Solmaria Halleck Vega (p), Antoine Mandel

In light of the urgency of climate change, there is a growing literature on the role of technology transfers and how policy can foster diffusion of climate-mitigation technologies. An important challenge is that the diffusion network is generally unknown. To address this key issue, we propose a systemic method building on the network inference literature. We then apply this approach using data on global diffusion patterns of wind energy technologies since the 1980s. Results show that the network’s evolution has been remarkable, consistent with the colossal growth and technological progress in wind power over the past decades and the leading role of European firms and other advanced economies in its development. In the context of climate policy and given the multipolar nature and structural inefficiencies in the network, we also appraise strategies to maximize diffusion of new technologies within developing regions and the potential to build bridges through new modes of cooperation. Further steps include extending the approach to a portfolio of technologies including other renewable energies such as solar power.

André Chagas (p), Luiza Andrade

We analyze the effects of the Priority Municipalities List that indicates the primary targets of environmental police monitoring, on deforestation of municipalities in the neighborhood of the listed. We argue that being a neighbour to a priority municipality causes an exogenous variation in environmental authorities’ presence, and use a difference-in-differences estimator to determine the impact of such presence on deforestation. As an innovative feature, we introduce a spatial version of this estimator to correct spatial dependence. Our estimations show that the net effect of treatment is a decrease in deforestation of 15% to 36%. This result is robust to changes in the measure of deforestation as well as in the neighborhood criteria. Estimates also indicate that effects get weaker the greater the distance to the priority municipality.

Electra Pitoska (p)

The issue of Corporate Social Responsibility is one of the most dynamic and interesting issues that the entrepreunal world must deal with. The necessity for the organizations to balance the social, environmental and financial dimensions of their entrepreunal activity is ever-growing.
The Corporate Social Responsibility in Greece is a new, related to the E.U., concept that was first introduced in 2001 between entrepreneurs, CSR promotion organizations and the State. The academic research is in an initial stage as far as CSR is concerned, and it mainly focuses on the continuously changing role of an enterprise in its social context.
The concept of CSR was mostly developed from and for big multinational corporations. According to the strategic of the Committee that prioritizes the small enterprises, the concept, the actions and the tools of CSR must be appropriately adapted to the special circumstances of the Small and Medium Enterprises, which are the majority of the European enterprises. Due to their simplicity and the power of their owners, the small and medium enterprises manage their social impact based on a more unofficial insight than other enterprises. Indeed, many small/medium enterprises are currently implementing social and environmentally responsible actions without even knowing the concept of CSR or without making these actions public.
A qualitative empirical research was organized in order to analyze the prevailing viewpoints and opinions of the Greek small and medium enterprises in the Greek periphery as far as CSR is concerned. As a field of research was chosen the Region of Western Macedonia in North Greece. The research was conducted by the means of personal interviews based on structured questionnaire and was carried out from June 2016 to January 2017. The questionnaires were completed by 420 enterprises with different subject and place of activity. The enterprises were chosen as a random sample from professional catalogues. The questionnaire was specially designed to gradually lead the responders from general questions about being aware of the subject to more specific ones about implementing CSR. The questionnaire was structured in a way to provide information and reach conclusions around two axes: a) the degree of familiarization of the participants with the concept of CSR b) the degree of implementation of Corporate Social Responsibility actions. By processing the answers, the findings of the research are extracted and subsequently the conclusions of the study are reached.

Vladislav Silkin (p)

The increase in demand for hydrocarbons in recent decades leads to the growth of competition for access to energy resources. By focusing on energy security issues this research examines the changes in the global energy industry competition mechanisms.
Objectives. The study aims for the analysis of the global energy market transformation processes, which are caused by the expansion of state control over resources and changes in the global balance of power in favor of the national oil and gas companies from developing countries. In recent years international oil companies have faced increasing problems in reserves replacement and maintenance of production levels, declining of upstream assets quality and returns on capital employed. National oil companies (NOCs) from rapidly developing countries on the contrary gain their weight and strengthen their global position. The shift in energy demand towards China and India in the early decades of 21st century induced the quest for energy security in these countries.
Methods. Studying the structure and specific characteristics of oil and gas development on the basis of systems analysis allowed identifying the main trends that determine the direction of the competition mechanisms transformation on the world energy market.
Results. Findings confirm that growing NOCs turn into the new centers of power and evade following the existing models and rules. Gradually they generate their own approaches to gaining access to overseas resources and ensure energy security of their countries. Considering the increased technological competition in oil and gas industry the study assumes fundamental changes in competition mechanisms in the coming decades. Indeed, the analysis reveals that among NOCs there is the tendency of enhancing R&D capabilities, in order to gain competitive advantage and be able to secure upstream contracts overseas. The research emphasizes the point that competition for access to energy resources will lead to the struggle for technological superiority, thereby forming the new contours of competition in the global energy industry.