Green Growth from the Viewpoint of the Czech Republic (original) (raw)

How to undermine ideas of Green growth: Case of photovoltaic electricity production in the Czech Republic

Proceedings of the 8th International Scientific Conference INPROFORUM Investment Decision-Making in the Period of Economic Recovery, 2014

This paper focuses on the boom of photovoltaic electricity sector in the Czech Republic in years 2007–2010. According to the 2001 EU directive, a legislation supporting the renewable electricity production passed through the Czech parliament in 2005. It was not flexible enough to allow responsible institutions to change the guaranteed subsidies (feed-in-tariffs) significantly to react to the 2007–2009 fall of investment costs of the photovoltaic industry. As a result of this the installed output of photovoltaic power stations rose from 0,01 % of overall installed output in 2007 to 9,7 % in 2010. Legislation cut the feed-in-tariffs for new power stations strictly in 2010 and a retroactive tax was put on some of those already built.

The potential of the usage of renewable energy in the Czech Republic

International journal of social sciences, 2014

Energy is main resources for economy development in every country and have important and significant influence in all societies. The well-being of people, industry and economy depends on safe, secure, sustainable and available energy. Energy sector plays an important role for the Czech Republic’s economy and for the regional energy security. The country has established a commitment with the EU to achieve an 8% share of electricity generated from RES in domestic electricity generation by 2010 and achieve a share of 13% of energy made from RES per final consumption before 2020. This paper deals with renewable energy sources in general and with special emphasis on renewable energy sources in the Czech Republic.

The Energy Sector and Energy Policy of the Czech Republic

The book The Energy Sector and Energy Policy of the Czech Republic is divided into eight chapters. The first describes the key actors and the legislative framework of the energy sector of the Czech Republic, including an analysis of the Government, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Ministry of the Environment, and other legislative and regulatory bodies and political parties. The second chapter introduces the rich and complicated history of the development of the Czech national energy sector. The following chapters familiarize the reader with the coal, oil, natural gas, nuclear, renewables industries, and electricity and heat. The book is recommended to scholars and researchers, as well as experts in the relevant fields of study, but will also serve as a guide for those outside academia who work with the topic daily, such as in public administration.

Climate & Energy Snapshot: Czech Republic the Political Economy of the Low- Carbon Transition

2018

This Briefing Paper presents an assessment of the political economy of the Czech Republic with regard to the low-carbon transition. This paper is part of a series of briefings on the four Central European states fo i g the Viseg ád G oup . Ofte pe ei ed as o e u ified lo working against the low-carbon transition, E3G digs deeper and studies their specificities, their influence and their particular social and economical interests, in order to identify opportunities to accelerate the low-carbon transition, domestically, and at the European level.

The limits of renewable energy sources in the Czech Republic

Czasopismo Techniczne. Mechanika, 2008

The method of material and energy balancing in the macro-system earth-surrounding was applied for evaluation of the present state, for prognosis and determination of limits for utilisation of renewable energy resources and for understanding of circulation of phytomass and CO 2 and for energy production. It was demonstrated that without regard to the type of phytomass the specific output of photosynthesis in kW/ha is approximately constant with the average value of 3,16 kW/ha. By qualified calculation at estimated production areas and conversion efficiency to utilisable energy it was estimated that the present energy consumption could be covered by production of phytomass by about 6,7%. The applied method is not specific for conditions of the Czech Republic and could be utilised generally.

Environment in the Czech Republic: A Positive and Rapid Change

Environmental Science & Technology, 2007

Slovenia) and 2007 (Bulgaria, Romania). With the exception of Cyprus, Malta, and to some extent also Slovenia, all of them were part of the Soviet Bloc until 1990, and the three Baltic States were part of the Soviet Union. In this paper, we focus on the development of environment-related phenomena in the Czech Republic and in some other CE countries (Figure 1). Quite similar features can be recognized in other countries of the former Soviet Bloc that are now members of the European Union. These countries, based on a common history and their present interests, were motivated by the desire to eliminate remnants of communist rule. Despite the dreadful shared legacy of the totalitarian period, these countries have made great efforts in a number of fields of common interest (including environmental protection) guided by the notion of catching up with the more developed Western countries. And they have achieved remarkable results in their approximation to Western Europe (WE).

A Curse of Coal? Exploring Unintended Regional Consequences of Coal Energy in the Czech Republic.

Focusing on coal energy from a geographical perspective, the unintended regional consequences of coal mining and combustion in the Czech Republic are discussed and analysed in terms of the environmental injustice and resource curse theories. The explorative case study attempts to identify significant associations between the spatially uneven distribution of coal power plants and the environmental and socioeconomic characteristics and development trends of affected areas. The findings indicate that the coal industries have contributed to slightly above average incomes and pensions, and have provided households with some technical services such as district heating. However, these positive effects have come at high environmental and health costs paid by the local populations. Above average rates of unemployment, homelessness and crime indicate that the benefits have been unevenly distributed economically. A higher proportion of uneducated people and ethnic minorities in affected districts suggest that coal energy is environmentally unjust.

Czech Republic and indicative targets of the European Union for electricity generation from renewable sources

Energy Policy, 2012

In 2010, the Czech Republic was one of the states of the European Union, which met the indicative target for the share of renewable energy sources in gross electricity consumption. That year, gross electricity generation from renewable sources amounted to a total volume of 5851 GWh, which corresponds to 8.24% of gross electricity consumption in the Czech Republic in the given time period. The largest share of the total came from hydroelectric power plants (47.7%) and biomass power plants (25.8%), and a smaller share from photovoltaic power plants (10.5%), biogas power plants (8.7%) and wind farms (5.7%). Compared with 2009, the highest year-on-year growth came from photovoltaic power plants (527 GWh, 44.2%) and, as far as other renewable sources are concerned, electricity generation at hydroelectric power plants (360 GWh, 30.2%) and biogas power plants (184 GWh, 15.4%) rose more sharply as well.

Lessons Learned from Economic Crisis? Environmental and Ecological Economics in the Czech Republic

INPROFORUM 2013: “The sources, limits and preconditions of the growth and development of the Czech Economy” conference proceedings, 2013

This essay tries to describe the present state of environmental and ecological economics among the economic scholars from the Czech Republic. It is based on the assumption, that recent financial, debt and economic crisis was an opportunity to change the current growth paradigm. Brief introduction covering the history of the concept of sustainable development and current trends like “green” or “sustainable” growth is presented as well as selected moments from the recent Czech politics and economy. More attention is paid to the academic economics dealing with environmental issues. The results show that some academic departments employ the concept of environmental and resource economics, but only few scholars are interested in the ecological economics and critically assess the context of growth. The crisis obviously did not help to change the growth paradigm in the Czech academia, neither in the Czech politics. Wider variety of economic viewpoints towards the social, economic and environmental challenges could help to understand them more and to find better solutions.