In October 2014, the European Union (EU) set ambitious climate and energy targets for 2030, confirming its global leadership on climate change. But while the targets are in place, the legal framework to implement them is yet to be developed. Energy Policies of IEA Countries: European Union –...

A review of the experience of IEA countries after the oil crises in the 1970s, which initiated a surge of investments in renewables research and development. While use of renewables has grown rapidly, they still account for only a small portion of the IEA energy mix. This work examines policies...

Korea, the world’s thirteenth-largest economy and the seventh-largest exporter, is an energy-intensive nation. In 2008, the country adopted a long-term “green growth” strategy to foster economic development by means of low-carbon technologies and clean energy; since then, the government...

Finland’s economy is highly industrialised. Yet with over one-third of its territory located above the Arctic Circle, the country is largely rural and sparsely populated, except for its southern tip. With its energy-intensive industries and its cold climate, Finland’s energy consumption per...

Russia is rich not only in oil, gas and coal, but also in wind, hydro, geothermal, biomass and solar energy – the resources of renewable energy. However, fossil fuels dominate Russia’s current energy mix, while its abundant and diverse renewable energy resources play little role. What are...

Electric power in OECD countries is mostly produced by large central generating stations, then transmitted along high voltage lines to local distribution systems that carry it to final consumers. Distributed generation plants are different. They produce power on an electricity consumer’s own...