The nuclear debate is strong in many countries, with the discussion of its economics being a significant part of it. However, most of the estimates are based on a levelized-cost methodology, which presents several shortcomings, particularly when applied to liberalized electricity markets. Our...

Even after Fukushima, the nuclear debate is strong in many countries, with the discussion of its economics being a significant part of it. However, most of the estimates are based on a levelized-cost methodology, which presents several shortcomings, particularly when applied to liberalized...

Innovation policy needs to respond to the complexity posed by sustainability goals and the globalization of innovation processes. Yet, current representations of technological innovation systems are not well suited to facilitate this view: they are built taking the diffusion of a technology as...

There is an increasing concern in the energy sector about how to confront its growing water demand, in a global setting in which water is expected to become a scarcer good. Indeed, the increase in energy demand will require more water for cooling power plants, for growing biofuels, or for...

One of the objectives of energy security is the uninterrupted physical availability of energy. However, there is limited information about how much is the cost of energy supply interruptions. This information is essential to optimize investment and operating decisions to prevent energy...

Growing concerns about climate change and energy dependence are driving specific policies to support renewable or more efficient energy sources in many regions, particularly in the production of electricity. These policies have a non-negligible cost, and therefore a careful assessment of their...

Energy efficiency and conservation are major factors in the reduction of environmental impact of the energy sector, particularly with regard to climate change. Energy efficiency also contributes to reducing external dependence and vulnerabilities in the energy domain. In this paper we discuss...

The debate seems to be well settled among economists in that the best policy instrument to reduce carbon emissions is a carbon tax. However and surprisingly, most of these discussions have taken place in a firstbest setting. We think instead that second-best settings should be incorporated to...

During the last years, tourism has received increasing attention due to its environmental impacts. Particularly, the use of fossil energy has been considered as one of its major environmental problems and also one of the factors directly related to climatic change. Various studies have estimated...