There have been a number of labour disputes in the agricultural sector in the past year. Domestic workers’ wages and working conditions have also been under the spotlight. This study aims to determine whether or not the concept of decent work is adequately protected in South Africa’s current legislation; the implementation of such legislation and whether or not, as a member of the United Nations, South Africa’s legislation is in line with the international standards set by the International Labour Organization (ILO). The study examines previous labour legislation in order to establish the extent of the protection offered to employees, particularly domestic and farm workers. It provides recommendations in respect of the current legislation based on the ILO standards, particularly the Labour Inspection Convention No. 81 of 1947, Convention No. 184 Concerning Safety and Health in Agriculture, 2001 and Convention No. 189 and Recommendation No. 201 Concerning decent work for domestic workers, 2011. / Thesis (LL.M.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2013.

鑒於國內住宅需求殷切，同時卻仍有大量空屋無人居住使用，顯示居住環境需求與供給間確存有極大的差異，以致公私部門不能利用有效財源作有效的投資。本研究為縮短供需差距，摒除已往研究偏重所得與需求關係的研究，建購所得型式及居住支出之居住環境需求理論模型，複於需求模型導入住戶規模因素，使所得、支出與住戶屬性並列為需求影響因素。其次，利用住宅現況調查資料，分析居住環境水準與相關住戶屬性之對照關係，並著手分析各居住群組之居住環境需求量，以提升分析可信度，對住戶群落予以細分及區隔居住環境群落，凸顯各種影響因素特性。本研究實證結果：居住支出增加、有業人口數愈多，家計負責人教育程度提高及年齡愈大，則其住宅面積及房間數數量愈多，而且其住宅座落與各種都市服務設施距離相對縮短，但國小、工作場所與市場則無顯著關係。 有關理論模型建購，係基於Stone－greay 函數符合需求模型相關假設，及效用之可分性、可加件原則，以儲蓄率自所得中另離析支出之需求模式，再由個人居住需求累計為住戶居住環境需求模型，進一步設定其最小居住環境需求量為Barten之人口規模函數。在實證分析方面，為了瞭解住戶居住環境水準，以次數分析、關聯分析就歷年發展、地區別、住宅權屬、家計負責人屬性分析其分組水準及分析頻度，並檢定住戶與居住環境的變數關聯程度，以擇定需求量迴歸分析的應變數組及自變數組，及就具有居住支出項的大量樣本進行住戶屬性及居住環境特性的群落分析，俾進行各群組需求分析。 本研究雖已跳脫以所得推導居住環境需求窠臼，惟由於資料及分析係援用政府既成問卷，造成研究領域受限，需再就研究之主題深入設計調查問卷。本研究需求函數係設定為直線，然而居住環境需求量與住戶屬性間若非線性關係時，則其相關係數偏低，且無法驗證兩者間之需求關係。住戶自變數(行業、職業、所得等屬性)間，並未檢定其是否已存在高度相關，無法達到自變數完全獨立之要求。居住環境設施具有共用之基本生活設備時，雖可測定其居住環境水準，但無法進行其需求分析。群落分析固然能分離居住環境群及住戶群，但易使迴歸分析模型內部分虛擬變數與其他變數形成共線而無解，而且本分析僅偏重實質居住環境需求，對於住戶非實質需求、偏好及社會文化群族傾向等因素，在經濟學之需求模型中均無法予以論證，有待識者續以作為研析之題材。 / The domestic housing are in great demand, but on the other hand lots of housing remain vacant. This phenomenon reveaIs there exists a significant difference between supply and demand for housing environments. Therefore, both public and private sectors are unable to make the most use of available funds to invest effectiveIy. The purpose of this study is to lessen the above difference. Prior studies stressed the importance and the relationship between income and the demand for housing. In this study,first the anthor build up a theoretic demand model for housing environments. This demand model is mainly relevant to no only income but also household expenditure. Secondly, the author converts the factor of household scale into the model. That makes income, expenditur,and household attributes serve as three major factors affecting this demand model. Then, applying data (housing status quo ) gathering from government statistics, the author analyzes the relationships between quantities of housing environments and relevant household attributes. FinaIly,the author analyzes the quanities of living environments for each Iiving cluster,which is specified and segregated, to explicate the property of each factor,thus to enhance the reliability of this study. The result of this study indicates that those household with more living expenditure,more emplyed employed persons, higher education and more age, will have more floor area and room number. In addition, the distances between their residenes and the variety of public service facilities are relatively shoty,but they are litte related with the elementary school, work place and market. Theoretically,this model has been built based on Ston-geary utility function which is suitable for certain hypotheses for demand model. And frOm the additivity and the separability of this utilty function, the author derives the demand mode, reIevant to household expenditure, for housing environments. Then the author integrates individual demand model into the household one for living environments, and further defines the least quantities for living environments as Barten's population scaIe function. In empirical performance, the author applies frequency analysis and Chi-square analysis to analyze physical Iiving environments,respecting the past 20 yeare, different districts, household tenure, and household attributes. Ih addition. the author examines the co-relations of those variables between dwelling units and household environments to determine dependent and independent variables for regression. Besides, a great deal of samples with household expenditure has been inspected by cluster anaiyis. Although this paper analyzes the demand function for housing environments on many factors instead of only on income (elasticity, the study is somehow limited since the data acquired from government tatistics.It would be more appropriate if we design a better questionnaire proper to this subject. Also, in this paper,the demand function has been defined as linearity,but if the demand quantities of living environment and household properties develop as a non-linear reationship, then the multiple coefficient of determination appears low,hence the demand relationship can not be tested between them.Moreover, the independent variables for resident themse1ves, such as industry,occupation, and income, have not been tested whether if they are highly related,thus these bariables do not fit in the requirement of complete classified into different living environment Ievels, their demands can not be anaIyzed. Likewise, cluster analysis can segregate living environment clusters and resident clusters, it is apt tO make some variables, especiaIIy those in those regression models with dummy variables, convert into the combination of other variables thus can not be explained. Ih summary,this study underlines the demand for physical living environments. To those factors, such as non-realistic demand, preference, and social/cultural inclinations, they can not be tested in the demand models of economic theories, nowadays. This challenge stiII needs more endeavors to make.

The main objective of the thesis is to seek insights into the theory, and provide empirical evidence of rebound effects. Rebound effects reduce the environmental benefits of environmental policies and household behaviour changes. In particular, win-win demand side measures, in the form of energy efficiency and household consumption pattern changes, are seen as ways for households and businesses to save money and the environment. However, these savings have environmental impacts when spent, which are known as rebound effects. This is an area that has been widely neglected by policy makers. This work extends the rebound effect literature in three important ways, (1) it incorporates the potential for variation of rebound effects with household income level, (2) it enables the isolation of direct and indirect effects for cases of energy efficient technology adoption, and examines the relationship between these two component effects, and (3) it expands the scope of rebound effect analysis to include government taxes and subsidies. MACROBUTTON HTMLDirect Using a case study approach it is found that the rebound effect from household consumption pattern changes targeted at electricity is between 5 and 10%. For consumption pattern changes with reduced vehicle fuel use, the rebound effect is in the order of 20 to 30%. Higher income households in general are found to have a lower total rebound effect; however the indirect effect becomes relatively more significant at higher household income levels. In the win-lose case of domestic photovoltaic electricity generation, it is demonstrated that negative rebound effects can occur, which can potentially amplify the environmental benefits of this action. The rebound effect from a carbon tax, which occurs due to the re-spending of raised revenues, was found to be in the range of 11-32%. Taxes and transfers between households of different income levels also have environmental implications. For example, a more progressive tax structure, with increased low income welfare payments is likely to increase greenhouse gas emissions. Subsidies aimed at encouraging environmentally friendly consumption habits are also subject to rebound effects, as they constitute a substitution of government expenditure for household expenditure. For policy makers, these findings point to the need to incorporate rebound effects in the environmental policy evaluation process.’

Diss. Uppsala : Uppsala universitet, 2006.

Univ., Diss.--Hohenheim, 2004.

Thesis (M.A.) - Carleton University, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 80-85). Also available in electronic format on the Internet.

Thesis (MNutr)--Stellenbosch University, 2012. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Introduction: The study investigated the development of a simple, cost effective method to monitor food and nutritional intake of mineworkers residing in a Single Accommodation Village (SAV) by using food inventory data. Objectives: The aim of the study was to calculate average food and nutrient intake per mineworker using household data, assess actual food intake (individual data), determine food wastage and to compare food and nutritional intake between group and individual data. Methodology: The study design was a cross-sectional, observational study with an analytical component. The study population consisted of male mineworkers residing in a SAV on a platinum mine in the North West Province and included mineworkers performing mainly underground tasks. A census sampling method was used to select mineworkers participating in the study, and a pilot study was done to test the proposed study process. The study was conducted over five days, which included one weekend day. Food inventory data was recorded by capturing all food quantities (weight measured in kilogram) used for food preparation on the study days. The yield of the prepared food and expected meal participation was used to calculate an average intake per mineworker according to the household record method. An observational study was done to establish the food record data. Meal as well as food item participation was recorded. Food wastage was determined by weighing the production as well as the plate wastage and this data was used to ascertain average food intake per mineworker. Results: Approximately 700 mineworkers participated in the study. The study recorded a 96% meal participation measured against the planned participation figures during the main meal with 74% participating in all menu items. The values for breakfast and dinner were 95% meal participation for both meals with 87% menu item participation during breakfast and 82% during dinner. By using the t-distribution test it was recorded that limited values measured between the food inventory data and the food record data fell within the 95% confidence intervals even after correction for food wastage. However, when the planned participation used to calculate the household data was incorporated into an equation using actual participation data, the values fell within the 95% confidence interval demonstrating that with 95% certainty the planned values (when calculated according to the suggested equation) were within those values observed during the study. Conclusion: Household data can be used as a tool to monitor average individual food and nutritional intake of mineworkers; however both planned and actual menu item participation figures should be considered, together with the total wastage per food item. This tool can be adapted to be used in industrial catering units to monitor food and nutritional intake, which will enable identification of food or nutrient deficiencies and timeous implementation of intervention strategies. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Inleiding: Die studie het ondersoek ingestel na die ontwikkeling van ‘n koste-effektiewe metode om die inname van voedsel en voedingstowwe van mynwerkers wat in enkel-akkommodasiebehuising (EAB) woon met behulp van voedselinventaris data te moniteer. Doelwitte: Die doel van die studie was om die gemiddelde voedsel en voedingstofinname per mynwerker met behulp van huishoudelike data te bereken, die werklike voedselinname (individuele data) te evalueer, voedselkwisting vas te stel en om voedsel- en voedingstofinname tussen groep en individuele data te vergelyk. Metode: Die studie-ontwerp was ‘n dwarssnitwaarnemingstudie met ‘n analitiese komponent. Die populasie van die studie het bestaan uit manlike mynwerkers woonagtig in ‘n EAB van ‘n platinum myn in die Noordwes Provinsie en het mynwerkers wat hoofsaaklik ondergronds werksaam is ingesluit. ‘n Sensussteekproefmetode is gebruik om deelnemende mynwerkers te selekteer en ‘n loods studie is gedoen om die voorgestelde studie model te toets. Die studie is oor vyf dae gedoen, wat een naweekdag ingesluit het. Voedselinventarisdata is versamel deur alle voedselhoeveelhede (in kilogram gemeet) wat gebruik was vir die voedsel voorbereiding op die studiedae in ag te neem. Die opbrengs van die voorbereide voedsel is gebruik om die gemiddelde inname per mynwerker volgens die huishoudelike rekord metode te bereken. ‘n Waarnemingstudie is gedoen om die voedselrekorddata vas te stel. Die voedselkwisting is bereken deur die produksie- asook bordkwisting te weeg en dan hierdie data te gebruik om die gemiddelde voedselinname per mynwerker te bereken. Resulate: Ongeveer 700 mynwerkers het aan die studie deelgeneem. Die studie het ‘n 96% maaltyddeelname opgeteken, gemeet teen die beplande deelnamesyfers tydens die hoofmaaltyd, met 74% deelname aan alle spyskaartitems. Die waardes vir ontbyt en aandete was 95% maaltyd bywoning vir beide etes, met 87% spyskaartitemdeelname tydens ontbyt en 82% tydens aandete. Die studie het beperkte waardes binne die 95% vertrouensinval tussen die voedselinventarisdata en voedselrekorddata opgeteken, selfs nadat die voedselkwistingsyfers in ag geneem is. Wanneer die beplande deelname wat gebruik is om die huishoudelike data te bereken egter in ‘n vergelyking wat werklike deelnamedata gebruik, inkorporeer word, het die waardes binne die 95% vertrouensinval geval. Dit is ‘n aanduiding dat daar met 95% sekerheid aangeneem kan word dat die beplande waardes (bereken volgens die voorgestelde vergelyking) vergelyk kan word met die waardes waargeneem tydens die studie. Gevolgtrekking: Huishoudelike data kan as ‘n meetinstrument dien om die gemiddelde individuele voedsel- en voedingstofinname van mynwerkers te moniteer. Beide beplande en werklike spyskaartitemdeelnamesyfers moet egter in ag geneem word, tesame met totale voedselkwisting per voedselitem. Hierdie instrument kan aangepas word vir gebruik in industriële voedseldienseenhede om voedsel- en voedingstofinname te moniteer, wat die identifisering van voedingstoftekorte en vroegtydige implementering van intervensie strategieë moontlik sal maak.

Recentemente, o mercado de sementes florestais têm se consolidado para atender demandas da restauração ecológica que são movidas por regulamentações. A produção de sementes se estabeleceu como um sistema de base comunitária e familiar com elevado potencial para promover um intrigante desafio, associar uso e conservação de ecossistemas com o desenvolvimento local. O presente estudo teve como objetivo geral avaliar a socioeconomia da produção de sementes florestais a partir das seguintes dimensões: (i) implicações das relações de cooperação no funcionamento da cadeia de valor; (ii) efeitos das técnicas de produção nos gargalos, inovações e custos financeiros; e (iii) impactos da participação no mercado de sementes nos meios de vida familiar. Para isso, a pesquisa envolveu como um estudo de caso a Rede de Sementes do Xingu na Amazônia brasileira. A coleta de dados foi conduzida por meio de observações participantes, entrevistas e oficinas com produtores de sementes de diferentes realidades socioculturais (indígenas, agricultores familiares e residentes urbanos) e técnicos que atuam na gestão da rede. O funcionamento da cadeia foi fortalecido pelas relações de cooperação entre os atores, principalmente em função do compartilhamento de valores. No entanto, os custos financeiros, a assistência técnica, a infraestrutura, os parâmetros técnicos e as legislações são os principais fatores que condicionam os processos da cadeia de sementes. Os atuais preços de comercialização das sementes seguem parâmetros empíricos que não dimensionam os reais custos de produção, demonstrando que os preços necessitam de reformulações. Por outro lado, as realidades socioculturais dos produtores exercem uma influencia direta nos sistemas de produção, o que promove a inovação de técnicas e tecnologias a partir de conhecimentos tradicionais e locais. Quanto à participação nos mercados, os grupos socioculturais estudados diferiram quanto às percepções sobre os impactos nos seus meios de vida familiar. As comunidades com algum grau prévio de organização foram mais susceptíveis ao fortalecimento do capital social, de tal forma que os grupos socioculturais menos integrados ao mercado apresentaram melhores resultados a partir da participação no mercado de sementes. / Recently, the markets of forest seeds have been established to meet demands for ecology restoration which are driven by regulations. The seeds production was design as a production system of the community and family groups with high potential to promote an intriguing challenge, associate ecosystem usage and conservation within local development. The overall purpose of the present study was to evaluate the socioeconomics of forest seeds production from the following dimensions: (i) implications of cooperation in the value chain operations; (ii) effects of production techniques in bottlenecks, innovations, and financial costs; and (iii) impacts of seed market participation in the household livelihoods. This research involved a case study of Xingu Seeds Network in the Brazilian Amazon. Data collection was conducted through participant observation, interviews and workshops with different sociocultural groups of seed producers (indigenous groups, urban residents and settler farmers) and staffs who manage the network. The value chain operation was strengthened by the relationship between the actors, mainly due to the common values between the actors. However, financial costs, technical assistance, infrastructure, technical parameters and laws are the main factors which constrain the seeds value chain. Current prices for seed marketing follow empirical parameters which do not measure the real production costs, which is requiring prices reformulation. On the other hand, the producers\' socio-cultural realities have influenced on production systems, which has lead into a promoting innovation of techniques and technologies by traditional and local knowledge. Regarding to market participation, the sociocultural groups showed different perceptions about impacts on their household livelihoods. Communities which are already organized are most likely to strengthen their social capital through participation, thus socio-cultural groups less integrated with the market achieved better livelihood outcomes through participation in the seed market.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T14:46:54Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 AlexsandroSC_TESE.pdf: 2977965 bytes, checksum: 031e11e261ce9edd80d2c979601abcf5 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-02-06 / Coordena??o de Aperfei?oamento de Pessoal de N?vel Superior / This study aimed to validate the contents of an Instrument for Nursing Consultation in the Home Visit of people with Spinal Cord Injury (INCEVDOP-LM), based on the Self-Care Deficit Theory. The methodological development study was conducted with spinal cord injured (SCI) people ascribed in the Family Health Units the city of Natal/RN/Brazil, and with the nurses of these institutions. The study was conducted from Januray 2012 to January 2013 in two phases: the first aimed to identify the need for self-care of persons with SCI, and the second to develop and validate the INCEVDOP-LM. The first phase consisted of a census study of people with SCI living in Natal/RN. In the second phase, a non-probabilistic convencience sample of subjects was selected to form two groups: First stage - Group 1 of the first stage was comprised by 73 adults with SCI diagnosed with paraplegia or tetraplegia, with cognitive function preserved and that were registered to some family health unit; Group 2 of the Second phase was composed of six experts that were nurses with doctoral formation, scientific experience in the area of technology development or assistance to persons with SCI, and with publications in periodicals Qualis A2. Data collection of the first phase was conducted through home visits of people with SCI that responded three instruments: Questionnaire I (comprised of demographic and socioeconomic variables), The Competency Rating Scale for Self-care (ASA) and the Barthel Index (an instrument for evaluation of functional capacity). The research for the second phase was conducted in two stages: I-construction of the INCEVDOP LM; II-validation of the INCEVDOP-LM. The instrument and an evaluation form were forwarded to the experts for the validation. The correlations between the responses were analyzed by the Kappa test, with accepting values of>0.75. The evaluation criteria were: organization, clarity, simplicity, readability, appropriateness of vocabulary, objectivity, accuracy, reliability and suitability and the positive responses with frequency values of≥90% were considered excellent. The chi-square test was used to investigate the differences between proportions. The study attended to the principles of Human Rights CNS Resolution 196/96. Results were reported by means of four articles derived from the study. The findings indicate that the items that showed disagreement among experts (k=0.02) were diagnoses, interventions and evaluation of the nursing features pertaining to the domains of Nutrition, Hygiene, Elimination, Physical, Social and Psychological, and of the Ability to perform work activities feature. Agreement among the experts were reported for the other items, with kappa ranging from 0.72 to 1. After removing items with disagreement, all criteria achieved excellent rates and no significant differences were observed between the proportions of responses of evaluation of experts (p>0.05). We conclude that the instrument shows validity to serve as a guide for nurses to conduct a systematic consultation during the home visit to people with spinal cord injury, with emphasis on self-care. The instrument must go through other levels of validation when applied in the clinical setting / Objetivou-se validar o conte?do de um Instrumento para Consulta de Enfermagem na Visita Domiciliar ?s Pessoas com Les?o Medular (INCEVDOP-LM), baseado no modelo conceitual da Teoria do D?ficit de Autocuidado. Estudo de desenvolvimento metodol?gico, realizado com as pessoas com LM adscritas nas Unidades de Sa?de da Fam?lia (USF) de Natal e com os enfermeiros dessas institui??es, no per?odo de janeiro de 2012 a janeiro 2013. O estudo foi desenvolvido em duas fases: a primeira para identificar as necessidades de autocuidado das pessoas com LM, e a segunda para desenvolver e validar o INCEVDOP-LM. Na primeira fase foi realizado o censo de pessoas com LM residentes em Natal/RN. Na segunda fase a amostragem foi n?o-probabil?stica por conveni?ncia. Foram formados dois grupos: Primeira fase - G1: 73 pessoas com LM diagnosticadas por especialista, com paraplegia ou tetraplegia, adultas, fun??o cognitiva preservada e adscritas a alguma USF; Segunda fase - G2: seis juizes enfermeiros, com titula??o de doutor, produ??o cient?fica na ?rea de desenvolvimento de tecnologias ou assist?ncia ?s pessoas com LM e publica??o com qualis A2. Para coleta de dados, na primeira fase, foram realizadas visitas domiciliares as pessoas com LM e aplicados tr?s instrumentos: Question?rio I (vari?veis demogr?ficas e socioecon?micas), Escala de Avalia??o da Compet?ncia para o Autocuidado (ASA) e ?ndice de Barthel (avalia??o da capacidade funcional). Na segunda fase, a pesquisa foi desenvolvida em duas etapas: I. Constru??o do INCEVDOP-LM; II. Valida??o do INCEVDOP-LM. O instrumento foi encaminhado, juntamente com um formul?rio de avalia??o, para aprecia??o dos especialistas, sendo a concord?ncia entre eles analisada por meio do teste Kappa, aceitando-se valores >0,75. Os crit?rios avaliados foram: organiza??o, clareza, simplicidade, facilidade de leitura, adequa??o do vocabul?rio, objetividade, precis?o, credibilidade e adequa??o. Considerou-se como frequ?ncia excelente de respostas positivas valores ≥90%. Utilizou-se o teste Qui-quadrado para investigar as diferen?as entre as propor??es observadas. Foram considerados os princ?pios da Resolu??o 196/96. Os resultados foram apresentados por meio de 4 artigos cient?ficos derivados da pesquisa. Verificou-se que os itens diagn?sticos, interven??es e avalia??o de enfermagem das facetas dos dom?nios Nutri??o, Higiene, Elimina??o, F?sico, Social e Psicol?gico e a faceta Capacidade para realizar atividades laborais apresentaram discord?ncia entre os especialistas (k=0,02). Nos demais itens ocorreu concord?ncia, com kappa variando de 0,72 a 1. Ap?s a supress?o dos itens com discord?ncia entre os especialistas, todos os crit?rios atingiram ?ndices excelentes e n?o ocorreram diferen?as significativas entre as propor??es das respostas da avalia??o dos especialistas (p>0,05). Conclui-se que o instrumento apresenta validade para servir como guia para os enfermeiros na realiza?ao da consulta sistematizada de enfermagem na visita domiciliar ?s pessoas com les?o medular, com enfoque no autocuidado, devendo passar por outros n?veis de valida??o quando aplicado no ?mbito cl?nico

La transition vers les énergies renouvelables implique deux types de préoccupations environnementales. Les combustibles fossiles sont épuisables et leur utilisation génère des externalités négatives à travers des dommages environnementaux irréversibles. En outre, il existe des possibilités de synergies entre les mesures d'efficacité énergétique et l’adoption de l'énergie renouvelable dans la mesure où les premières réduisent la demande d'énergie de sorte que la dernière puisse commencer à réduire les émissions futures de gaz à effet de serre. L'objectif principal de cette thèse est d'analyser la transition énergétique optimale dans un contexte de survenance certaine et incertaine d'une catastrophe environnementale et de déterminer les instruments incitatifs au niveau des ménages en vue de stimuler la transition énergétique.La thèse est composée de quatre chapitres qui traitent indépendamment des différentes questions de la transition énergétique. Le premier chapitre met l'accent sur la transition énergétique optimale impliquant des décisions à la fois sur l'adoption de l'énergie renouvelable et de l'investissement dans les technologies d'économie d'énergie, quand il y a un seuil de pollution certain qui déclenche une catastrophe environnementale. Le deuxième chapitre étudie la transition optimale vers les énergies renouvelables quand la survenance de la catastrophe environnementale est incertaine. Le troisième chapitre cherche à comprendre le comportement des ménages par rapport à leurs décisions d'adopter simultanément les énergies renouvelables et à investir dans l'efficacité énergétique. Finalement, le quatrième chapitre examine le rôle des réseaux intelligents dans l'intégration de l'énergie renouvelable intermittente afin de faciliter la transition énergétique. / The transition to renewable energy involves two kinds of environmental concerns. First, fossil fuels are exhaustible and second, their use generates negative externalities through irreversible environmental damage. Furthermore, there are possible synergies between energy efficiency measures and renewable energy adoption in the sense that the former reduces the energy demand so that the latter can begin to cut future greenhouse gases emissions. The main objective of this dissertation is to analyze the optimal energy transition under certain and uncertain occurrence of environmental catastrophe and to determine incentive-based instruments at the household level in order to boost the energy transition. The dissertation consists of four chapters that independently present and discuss different issues of energy transition. The first chapter focuses on the optimal energy transition involving decisions about both renewable energy adoption and investment in energy saving technologies, when there is a certain pollution threshold that triggers the occurrence of environmental catastrophe. The second chapter investigates the optimal transition to renewable energy under uncertain occurrence of environmental catastrophe. The third chapter is devoted to understanding household behavior regarding energy transition. The fourth chapter explores the role of smart-grids in integrating intermittent renewable energy to facilitate the energy transition