Special issue of applied energy dedicated to SDEWES conferences 2018: Sustainable energy technologies and environmental impacts of energy systems

This special issue of Applied Energy contains scientific articles presented at the 1st Latin American edition of the SDEWES conference conducted in 2018 in Rio de Janeiro, the 3rd South East Europe edition of SDEWES conference conducted in 2018 in Novi Sad, and the 13th SDEWES conference conducted in 2018 in Palermo. The SDEWES conferences are international scientific conferences that gather scientists and professionals from the field of sustainable development. These conferences have brought together 770 scientists, researchers, and experts in the field of sustainable development of energy and environment. This editorial is based upon 20 papers selected from among 700 contributions presented at the SDEWES conferences in 2018. The topics covered in this special issue include the advances in research and development in the energy sytems and technologies and its environmental impact within the framework of sustainable development.