EU Reference Scenario 2016
Oct 2016
The EU has recently updated its reference scenario for energy, transport and climate action, which is one of the European Commission's key analysis tools for these areas. The Reference Scenario provides projections for indicators, such as the share of renewable energy sources or levels of energy efficiency, on a five-year period up until 2050 for the EU as a whole and for each EU country.
The Reference Scenario is a projection of where our current set of policies coupled with market trends are likely to lead. The EU has set ambitious objectives for 2020, 2030 and 2050 on climate and energy, so the Reference Scenario allows policy makers to analyse the long-term economic, energy, climate and transport outlook based on the current policy framework. (link).
ACER/CEER: Annual Report on the Results of Monitoring the Internal Electricity and Natural Gas Markets in 2014
Nov 2015
We are pleased to present the fourth annual Market Monitoring Report produced by the Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (the Agency) and the Council of European Energy Regulators (CEER). As in previous years, this Report aims to provide a comprehensive assessment of developments in the electricity and gas sectors and on progress towards the implementation of the Third Energy Legislative Package and the completion of the internal energy market (IEM).
European Council Conclusions on energy and climate policy
18 Dec 2015
The European Council welcomes the historic outcome reached in Paris where the world adopted the first-ever global and legally-binding climate agreement with the aim to hold the global warming well below 2°C and to pursue efforts to limit it to 1.5°C. It invites the Commission and the Council to assess the results of COP21 by March 2016, in particular in view of the 2030 climate and energy framework and to prepare the next steps.
The relationship between economic growth, energy consumption, and CO2 emissions: Empirical evidence from China
Science of The Total Environment Volume 542, Part A, 15 January 2016, pp. 360–371
Shaojian Wanga, Qiuying Lib, Chuanglin Fangb, Chunshan Zhoua
Abstract
Following several decades of rapid economic growth, China has become the largest energy consumer and the greatest emitter of CO2 in the world. Given the complex development situation faced by contemporary China, Chinese policymakers now confront the dual challenge of reducing energy use while continuing to foster economic growth. This study posits that a better understanding of the relationship between economic growth, energy consumption, and CO2 emissions is necessary, in order for the Chinese government to develop the energy saving and emission reduction strategies for addressing the impacts of climate change. This paper investigates the cointegrating, temporally dynamic, and casual relationships that exist between economic growth, energy consumption, and CO2 emissions in China, using data for the period 1990–2012. The study develops a comprehensive conceptual framework in order to perform this analysis. The results of cointegration tests suggest the existence of long-run cointegrating relationship among the variables, albeit with short dynamic adjustment mechanisms, indicating that the proportion of disequilibrium errors that can be adjusted in the next period will account for only a fraction of the changes. Further, impulse response analysis (which describes the reaction of any variable as a function of time in response to external shocks) found that the impact of a shock in CO2 emissions on economic growth or energy consumption was only marginally significant. Finally, Granger casual relationships were found to exist between economic growth, energy consumption, and CO2 emissions; specifically, a bi-directional causal relationship between economic growth and energy consumption was identified, and a unidirectional causal relationship was found to exist from energy consumption to CO2 emissions. The findings have significant implications for both academics and practitioners, warning of the need to develop and implement long-term energy and economic policies in order to effectively address greenhouse effects in China, thereby setting the nation on a low-carbon growth path.
Keywords: Economic growth; Energy consumption; CO2 emissions; Cointegration tests; Granger causality tests
Stimulating 'Creative Destruction' to Transform How We Use Energy
Posted on 16 Dec 2015
By P. Kivimaa & F. Kern
Given the urgency of climate change, it is unfortunate that the recent ‘reset’ of UK energy policy missed a big opportunity. That is to take a more strategic approach to developing public policies to drive the rapid, transformative change required to reduce energy use and decarbonise its supply in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Energy Systems Conference: 21st Century Challenges
14-15 Jun: The Energy Institute and Elsevier. Topics: Energy policy, Energy economics, Energy security, Energy systems, Disruptive energy technologies, Integration, The grid, Case studies, Infrastructure, Urban transition, Public engagement, Innovation, Life cycle assessment (LCA), Climate change.
The State of the Energy Union
Last month the European Commission released annual reports on the progress of the EU Energy Union including individual MS analysis and national fact sheets.
The latest DG Energy newsletter is online
9 Dec 2015
Ongoing EU Stakeholder consultations
- Consultation on the preparation of a new Renewable Energy Directive for the period after 2020 (Give your feedback until 10 February 2016)
- Consultation on the Review of Directive 2012/27/EU on Energy Efficiency (Until 29 January 2016)
- Consultation on the Revision of the information and procedural requirements under Articles 41 to 44 of the Euratom Treaty (Until 25 January 2016)
UKERC working paper: Deconstructing the European Energy Union: Governance and 2030 Goals
9 Dec 2015
The European Commission talks the talk on energy, but can it walk the walk? In the latest UKERC Working Paper, Antony Froggatt (Chatham House) and Amelia Hadfield (Canterbury Christ Church University) look at the challenge of moving from ambition to delivery in the EU's flagship Energy Union plan.
Energy market impacts of nuclear power phase-out policies
Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change
December 2015, Volume 20,Issue 8, pp 1511-1527
COP21: Results and Perspectives
15 Dec 2015: Online Debate by the Florence School of Regulation, EUI
