Energy efficiency profiles in developing the free-carbon economy: on the example of Ukraine and the V4 countries

Abstract

This paper summarizes the arguments and counterarguments within the scientific discussion on developing the free-carbon economy in Ukraine. The main purpose of the paper is elaborating the energy efficiency profile of Ukraine to assure the development of the free-carbon economy. To achieve this purpose, the authors carried out an investigation in the following logical sequence. Firstly, the bibliometric analysis of 4674 of the most cited articles indexed by the Scopus database was conducted. The obtained findings indicated that the green economy transformation depended on the main factors such as economic performance, corruption, macroeconomic stability, social welfare, shadow economy etc. As a result, the forecast of the final energy consumption to 2030 was performed. The methodological tool of this research is based on the Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) model. This study involved data of the Visegrad countries (Poland, the Czech Republic, the Slovak Republic and Hungary) and Ukraine from 2000 to 2018. The base of data is Eurostat, the EU statistical service. Based on the obtained results of analyzing the green economic transformation in the Visegrad countries and Ukraine, the authors intimated the existence of the significant energy-efficient gap in Ukraine compared to the analyzed countries. In reliance on the experience of the Visegrad countries and the forecast results, the authors provided the main recommendations for providing the green transforming in Ukraine. The authors highlighted that the obtained results of this paper were considered to be the base for future investigations considering the influence of endogenous and exogenous factors on developing the free-carbon economy in Ukraine.