Monitoring the green transition in the power sector with the electricity generation emissions (EGE) tracker

This paper introduces the Electricity Generation Emissions (EGE) tracker as a new indicator for measuring the decarbonization process associated with the electricity generation mix. The EGE is a composite indicator calculated at the cross-country level on the basis of electricity production of diffe...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Energy strategy reviews 2023-11, Vol.50, p.101236, Article 101236
Main Authors: Portela, J., Roch-Dupré, D., Figuerola-Ferretti Garrigues, I., Yéboles, C., Salazar, A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Composite indicator
Decarbonization
Green transition
Monitoring
Sustainability
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:This paper introduces the Electricity Generation Emissions (EGE) tracker as a new indicator for measuring the decarbonization process associated with the electricity generation mix. The EGE is a composite indicator calculated at the cross-country level on the basis of electricity production of different generation technologies weighted by their corresponding life cycle emission factors. In addition, a four-step methodology is proposed to monitor the energy transition rigorously. It combines index construction and decomposition with the application of machine learning and visualization techniques in a cross-country cluster analysis and temporal mapping. EGE tracker provides a benchmark for comparing countries' sustainability performance in the electricity generation process and quantifies the effectiveness of their climate policies. The design of the index offers a novel measurement to analyze the contribution of each technology to emission reduction. The application of EGE tracker and the proposed methodology reveals a highly heterogeneous emissions reduction trend across the OECD, indicating that the process of moving away from fossil fuels varies by country and evidences different effectiveness in their climate policies. Moreover, our study highlights the potential for better utilization of renewables and the optimization of sustainable energy mix combinations, paving the way for a cleaner, greener energy future. •New composite indicator to track decarbonization trends in the power sector.•A benchmark for comparing countries' climate policy effectiveness.•Analyzes the contribution of each technology to emission reduction.•Accounts for life cycle emissions in electricity generation.
ISSN:2211-467X
2211-467X
DOI:10.1016/j.esr.2023.101236