Energy

The European Union has entered a new and critical stage in energy policy. After the adoption of legally binding targets to address climate change, energy security and competitiveness, the 27 member states are now turning their attention to the implementation of these targets. However, with an unfinished internal market for gas and electricity and with member states continuing to focus on bilateral energy relationships with supplier countries, the EU is still at the very beginning of a common EU energy policy.

CEPS contributes to the debate about an emerging 'first generation' EUenergy policy. The main focus of our research is on securing European energy supplies and on future energy systems in the face of climate change.

Additional work on geopolitics and energy supply is undertaken by the CEPS Wider Europe Programme

Selected current activities:

CEPS Task Force on Securing European Energy Supplies: Making the right choices
Linked to the importance of energy security on the EU political agenda in 2009, this CEPS Energy Task Force will look at how the EU a,d its energy sector can prepare for the challenges posed by global energy markets. For more information, please visit the Task Force's homepage

SECURE - Security of Energy considerig its uncertainty, risk and economic implications
The objective of this project is to develop a new tool aimed at evaluating the EU's vulnerability to the different risks which might affect energy supplies, in order to help optimising the Union's energy risk mitigation strategies. For more information about this project, please visit http://www.secure-ec.eu/

Getting in the Right Lane for 2050
This project deals with key short term policy options required to achieve the long-term visions in the areas of energy, climate change, land and mobility. CEPS is preparing a study on the interlinkages between climate chnage policies and the security of European energy supplies. The full report will be published in Autumn 2009.

Selected past activities:

CEPS Task Force on Energy Policy for Europe - Identifying the European Added-Value
This CEPS Energy Task Force identified those policy areas that are expected to benefit most from deeper EU integration, i.e. where the European 'added-value' is expected to be the greatest, and formulated recommendations on how such integration could be achieve in pratice. Click here to download the final report of the Task Force

CASES - Cost Assessment for Sustainable Energy Systems
This project's objective was to derive a comprehensive picture of the full cost of energy, and to amke this crucial knowledge available to all stakeholders. Such an assessment is of paramount importance for energy a,d environmental policy making, both for the supply and the demand side of energy provision. The aim was to assess external costs for energy that are affected by policy at the EU level. For more information, please visit http://www.feem-project.net/cases/

INDES - Insuring against Disruptions of Energy Supply
The objective of INDES has been to identify the needs, responsibilities and tools for security of supply for each sector and market segment. Ultimately, INDES attempted to answer the question of "what role for markets and what role for governments". For more information, please visit http://www.ceps.eu/Article.php?article_id=235&

CEPS Task Force on Market Stimulation of renewables-based Electricity in the Internal Market. This Task Force looked at the degree of harmonisation of national support schemes for RES-E. Crucial elements in the analysis included the development of an EU Energy Market, the promotion of synergies to improve price efficiency, R&D and competitiveness, and potential policy coherence of RES-E market stimulation support schemes with other environmental and internal market policies. Click here to download the final report of the Task Force
 

Selected publications (published outside of CEPS):
 
      Behrens, A. (forthcoming) Interactions between Climate Change Policy and Energy Security, pre-study by CEPS for "Getting into the Right Lane for 2050", a report by the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency. Pre-study available from the author.
      Behrens, A. (2009) Financial Impacts of Climate Change Mitigation: Global Resource Requirements and Proposals for International Burden Sharing, Carbon & Climate Law Review, Vol. 3, No. 2, pp. 179-187 (June).
      Behrens, A. (2009) The Financing of the Global Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Fund (GEEREF), Briefing Paper prepared for the European Parliament, Policy Department on Budgetary Affairs (April).
      Egenhofer, C. (2008) 'Noch keine Europäische Energieaussenpolitik', in Braml et al., Weltverträgliche Energiesicherheitspolitik, Jahrbuch Internationale Politik 2005/2006, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Auswärtige Politik, München: R Oldenbourg Verlag
      Murphy, D., Drexhage, J., Cosby, A., Tirpak, D. and C. Egenhofer (2008) Furthering EU Objectives on Climate Change and Clean Energy: Building partnerships with major developing countries, International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
      Behrens, A. (2008) Financing for Climate Change Mitigation abd Adaptation in EC Development Cooperation, in European Parliament, 2008, Financing Climate Change Policies in Developing Countries - A Compilation of Briefing Papers, European Parliament, Policy Department Economic and Scientific Policy (July)
      Behrens, A. (2008) Using Markets to Secure European Natural Gas Supplies, in Fondation pour l'innovation politique & Notre Europe, Think Global Act European - The Contribution of European Think Tanks to the French, Czech and Swedish Trio Presidencies of the European Union (May)
      Giljum, S., Behrens, A., Hinterberger, F., Lutz, C. and B. Meyer (2008) Modelling Scenarios towards a Sustainable Use of Natural Resources in Europe, Environmental Science and Policy, Vol. 11, Issue 3, pp. 204-216 (May)
      Behrens, A., Giljum, S., Kovanda, J. and S. Niza (2007) The Material Basis of the Global Economy - World-wide Patterns in Natural Resource Extraction and their Implications for Sustainable resource Use Policies, Ecological Economics, Vol. 64; Issue 2, pp. 204-216 (December)
      Egenhofer, C. and J. C. Jansen (2006) 'A timetable for harmonisation of support schemes for renewable electricity in the EU', European Review of Energy Markets, Vol. 1 (2), pp. 57-83