Screening of Factors for Assessing the Environmental and Economic Efficiency of Investment Projects in the Energy Sector

Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Sep 16;19(18):11716. doi: 10.3390/ijerph191811716.

Abstract

In view of the current agenda in the field of climate and environmental conservation, the requirements for environmental project appraisal are being tightened: the evaluation of environmental indicators of project implementation should be carried out on a par with indicators of its economic performance. Current approaches to the assessment of environmental and economic efficiency do not completely cover the negative environmental impacts of a project's implementation, and this reduces the effectiveness of the evaluation. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a system of environmental indicators that will address the specifics of the industry. This is made possible on the basis of determining a list of key factors that should be included in the evaluation system. The purpose of this study is to determine the most significant factors for establishing a simple yet thorough assessment framework to evaluate the efficiency of energy investment projects. Research methodology includes an a priori ranking method and analysis of interrelations between factors. Based on the results obtained, the authors have formed a list of key factors that could become the basis of a future system of environmental indicators for the efficiency assessment of energy projects.

Keywords: eco-modernization; efficiency assessment; energy sector; fossil fuels.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Efficiency
  • Environment*
  • Industry
  • Investments*
  • Research

Grants and funding

The research was supported by the Russian Science Foundation grant No. 22-28-01740, https://rscf.ru/en/project/22-28-01740/.