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' EU energy policy. The main focus of our research is on:

• EU energy policy, security of supply and international energy cooperation;
• Economic analysis tools;
• Resource efficiency, competitiveness and job creation. 

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

Selected current activities:

NEUJOBS - Employment 2025: How will multiple transitions affect the European labour market - The aim of the NEUJOBS project (FP7) is to map the implications of a socio-economic transition towards more sustainable use of human capital and natural resources on employment in Europe. For more information, please visit: www.neujobs.eu.

AMPERE - Assessment of Climate Change Mitigation Pathways and Evaluation of the Robustness of Mitigation Cost Estimates - The project AMPERE (FP7) is aiming for a broad exploration of mitigation pathways and associated mitigation costs under various real world limitations, while at the same time generating a better understanding about the difference across models. For more information, please visit the AMPERE website.

APRAISE - Assessment of Policy Interrelationships and Impacts on Sustainability in Europe - The motivation of the APRAISE project (FP7) is to improve the decision basis for EU and national policy makers for selecting an efficient environmental policy mix leading to the transition towards a sustainable European society. APRAISE aims to provide policy makers with an improved understanding of the efficiency, effectiveness and efficacy of existing and potential environmental policies impacts and their interactions at both the European and Member State level.

EU-GCC Clean Energy Network -  This EC supported network is the practical instrument for the development of concrete cooperation activities on clean energy, including the related policy and technology aspects, amongst various players across the EU and GCC countries. For more information, please visit: www.eugcc-cleanergy.net

CEPS Task Force on Transport and Climate Change - With the transport sector contributing to almost a quarter of EU GHG emissions, this Task Force discusses how these emissions can be controlled and ultimately reduced in order for the EU to meet its emissions reduction targets. Decarbonisation of the transport sector is also essential for the low carbon technology race that is unfolding. For more information, please visit: www.ceps.eu/taskforce/transport-and-climate-change

Studies for the European Parliament - As in recent years, CEPS continues to prepare reports for various Committees of the European Parliament (mainly for ITRE, BUDG and DEVE). Most recent contracts include the following study:

• "European Renewable Energy Network"

 Additional work on electricity infrastructure in underway.

Selected past activities:

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/

Studies for the European Parliament - CEPS has concluded a series of studies for the European Parliament in recent years. Some of the most relevant include:

• "Access to Energy in Developing Countries" 
• "EU Energy Efficiency Policy - Achievements and Outlook". Free download.
• "Assessment of Potential and Promotion of New Generation of Renewable Technologies". Free download.
• ""EU Energy Markets in Gas and Electricity - State of Play and Implementation and Transposition". Free download.
• "The Financing of the Global Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energies Fund (GEEREF)". Free download.
   

Selected past events:

On 23 January 2012 Jonas Teusch participated in a panel discussion on European Competitiveness and the 2050 Energy Roadmap organized by the American Chamber of Commerce to the EU in Brussels. His intervention focused on the role of gas in the roadmap, the need for a better coordination of national energy policies and competitiveness aspects. A summary of the event is provided here.

On 18 January 2012 Arno Behrens gave a presentation on European electricity network integration at the 2nd Annual Conference of the EU-GCC Clean Energy Network in Abu Dhabi, UAE. For more information, please see the EU-GCC Clean Energy Network website.

Jonas Teusch presented the main results of a new CEPS Special Report entitled "The Benefits of Investing in Electricity Transmission: A Case Study of Northern Europe" on 28 November 2011 at CEPS. For more information on the event, please click here. The full report is available here.

On 15 November 2011 Arno Behrens presented his PhD thesis at the Institute of Social Ecology of the Alpen-Adria University Klagenfurt in Vienna, Austria. His thesis is entitled "Restructuring the Socioeconomic Metabolism - A Policy Oriented Approach to Dematerialisation and Decarbonisation (for more information, please contact the author at arno.behrens@ceps.eu).

Arno Behrens presented a study on energy access in developing countries to the European Parliament's Development Committee on 7 November 2011.

On 7 July 2011 Arno Behrens gave a briefing in Vilnius to representatives of the Lithuanian government on EU energy and climate policies and their implication for Lithuania.

On 30 June 2011 Arno Behrens gave an introduction to EU energy policy to representatives of various South Korean ministries at the College of Europe.

On 31 May 2011 CEPS held a lunchtime meeting on the future of nuclear energy following the Fukushima events. Chaired by Christian Egenhofer, speakers included Owen Wilson, chairman if the Eurelectric Environment Committee and Arno Behrens, CEPS Researcher. See also contribution in the Forums on EU energy policy in the Journal Intereconomics, n°3, 2011.

Arno Behrens gave a presentation on "Europe's nuclear sector: What political and technical safety is required?" on 31 May 2011 CEPS Lunchtime Meeting dedicated to the issue of nuclear energy in Europe. See: www.ceps.eu/event/future-nuclear-europe. 

On 27 May 2011 Arno Behrens gave a lecture on "EU energy policy" at a training seminar for the Polish National School of Public Administration at CEPS.

Christian Egenhofer was moderator of the opening high-level session of the European electric vehicles conference, held by Forum Europe on 26 May 2011. Session speakers included Commission Vice President Siim Kallas, Member of the EP, Dirk Stercks and Akihito Tanke, Executive Advisor to the President, Toyota Motor Europe.

Christian Egenhofer gave a key note address at the second "Airborne Wind Energy Conference", held on 24-25 May 2011 in Leuven.

Workshop on "Comparing Approaches to Life Cycle Analysis of Crude Oil", CEPS, 21 March 2011.

DG CLIMA Stakeholder Conference on "The Roadmap for Moving to a Low Carbon Economy in 2050"with the participation of Christian Egenhofer, 17 March 2011.

Forum Europe 2011 Conference on European Raw Materials, "Responding to the global race for raw materials", 1 March 2011. Christian egenhofer chaired session 2: "Balancing sustainability and access to raw materials". Programme. Photos.

Noriko Fujiwara was invited together with M. Altmann and A. Brenninkmeijer as experts undertaking a study for the ITRE Committee of the European Parliament. She gave a presentation on "EU Energy Efficiency Policy: Achievements and outlook", September 2010.

On 30 June 2010 Arno Behrens participated in a panel discussion on the links between geopolitics and energy and climate policy organised by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Berlin. His intervention focussed on the potentials of shale gas in the EU. see: www.kas.de/wf/de/33.20054/

On 19 November 2009 Arno Behrens gave a presentation on "Greening Europe's energy mix: Slow progress and still a long way to go" at the Atlanta Conference on "Towards a common EU energy policy: Opportunities, Pressures and Constraints" co-organised by Georgia State University and the Georgia Institute of Technology.

In October 2009 Arno Behrens got selected to represent the European Union in a 10-day International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) on green energy technologies organised by the US Department of State. See www.exchanges.state.gov/ivlp/ivlp.htlm.

Externally published book chapters:

Arnold, S., Behrens, A., Egenhofer, C., Hunt, A., Markandya, A., Van der Welle, A., Van der Zwaan, B., (2010) "Electricity Supply Externalities: Energy Security", in: Markandya, A., Bigano, A., and Porchia, R., (eds), The Social Cost of Electricity. The Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM) Series on Economics, the Environment and Sustainable Development, Cheltenham UK and Northampton MA: Edward Elgar Publishing.

Egenhofer, C. (2008) "Noch keine Europäishe Energieaussenpolitik", in: Braml et al. Weltverträgliche Energiesicherheitspolitik. Jahrbuch Internationale Politik 2005/2006, Deutsche Gesell Shaft fur Auswärtige Politik, pp. 303-307, München: R. Oldenbourg Verlag, 2008.

Externally Published Journal Articles:

Egenhofer, C., Jansen, J. (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.

Intereconomics Publications:

Egenhofer C. and A. Behrens (2011) "The future of EU energy policy after Fukushima", Intereconomics, VOL. 46, 3 (2011), pp. 124-128.
 

 A list of CEPS publications in this research area can be found on: www.ceps.eu/faceted/books/results/taxonomy%3A7