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Energy poverty and vulnerable consumers in the energy sector across the EU: analysis of policies and measures / Steve Pye &#38; Audrey Dobbins. Insight_E, May 2015, 91 p. (Policy Report ; 2) http://www.stakeholderforum.org/fileadmin/files/INSIGHT_E_PR2_Energy_Poverty_Main_Report.pdfThis report focuses on how EU Member States define the issues of energy poverty and vulnerable consumers, and the measures that have been implemented to address these issues. The report first focuses on the European context, describing the Commission’s existing competencies and activities in this area, and the current understanding of the energy poverty problem across Europe. The main substance of the report (section IV) is then a review of how Member States view and define these issues, and the resulting action being undertaken. Our key finding is that Member States define and address these issues in very different ways, based on their national circumstances. We set out a number of recommendations concerning how the European Commission can bolster action in this area while still ensuring that Member States have the flexibility to undertake country-appropriate measures.Energy Policies of IEA Countries - Spain : 2015 Review. Paris : IEA/OECD, 2015 http://www.iea.org/bookshop/703-Energy_Policies_of_IEA_Countries_-_Spain ; http://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/energy/energy-policy-review-spain-2015_9789264239241-enThis review analyses the energy policy challenges Spain faces and provides sectoral recommendations for further policy improvements. It is intended to help guide the country towards a more secure and sustainable energy future.Oil, Volatility and Institutions: Cross-Country Evidence from Major Oil Producers / Amany El-Anshasy, Kamiar Mohaddes, and Jeffrey B. Nugent. Cambridge : Energy Policy Research Group, July 2015, 23 p. (EPRG working paper ; 1513) http://www.eprg.group.cam.ac.uk/eprg-working-paper-1513Abstract : This paper examines the long-run effects of oil revenue and its volatility on economic growth as well as the role of institutions in this relationship. We collect annual and monthly data on a sample of 17 major oil producers over the period 1961—-2013, and use the standard panel autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) approach as well as its cross-sectionally augmented version (CS-ARDL) for estimation. Therefore, in contrast to the earlier literature on the resource curse, we take into account all three key features of the panel: dynamics, heterogeneity and cross-sectional dependence. Our results suggest that (i) there is a signi…cant negative effect of oil revenue volatility on output growth, (ii) higher growth rate of oil revenue signi…cantly raises economic growth, and (iii) better …scal policy (institutions) can offset some of the negative effects of oil revenue volatility. We therefore argue that volatility in oil revenues combined with poor governmental responses to this volatility drives the resource curse paradox, not the abundance of oil revenues as such.Renewables, preferential trade agreements and EU energy security / Leal-Arcas, Valentina Caruso and Raphaela Leupuscek, Queen Mary School of Law Legal Studies Research Paper 208/2015, pp. 1-49 http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2636045A major aim of the international community is to decarbonize the economy. With renewables, international trade in energy is likely to increase. In turn, the international trading system can be a major vehicle towards moving away from fossil fuels to renewable energy. To this end, it can provide fair competition, economies of scale and knowledge transfer. This article analyzes the impact of European Union (EU) preferential trade agreements (PTAs) in addressing climate change mitigation and energy security by promoting renewables. Currently, there is a proliferation of PTAs; this trend seems irreversible and is likely to persist, given the current crisis in the multilateral trading system. We argue that the EU can, through its network of PTAs, move towards greater energy independence as renewable energy becomes increasingly economically viable. This article provides a thorough review of the renewable energy-related provisions in the EU’s current PTAs and recommends three tangible ways through which the EU could capitalize its vast network of PTAs to boost the renewable energy market.&#160;