Journal of Security and Sustainability Issues

Sustainable development of separate regions and countries is affected by array of factors among which energy security plays a cricial role. We claim, that efficient use of energy is very important constutuent of energy security. The first part of the presented paper we wil devote to overview of perception of energy security and revealing waht role energy efficiency plays. Energy efficiency could be estimated by energy intensity indicator, which shows what ammount of energy is used for e.g. one European Euro. This indicator can be calculated for main sectors of economy: various branches of industry, services and agriculture. The higher value added is created in the sector, or, to put it in onother way, the higher activity of sector, the more important that energy in this sector would be used efficiently. In this paper we tackle longterm activity and energy efficiency of agriculture sector in developed and less developed countries.We raise an assumtion that in better developed countries activity of agricultural sector in long-run would diminish, what would be followed by gradular increase in energy intensity; i.e. energy intensity indicator would gradually diminish. Besides, we assume that those tendencies would be slightly different in currently less developed countries; i.e. agricultural sector not necessarely would contract and energy intensity would diminish with higher rates if to juxatopse with better developed countries. In order to verify raised assumptions data of the selected European countries will be used. Better developed countries would be represented by one country – Germany. Less developed European countries would be represented by Bulgaria and Romania. We will forecast activity and energy intensity by using LEAP software. Indicated data for chosen countries will be forecated untill year 2050. Obtained results will indicate if consitent patterns could be traced and respective policy implications formulated.

The relevance of this article is based on the aim to fulfil the lack of understanding of public perception on nuclear energy in Lithuania. The results of the empirical survey (public poll carried out in 2013) are used to explain the public perception of nuclear energy and its contextual aspects (safety, economic benefit, possible new challenges, personal knowledge). To show the distribution of the attitude among the public cluster analysis was performed through which respondents were divided into two groups. The 1st cluster represents that part of the public which is well educated, actively working and actively contributing to the state economy. Meanwhile the 2nd is less educated, less active economically and more dependent on social security programs part of the public. The cluster analysis reveals small, but statistically significant differences in attitude between the clusters.

Increase of energy efficiency remains as one of the major strategic objectives in Lithuania. Effective use of existing energy saving potential increases energy security and reduces emissions of greenhouse gas and other pollutants. In order to meet the growing energy demand and to reduce the negative impact of the energy sector on environment, increase of the role of renewable energy sources in the country’s primary energy balance, as well as larger deployment of energy-efficient and smart technologies in all areas, including military structures, are required. When analysing energy security and energy efficiency, as the two interrelated aspects of the Lithuanian energy policy, assessment of the global energy trends in the world, the EU and neighbouring countries, expected developments in the modern technologies, as well as global aspirations to neutralize the threat of climate change was performed. The paper provides an overview of energy consumption trends in the European Union and Lithuania, energy policy in the NATO alliance, as well the current status of energy consumption in the Lithuanian National Defence System.

There is major concern with Lithuania’s industrial development because its manufacturing structure is increasingly dependent on the consumption of energy. In spite of the Lithuanian energy intensity decrease more than 35 percent in the last decade, the energy required to produce a unit of output in Lithuania twice exceeds the average of the European Union countries.

Presented paper aims to indicate what types of interrelationships between energy usage patterns prevailing in particular country, economic growth and finally, sustainable development could be distinguished. The topic of paper, or, rather research area, is neither new nor original. Nevertheless, an array of approaches towards character of considered interrelationships can be encountered. Complicity of chosen issue, we reckon, lies in differences of perception of the following questions. Our findings consequently would depend on, at first, how we measure economic growth in short and long terms, the second, how we measure energy security, and, the third, how we benchmark progress towards sustainable development. Methods, which we consider as being applicable for measuring of selected interrelationships, comprise a separate part of scientific elaboration. Therefore we formulate a task to overview the most contemporary measurable perceptions of economic growth, perceptions of energy security facets affecting economic growth and consequent reaction of sustainable development to various scenarios of energy consumption and economic growth. Resulting conclusions about measurement of indicated phenomena and argumentations of their plausible interrelation would lead us to choice of methodological approaches of described interrelations’ analysis.