COVID-19 and Sustainable Energy Transitions

Dear Colleagues,

The outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (Covid-19) has impacted many communities and economies worldwide. The lockdown and containment measures have reduced industrial activities, tourism, and mobility, which has influenced the energy supply chain as well as the demand for energy services. To respond to this challenge, different economic recovery packages have been rolled out to combat the persisting economic slowdown. The impact of these recovery packages on achieving sustainable energy and mitigating climate change has become a major concern in energy and climate policy forums. On the positive side, the response to Covid-19 has created some opportunities and lessons that can be applied in low-carbon energy transitions (e.g., accelerated digitalization, science-based governance, and online business platforms instead of traveling). This calls for further research on the impact of Covid-19 to offer science-based evidence for informing energy and climate policies.

To respond to this urgent need, this Special Issue aims to provide a platform for sharing scientific approaches, innovative solutions, and effective policy interventions that could promote a resilient and sustainable energy system in the aftermath of the pandemic. The Guest Editor, Dr. Behnam Zakeri, invites papers that can contribute to the call, in the form of original research or extensive reviews, addressing one or more of the following topics:

- Impact of Covid-19 on energy transitions;

- Pandemic: energy access, energy poverty, and equity;

- Covid-19 and climate change;

- Covid-19, digitalization, and the energy sector;

- Economic recovery packages and the energy expenditures;

- Role of resilient and sustainable energy systems in coping with global crises;

- Impact of Covid-19-induced lifestyle and behavioral changes on energy demand;

- Energy policy and governance in the post-pandemic era;

- Role of energy democracy and decentralization in achieving sustainable energy;

- Energy supply (fossil fuels and renewable energy) and the pandemic.

Dr. Behnam Zakeri
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Energies is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Acknowledgments: The Graphic Abstract was designed by Mr. Adam Islaam.