The current governance process to plan the German energy system omits two options to substitute grid expansion: First, placing renewables closer to demand instead of where site conditions are best. Second, utilizing storage instead of additional transmission infrastructure to prevent grid congestion. In the paper, we apply a comprehensive capacity expansion model based on the AnyMOD modeling framework ...
Data is often at the core of digital products and services, especially when related to online advertising. This has made data protection and privacy a major policy concern. When surfing the web, consumers leave digital traces that can be used to build user profiles and infer preferences. We quantify the extent to which Facebook can track web behavior outside of their own platform. The network of engagement ...
The effects of the climate crisis are worsening water shortages, not only in the Global South but also in Europe, for example in the Berlin-Brandenburg region. Due to inadequate pricing of surface and groundwater abstraction and a lack of regulatory instruments, water overuse is occurring in some regions of Germany. Overuse is especially an issue for industry, which has contractually secured high volumes ...
Over 90 percent of Germany’s raw materials supply is imported and many of these imports come from only a small handful of producer countries. Often, these producer countries tend to be less democratic. In this respect, supply risks are extremely high in some cases, including for mineral raw materials such as rare-earth elements, lithium, and magnesium. To increase raw material import security of supply, ...
Whether additional natural gas infrastructure is needed or would be detrimental to achieving climate protection goals is currently highly controversial. Here we combine five perspectives to argue why expansion of the natural gas infrastructure hinders a renewable energy future and is no bridge technology. We highlight that natural gas is a fossil fuel with a significantly underestimated climate impact ...
Externe Effekte lokaler Umweltverschmutzung sind ein zentrales Thema der Umweltökonomie. Da die Maßnahmen zur Minderung lokaler Umweltverschmutzung in den letzten Jahren immer strenger wurden, wird dieses Thema in Zukunft an Bedeutung gewinnen. Vor diesem Hintergrund ist es von entscheidender Bedeutung, die Schäden, die Individuen und Unternehmen durch lokale Umweltverschmutzung erfahren, zu quantifizieren ...