
    6. Gilbert, John & Muchová, Eva, 2018. "Export competitiveness of Central and Eastern Europe since the enlargement of the EU," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 78-85.
    7. Rentier, Gerrit & Lelieveldt, Herman & Kramer, Gert Jan, 2019. "Varieties of coal-fired power phase-out across Europe," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 620-632.
    8. Pavel Tcvetkov, 2021. "Climate Policy Imbalance in the Energy Sector: Time to Focus on the Value of CO 2 Utilization," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(2), pages 1-22, January.
    9. Stephen Broadberry & Bishnupriya Gupta, 2006. "The early modern great divergence: wages, prices and economic development in Europe and Asia, 1500–1800," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 59(1), pages 2-31, February.
    10. John E. Roemer (ed.), 1997. "Property Relations, Incentives and Welfare," International Economic Association Series, Palgrave Macmillan, number 978-1-349-25287-9, June.
    11. Philippe Aghion & Olivier Jean Blanchard & Wendy Carlin, 1997. "The Economics of Enterprise Restructuring in Central and Eastern Europe," International Economic Association Series, in: John E. Roemer (ed.), Property Relations, Incentives and Welfare, chapter 11, pages 271-325, Palgrave Macmillan.
    12. Geels, Frank W., 2004. "From sectoral systems of innovation to socio-technical systems: Insights about dynamics and change from sociology and institutional theory," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 33(6-7), pages 897-920, September.
    13. Elena Druică & Zizi Goschin & Rodica Ianole-Călin, 2019. "Energy Poverty and Life Satisfaction: Structural Mechanisms and Their Implications," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(20), pages 1-20, October.
    14. Raluca Ignat & Marius Constantin, 2020. "Multidimensional Facets of Entrepreneurial Resilience during the COVID-19 Crisis through the Lens of the Wealthiest Romanian Counties," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(23), pages 1-29, December.
    15. Geels, Frank W., 2010. "Ontologies, socio-technical transitions (to sustainability), and the multi-level perspective," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(4), pages 495-510, May.
    16. Geels, Frank W. & Schot, Johan, 2007. "Typology of sociotechnical transition pathways," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(3), pages 399-417, April.
    17. Oei, Pao-Yu & Brauers, Hanna & Herpich, Philipp, 2020. "Lessons from Germany’s hard coal mining phase-out: policies and transition from 1950 to 2018," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 20(8), pages 963-979.
    18. Stefan Ćetković & Aron Buzogány, 2019. "The Political Economy of EU Climate and Energy Policies in Central and Eastern Europe Revisited: Shifting Coalitions and Prospects for Clean Energy Transitions," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 7(1), pages 124-138.
    19. Frondel, Manuel & Kambeck, Rainer & Schmidt, Christoph M., 2007. "Hard coal subsidies: A never-ending story?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(7), pages 3807-3814, July.
    20. Grégory Claeys & Simone Tagliapietra & Georg Zachmann, 2019. "How to make the European Green Deal work," Policy Contributions 33125, Bruegel.
    21. Pao-Yu Oei & Hanna Brauers & Philipp Herpich, 2020. "Lessons from Germany’s hard coal mining phase-out: policies and transition from 1950 to 2018," Climate Policy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(8), pages 963-979, September.
    22. Marta Daroń & Marlena Wilk, 2021. "Management of Energy Sources and the Development Potential in the Energy Production Sector—A Comparison of EU Countries," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(3), pages 1-12, January.
    23. Manowska, Anna & Osadnik, Katarzyna Tobór & Wyganowska, Małgorzata, 2017. "Economic and social aspects of restructuring Polish coal mining: Focusing on Poland and the EU," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 192-200.
    24. Karlijn Muiderman & Aarti Gupta & Joost Vervoort & Frank Biermann, 2020. "Four approaches to anticipatory climate governance: Different conceptions of the future and implications for the present," Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 11(6), November.
    25. Geels, Frank W., 2002. "Technological transitions as evolutionary reconfiguration processes: a multi-level perspective and a case-study," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 31(8-9), pages 1257-1274, December.
    26. Storchmann, Karl, 2005. "The rise and fall of German hard coal subsidies," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 33(11), pages 1469-1492, July.
    27. Nebojša Nakićenović & Nadejda Victor & Tsuneyuki Morita, 1998. "Emissions Scenarios Database and Review of Scenarios," Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, Springer, vol. 3(2), pages 95-131, December.
    28. Frank W. Geels, 2005. "Technological Transitions and System Innovations," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 3576.
    29. Andrew K. Copus, 2001. "From Core-periphery to Polycentric Development: Concepts of Spatial and Aspatial Peripherality," European Planning Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 9(4), pages 539-552, June.
    30. Healy, Noel & Barry, John, 2017. "Politicizing energy justice and energy system transitions: Fossil fuel divestment and a “just transition”," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 451-459.
    31. Leo Urban Wangler, 2013. "Renewables and innovation: did policy induced structural change in the energy sector effect innovation in green technologies?," Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 56(2), pages 211-237, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Arsani Alina & Stefan George, 2024. "Energy Transition and European Sub-Models. Restructuring EU Economy," Proceedings of the International Conference on Business Excellence, Sciendo, vol. 18(1), pages 86-101.
    2. Kerstin Mohr, 2021. "Breaking the Dichotomies: Climate, Coal, and Gender. Paving the Way to a Just Transition. The Example of Colombia," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(17), pages 1-18, September.
    3. Tudorică, Bogdan-George & Bucur, Cristian & Panait, Mirela & Oprea, Simona-Vasilica & Bâra, Adela, 2024. "Energetic Equilibrium: Optimizing renewable and non-renewable energy sources via particle swarm optimization," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    4. Florian Gaman & Cristina Iacoboaea & Mihaela Aldea & Oana Luca & Adrian Andrei Stănescu & Carmen Mihaela Boteanu, 2022. "Energy Transition in Marginalized Urban Areas: The Case of Romania," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(11), pages 1-22, June.
    5. Marius Constantin & Mihai Dinu & Simona Roxana Patarlageanu & Cristian Chelariu, 2021. "Sustainable Development Disparities in the EU-27 Based on R&D and Innovation Factors," The AMFITEATRU ECONOMIC journal, Academy of Economic Studies - Bucharest, Romania, vol. 23(Special15), pages 948-948, November.
    6. Andreea - Emanuela Dragoi & Paul Calanter & Mihaela Gramaticu & Alina Dumitrescu & Alina-Cerasela Aluculesei, 2023. "The Challenges for Green Energy in Romania under Current Energy Crisis," The AMFITEATRU ECONOMIC journal, Academy of Economic Studies - Bucharest, Romania, vol. 25(64), pages 728-728, August.
    7. Ibolya Török & József Benedek & Manuel Gómez-Zaldívar, 2022. "Quantifying Subnational Economic Complexity: Evidence from Romania," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(17), pages 1-22, August.
    8. Florina Pinzaru & Alina Mihaela Dima & Alexandra Zbuchea & Zoltan Veres, 2022. "Adopting Sustainability and Digital Transformation in Business in Romania: A Multifaceted Approach in the Context of the Just Transition," The AMFITEATRU ECONOMIC journal, Academy of Economic Studies - Bucharest, Romania, vol. 24(59), pages 1-28.
    9. Radu Petrariu & Marius Constantin & Mihai Dinu & Simona Roxana Pătărlăgeanu & Mădălina Elena Deaconu, 2021. "Water, Energy, Food, Waste Nexus: Between Synergy and Trade-Offs in Romania Based on Entrepreneurship and Economic Performance," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(16), pages 1-23, August.
    10. Vlad STOICESCU & Catalin VRABIE & Teodora BITOIU, 2023. "Energy ecosystems layered over hydrogen valleys for sustainable smart communities. Strategic framework for the Green Deal Industrial Plan implementation in Romania," Smart Cities International Conference (SCIC) Proceedings, Smart-EDU Hub, Faculty of Public Administration, National University of Political Studies & Public Administration, vol. 11, pages 443-498, June.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Jano-Ito, Marco A. & Crawford-Brown, Douglas, 2016. "Socio-technical analysis of the electricity sector of Mexico: Its historical evolution and implications for a transition towards low-carbon development," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 567-590.
    2. Walrave, Bob & Talmar, Madis & Podoynitsyna, Ksenia S. & Romme, A. Georges L. & Verbong, Geert P.J., 2018. "A multi-level perspective on innovation ecosystems for path-breaking innovation," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 136(C), pages 103-113.
    3. Lachman, Daniël A., 2013. "A survey and review of approaches to study transitions," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 269-276.
    4. Markard, Jochen & Raven, Rob & Truffer, Bernhard, 2012. "Sustainability transitions: An emerging field of research and its prospects," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 41(6), pages 955-967.
    5. Lee, Junmin & Kim, Keungoui & Kim, Jiyong & Hwang, Junseok, 2022. "The relationship between shared mobility and regulation in South Korea: A system dynamics approach from the socio-technical transitions perspective," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 109(C).
    6. Kriechbaum, Michael & Posch, Alfred & Hauswiesner, Angelika, 2021. "Hype cycles during socio-technical transitions: The dynamics of collective expectations about renewable energy in Germany," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(9).
    7. van Geenhuizen, Marina & Ye, Qing, 2014. "Responsible innovators: open networks on the way to sustainability transitions," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 87(C), pages 28-40.
    8. Dijk, Marc & Orsato, Renato J. & Kemp, René, 2015. "Towards a regime-based typology of market evolution," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 276-289.
    9. Weigelt, Carmen & Lu, Shaohua & Verhaal, J. Cameron, 2021. "Blinded by the sun: The role of prosumers as niche actors in incumbent firms’ adoption of solar power during sustainability transitions," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(9).
    10. Barton, John & Davies, Lloyd & Dooley, Ben & Foxon, Timothy J. & Galloway, Stuart & Hammond, Geoffrey P. & O’Grady, Áine & Robertson, Elizabeth & Thomson, Murray, 2018. "Transition pathways for a UK low-carbon electricity system: Comparing scenarios and technology implications," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 82(P3), pages 2779-2790.
    11. Svensson, Oscar & Nikoleris, Alexandra, 2018. "Structure reconsidered: Towards new foundations of explanatory transitions theory," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(2), pages 462-473.
    12. Hamid El Bilali, 2019. "The Multi-Level Perspective in Research on Sustainability Transitions in Agriculture and Food Systems: A Systematic Review," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 9(4), pages 1-24, April.
    13. Berggren, Christian & Magnusson, Thomas & Sushandoyo, Dedy, 2015. "Transition pathways revisited: Established firms as multi-level actors in the heavy vehicle industry," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(5), pages 1017-1028.
    14. Genus, Audley & Coles, Anne-Marie, 2008. "Rethinking the multi-level perspective of technological transitions," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(9), pages 1436-1445, October.
    15. Sorrell, Steve, 2018. "Explaining sociotechnical transitions: A critical realist perspective," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(7), pages 1267-1282.
    16. Kvellheim, Ann Kristin, 2017. "The power of buildings in climate change mitigation: The case of Norway," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 653-661.
    17. Ford, Rebecca & Maidment, Chris & Vigurs, Carol & Fell, Michael J. & Morris, Madeleine, 2021. "Smart local energy systems (SLES): A framework for exploring transition, context, and impacts," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 166(C).
    18. Katherine A. Daniell & Jean-Daniel Rinaudo & Noel Chan & Céline Nauges & Quentin Grafton, 2015. "Understanding and Managing Urban Water in Transition," Post-Print hal-01183846, HAL.
    19. Fuenfschilling, Lea & Binz, Christian, 2017. "Global socio-technical regimes," Papers in Innovation Studies 2017/1, Lund University, CIRCLE - Centre for Innovation Research.
    20. Zhang, Marina Yue, 2016. "Meso-level factors in technological transitions: The development of TD-SCDMA in China," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(2), pages 546-559.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:14:y:2021:i:5:p:1509-:d:513737. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.