The effect of differentiating costs of capital by country and technology on the European energy transition - 2021
Article
In this paper, we differentiate the cost of capital per country and technology for European Union (EU) countries to more accurately reflect real-world market conditions. Using empirical data from the EU, we find significant differences in the cost of capital across countries and energy technologies. Implementing these differentiated costs of […]
Beyond the energy system: modeling frameworks depicting distributional impacts for interdisciplinary policy analysis - 2021
Article
This work synthesizes common modeling frameworks used to assess technical, socio-economic, and environmental aspects in policy analysis and the recent progress to portray distributional impacts in each of them. Furthermore, the main indicators produced by each method are highlighted and a critical review pointing to gaps and limitations that could […]
Global energy system transformations to 1.5 °C: the impact of revised intergovernmental panel on climate change carbon budgets - 2021
Article
The study at hand applies the PROMETHEUS global energy system model to explore alternative deep mitigation pathways in light of the revised carbon budgets specified in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report on 1.5 °C. The pathways assess the potential contribution of energy efficiency improvements and more rapid […]
Climate clubs and the macro-economic benefits of international cooperation on climate policy - 2021
Article
The Paris agreement has provided a new framework for climate policy. Complementary forms of international collaboration, such as climate clubs, are probably necessary to foster and mainstream the process of gradual and voluntary increase in nationally determined contributions. In this study we provide a quantitative macro-economic assessment of the costs […]
Macro-economic analysis of green growth policies: the role of finance and technical progress in Italian green growth - 2021
Article
In this study, we use a large scale applied CGE model to compute the macroeconomic implications of the investments required to reduce by 76% as compared to 1990 levels the GHG emissions of the Italian energy system within a context of global concerted GHG mitigation action. The focus of the […]
Narrative-driven alternative roads to achieve mid-century CO2 net neutrality in Europe - 2021
Article
The tightened climate mitigation targets of the EU green deal raise an important question: Which strategy should be used to achieve carbon emissions net neutrality? This study explores stakeholder-designed narratives of the future energy system development within the deep decarbonization context. The study can be downloaded here.
Equity implications of climate policy: Assessing the social and distributional impacts of emission reduction targets in the European Union - 2021
Article
The implementation of ambitious environmental policies may lead to regressive distributional impacts, disproportionately affecting low income population groups. In this study, we expand the state-of-the-art general equilibrium model GEM-E3-FIT to represent 10 income classes in all EU Member States and quantify the distributional impacts of European Union’s ambitious emission reduction […]
Assessing the role of carbon capture and storage in mitigation pathways of developing economies - 2021
Article
The Paris Agreement has set out ambitious climate goals aiming to keep global warming well-below 2 °C by 2100. This requires a large-scale transformation of the global energy system based on the uptake of several technological options to drastically reduce emissions, including the expansion of renewable energy, energy efficiency improvements, […]
Challenges and opportunities of coal phase-out in Western Macedonia - 2021
Article
This research work reflects the socio-economic and socio-political situation in Western Macedonia, Greece and discusses how the policies implemented as part of the lignite phase-out can ensure a just transition for households and businesses in the region. Although there is no blueprint for successful low-carbon transitions of carbon intensive regional […]
Assessing the energy system impacts of Morocco’s NDC and low-emission pathways - 2021
Article
Part of the first series of policy briefings, commissioned by the Climate Compatible Growth programme to bridge the gap between in-depth academic research and the practical needs of policy makers ahead of the UNFCCC climate change summit (COP26), this policy brief assesses the implications of the Moroccan NDC and low-emission […]
Integrated assessment model diagnostics: key indicators and model evolution - 2021
Article
In this article we build on previously developed approach to diagnose Integrated Assessment Models (IAMs) by proposing a selected set of well-defined indicators to systematically assess IAM behaviour, similar to metrics used for other modeling communities such as climate models. These indicators are the relative abatement index, emission reduction type […]
Exploring the possibility space: taking stock of the diverse capabilities and gaps in integrated assessment models - 2021
Article
In this article, we first summarize the IAM landscape and how models differ from each other. We then discuss six prominent points of criticism emerging from the recent literature and suggest ways forward. The six points relate to (a) representation of heterogeneous actors in the models, (b) modelling of technology […]
