# name
The nexus between variable renewable energy, economy and climate: Evidence from European countries by means of exploratory graphical analysis

# metadata.dc.description.abstract[].value
We propose a new approach for the visual inspection of interactions  between several variables related to the wind and solar energy  sector, and a set of socioeconomic variables and natural factors that  may be affecting the sector. Focusing on fifteen European countries  in the period from 2007 to 2019, we use Categorical Principal  Component Analysis to reduce our data into two factors, the first  relating to energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, per  capita income, and solar energy, and the second capturing climactic  and sociopolitical factors. The dimensionality reduction also displays  a decoupling between natural factors and variable renewable  energy sources (VRES) development, particularly in the case of  solar energy, and instead shows a more influential relationship with  economic factors. We additionally project all countries into a  perceptual map and observe three clusters that roughly correspond  to the main European regions (Southern and Eastern Europe,  Northern Europe and Western Europe). Finally, we plot the average level and growth level of both the wind and solar energy share for  each nation and observe a negative relationship in wind share and a  slightly positive relationship in solar share. Our results show that,  especially for wind energy, countries with higher levels of overall  renewable energy development are more likely to show more  intense VRES development than countries who already have high  existing levels of the technology in their renewable energy mix.  Solar energy investment on the other hand is more likely to be  dominated by countries with pre-existing high levels of solar in the renewables mix. Our results emphasize the importance of individual  nations attitude towards renewables as a whole as playing a key  role in VRES development, as much as the natural resource  availability of these energies.

# metadata.dc.publisher[].value
Universitat de Barcelona. Facultat d'Economia i Empresa

# metadata.dc.source[].value
Documents de treball (Institut de Recerca en Economia Aplicada Regional i Pública (IREA))

# metadata.dc.title[].value
The nexus between variable renewable energy, economy and climate: Evidence from European countries by means of exploratory graphical analysis