About this Research Topic
The development of energy economics holds a prominent place in the system of sustainable development goals and is envisaged in the United Nations’ Goal 7: “To ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all”. The very wording of this goal is problematic.
On the one hand, “sustainable” energy suggests a sufficiency of energy and its wide-scale availability to avoid energy crises, which the modern world is facing increasingly frequently under the influence of climate change; whilst, on the other hand, the modern world needs clean energy, which suggests the environmental friendliness of energy economics.
The combination of the digitalization of energy economics, under the new technological capabilities of Industry 4.0 and the increase in the level of environmental responsibility, has led to increased funding for environmental innovation in energy economics and ensuring simultaneous development of energy economics in both abovementioned directions.
The problem is that, first, global energy economics is heterogeneous. Second, the degree of involvement of countries across the world in the Fourth Industrial Revolution is widely differentiated. Third, the financial resources of countries across the world essentially differ from each other as well. Fourth, the level of progressiveness of societies in countries across the world is diverse.
The term “sustainability” in this Research Topic implies that the three essential prerequisites defined by Herman Daly (1990) are met: 1) the rate of development of renewable natural resources should be commensurate with the rate of their restoration; 2) the rate of waste emission should be commensurate with the absorbing capacity of the environment in which the waste is disposed of; 3) nonrenewable natural resources should be developed at the same rate at which they are substituted by renewable natural resources. Hence, sustainability is about a systemic ecological friendliness of the energy industry rather than mere longevity and economic feasibility.
The interrelation between sustainability and energy economics is apparent. Since the adoption of the SDGs, national green energy programs have been adopted by most countries all over the world. In this respect, of paramount importance are the policies that determine these relations, and the situation in the world energy markets.
Having regard to the above, the following problem can be defined: can energy economics (as a conventional sphere of society) meet the needs involved with sustainability issues? The present-day practice has shown that the need for energy resources is increasing from year to year, while non-renewable energy (e.g., oil, gas) and unsustainable energy (e.g., oil spills) predominate. The transition to 4.0 changes the context radically – Smart Grids and EnergyTech have the potential to promote the transition to sustainable energy; this Research Topic is intended to throw light on the experience and perspectives of sustainable energy.
This Research Topic aims to form a scientific and methodological basis and offer comprehensive practical recommendations that would be available worldwide for sustainable and environmental development of energy economics based on Smart Grids and EnergyTech. We hope to study international practices, substantiate the prospects, and offer recommendations for sustainable and environmental development of global energy economics based on Smart Grids and EnergyTech.
This Research Topic welcomes applied studies on the following topics (but not limited to):
• responsible energy industry based on the corporate environmental responsibility of energy providers and responsible consumption (forward-looking society);
• corporate social responsibility of energy companies;
• technological innovations of energy companies;
• Smart Grid in energy economics;
• EnergyTech in energy providers;
• clean energy: scenarios of the alternative energetics development in the age of the Fourth Industrial Revolution;
• sustainable and environmental development of energy economics in smart cities;
• digital energetics based on the technologies of Industry 4.0: IoT, blockchain, robots and AI;
• sustainable and environmental export of energy;
• monitoring of sustainable and environmental development of energy economics based on big data and datasets.
On the one hand, “sustainable” energy suggests a sufficiency of energy and its wide-scale availability to avoid energy crises, which the modern world is facing increasingly frequently under the influence of climate change; whilst, on the other hand, the modern world needs clean energy, which suggests the environmental friendliness of energy economics.
The combination of the digitalization of energy economics, under the new technological capabilities of Industry 4.0 and the increase in the level of environmental responsibility, has led to increased funding for environmental innovation in energy economics and ensuring simultaneous development of energy economics in both abovementioned directions.
The problem is that, first, global energy economics is heterogeneous. Second, the degree of involvement of countries across the world in the Fourth Industrial Revolution is widely differentiated. Third, the financial resources of countries across the world essentially differ from each other as well. Fourth, the level of progressiveness of societies in countries across the world is diverse.
The term “sustainability” in this Research Topic implies that the three essential prerequisites defined by Herman Daly (1990) are met: 1) the rate of development of renewable natural resources should be commensurate with the rate of their restoration; 2) the rate of waste emission should be commensurate with the absorbing capacity of the environment in which the waste is disposed of; 3) nonrenewable natural resources should be developed at the same rate at which they are substituted by renewable natural resources. Hence, sustainability is about a systemic ecological friendliness of the energy industry rather than mere longevity and economic feasibility.
The interrelation between sustainability and energy economics is apparent. Since the adoption of the SDGs, national green energy programs have been adopted by most countries all over the world. In this respect, of paramount importance are the policies that determine these relations, and the situation in the world energy markets.
Having regard to the above, the following problem can be defined: can energy economics (as a conventional sphere of society) meet the needs involved with sustainability issues? The present-day practice has shown that the need for energy resources is increasing from year to year, while non-renewable energy (e.g., oil, gas) and unsustainable energy (e.g., oil spills) predominate. The transition to 4.0 changes the context radically – Smart Grids and EnergyTech have the potential to promote the transition to sustainable energy; this Research Topic is intended to throw light on the experience and perspectives of sustainable energy.
This Research Topic aims to form a scientific and methodological basis and offer comprehensive practical recommendations that would be available worldwide for sustainable and environmental development of energy economics based on Smart Grids and EnergyTech. We hope to study international practices, substantiate the prospects, and offer recommendations for sustainable and environmental development of global energy economics based on Smart Grids and EnergyTech.
This Research Topic welcomes applied studies on the following topics (but not limited to):
• responsible energy industry based on the corporate environmental responsibility of energy providers and responsible consumption (forward-looking society);
• corporate social responsibility of energy companies;
• technological innovations of energy companies;
• Smart Grid in energy economics;
• EnergyTech in energy providers;
• clean energy: scenarios of the alternative energetics development in the age of the Fourth Industrial Revolution;
• sustainable and environmental development of energy economics in smart cities;
• digital energetics based on the technologies of Industry 4.0: IoT, blockchain, robots and AI;
• sustainable and environmental export of energy;
• monitoring of sustainable and environmental development of energy economics based on big data and datasets.
Keywords: Sustainable and environmental development, energy economics, Smart Grid, EnergyTech
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
