Abstract
Renewable energy is a global interest area in achieving sustainable development. Renewable energy sustainability has been assessed using the most commonly used dimensions of this concept: economic, environmental, social, and institutional dimensions. In this paper, we designed a composite index named the Renewable Energy Sustainability Index. The proposed index may represent a national monitoring mechanism that points out the strengths and weaknesses of a state in terms of renewable energy. The data were normalized by calculating the z-score. We tested the proposed index on a selection of 15 European countries ranked by final energy consumption and with different levels of development. The Kayser-Mayer-Olkin values were above the 0.700 limit, which indicates the robustness of each dimension. The proposed index reveals the development stages of renewable energy sustainability and can provide solutions to increase the sustainability of a country by improving positive impact indicators and mitigating negative impact indicators.
Highlights
Beginning with Rio+20, the Conference on Sustainable Development, in 2012, a journey toward developing global sustainable development goals was started
Sustainable development is defined as the development used to “ensure that it meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” [1]
A framework was built in order to develop an index of renewable energy sustainability
Summary
Beginning with Rio+20, the Conference on Sustainable Development, in 2012, a journey toward developing global sustainable development goals was started. One of the first definitions of the concept of sustainable development, which is based on the harmonization of economic development with the need to preserve the environment and solidarity between generations, was given in the Brundtland Report, known as “Our common future.”. Regardless of the polemics caused by this definition due to insufficient explanation of the needs and aspirations of the concept, the impact of the report is significant as it highlights issues such as poverty, ecological balance, the need for environmental protection, and the need to harmonize socio-economic and environmental capabilities while avoiding economic, social, and environmental risks and crises. Sustainability has always represented a complex and multidimensional concept that strives to create a dynamic balance between ecological, social, and economic dimensions, and it is becoming the challenge of our times [2,3]. Energy is vital for eradicating poverty, improving human well-being, and raising living standards
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