Preliminary criteria for the energy sector: environmental and economic efficiency of investment projects

¹ Insubria University, Department of Theoretical and Applied Sciences, via G.B. Vico 46, Varese, Italy
² Ural Federal University, Department of Environmental Economics, Mira-str. 19, Ekaterinburg, Russian Federation

^* Corresponding authors: akaraeva@uninsubria.it, elena.rada@uninsubria.it

Abstract

Ecological and economic assessment is a key stage in the selection process of investment projects as it defines their efficiency and allows to forecast their likely impact on the environment and the socio-economic situation of the territory. Approaches to the efficiency assessment of investment projects include only basic criteria and do not sufficiently consider industryspecific. The energy sector is a significant primary sector in the global economy that directly affects the standard of living, energy resources availability for population and for the productive sector of economy and has a considerable impact on the environment. Therefore, the efficiency assessment process of investment project in the energy industry should comprise criteria which will respond to the branch specificity and provide accurate data about potential environmental and socio-economic consequences of project’s implementation in both the short and the long-term run. The paper aims to propose a list of environmental criteria for improving the process of the ecological and economic efficiency assessment of energy investment projects, considering also the Circular Economy concepts. The list is based on the results of the expert survey carried out by the authors and might be used for multiple-criteria decision analysis of the investment projects.