Reports & Books

The energy transition requires a deep transformation of our today’s energy systems. However, such change cannot take place without a meaningful engagement of all stakeholders that are affected by this transformation: policy- and decision-makers, energy companies and grid operators, civil society, academia, and others interested and affected actors. Energy models can serve as useful tools to inform energy policy- and decision-making. The EC-funded H2020 project Sustainable Energy Transitions Laboratory (SENTINEL) aims to develop a new energy system modelling framework, which is based on user needs and openly available to different users of models and model results. Work Package 1 of…

The current report aims to identify the main energy efficiency (EE) sectors, project categories, as well as the main risks and barriers that affect the successful implementation of EE projects and their ability to get financed. It focuses on the financial bodies’ perspective and on the development phase, where numerous EE project ideas and available capital to realize these projects exist. Moreover, it aims to cover the gaps identified in EE and sustainable financing and propose an approach for assessing the risks in EE investments. Finally, the key risk mitigation strategies for reducing the different types of risks, the main…

In this report, we identify the needs of the energy model users and the users of energy model results in policy, industry, civil society, and science, both in the present and future. Based on a comprehensive literature review, qualitative interviews in five European jurisdictions, a survey, and a workshop, we identify what different user groups need from energy models: What types of questions, input, and results are useful to them? We also identify user needs regarding the modeling platform of SENTINEL: How do we need to define such a platform to make it worthwhile for potential users?

Policymaking under deep uncertainty implies policymakers will encounter difficulties when asked to design and implement a new policy. Predicting the future, and deciding on the most probable evolution before applying a policy, has often been unsuccessful, thus the notion of adaptive policies has emerged. By adaptive policies we mean those that focus on short-term planning, and present a robust framework of potential adjustive interventions to choose from when the initial policy is no longer expected to lead to success. Furthermore, within complex systems where environmental policies affect metrics in other sectors, policymaking has become harder, even for the short-term planning.…

Climate change mitigation efforts have been underway in the EU for many years. EU Member States (MS) have acknowledged the need to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and have developed strategic national plans aimed at achieving the environmental goals set by the EU, and by the worldwide community through the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). It is widely acknowledged that the energy sector is responsible for a major proportion of the total GHG emissions, and the EU is focusing on actions to decarbonise it, including the promotion of renewable energy and energy efficiency upgrades. However, despite careful…

This section summarizes the main findings of the work presented in this report regarding needs and priority areas for further research, for the cases of Bio-Energy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS) and Solar Photovoltaic (Solar PV). BECCS technology is highly controversial. On the one hand, it demonstrates a growing number of supporters and is considered by many climate scientists, as one of the most promising negative emissions technologies, with considerable potential to achieve climate goals (e.g. the 1.5oC goal), especially in light of the recent “neutral emissions” debate. At the same time, a potential sizeable reliance on BECCS has…

In reality, the actual implementation effect (effectiveness and efficiency) of an environmental policy may differ from its theoretical potential or anticipated effects (efficacy). The APRAISE project aims to explain these differences by acknowledging that policies and policy instruments are not implemented in a vacuum, but in an existing system. The effectiveness and efficiency of environmental policy instruments therefore depend on the socioeconomic and governance systems within which they are implemented. A better understanding of these systems enables policymakers to design more robust policy instruments, which are adaptive to (foreseen) changes in their circumstances (contexts). The APRAISE 3E Method offers a…