How Black Sea offshore wind power can deliver a green deal for this EU region
An EU low-carbon economy, with a fully decarbonised power sector at its core, will require very large volumes of low-carbon electricity. To date, offshore wind holds the most promise for the necessary volumes to be realised. While the North Sea offers the best prospects by far, there is significant potential in other waters, including the […]
Investing in the future: Redevelopment opportunities for coal regions
Prior to the Covid-19 crisis, almost 70% of coal plants were to be closed in the EU by 2030. With Covid-19 existing stress in coal regions has aggravated. Closure of coal assets however will affect the jobs of more than half a million people in direct and indirect activities, and deeply touch the regions, requiring […]
Delivering the European Green Deal for southeast Europe
Southeast European countries start from a different point in the transition to the European Green Deal. They face systemic challenges both in their energy markets and in implementing the EU’s energy acquis – issues could be addressed through a more regionally focused approach, argue the authors. This report looks at three countries in the region […]
The time for rapid redevelopment of coal regions is now
The economic slow-down caused by the pandemic will aggravate the existing stress in some regions, especially those relying on lignite, coal and peat as their main economic activity. But efficient and effective use of Covid-19 recovery funds can give real meaning to the ‘just transition’ concept if they focus on tangible progress to the benefit […]
The European Green Deal after Corona
Climate change policy cannot be the first priority of the EU for the immediate future. However, in spite of the corona-crisis the urgency of climate change mitigation has not disappeared. The post-corona recovery can both put the EU’s decarbonisation progress back on track – after low-carbon investments will inevitably take a hit – but the […]
Competitiveness of the renewable energy sector
CEPS, in cooperation with COWI, prepared a large study on the competitiveness of the renewable energy sector for DG ENER of the European Commission. The study features two parts. Part 1 – Competitiveness of the heating and cooling industry and services The first part of the study of focuses on the competitiveness of renewable heating […]
Electricity sector holds the key for the EU’s low-carbon economy
The notion of decarbonisation has changed over the years as a new consensus on long-term climate objectives emerges.[1] From being synonymous with emissions reduction in just some energy sectors, it has spread to all sections of the economy and society. Policymakers describe it as ushering in a new phase in industrialisation. aimed at underpinning the […]
The future of gas in Europe
In the context of the EU transition to a low-carbon economy, the gas industry will face significant transformations over the next decades up to 2050 and beyond. A substantial number of studies on the future of gas have been published recently, which each come to different outcomes and projections, in some cases even to radically […]
Comparative study on the governance structure and energy policies in EU macro-regional strategies
Macro-regional strategies (MRS) are EU initiatives to create multi-country coordination structures to strengthen joint collaboration on common challenges by participating countries and regional authorities. While their establishment was top down, these initiatives and their work plans are expected to be driven increasingly by a more bottom-up approach. To understand some of these challenges, this study […]
The opportunities of the Modernisation Fund for the energy transition in Central and Eastern Europe
As part of the post-2020 reform of the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) for its fourth trading period, a new fund will be established with the purpose of supporting the modernisation of energy systems in Central and Eastern Europe. The Modernisation Fund represents an instrument for enabling investments in small-scale energy projects, improvements in energy […]
Leveraging funding for energy efficiency in buildings in South East Europe
This paper addresses the possibility of creating financial instruments so that large scale energy efficiency renovation programmes can be substantially financed by the private sector. Aimed at decision-makers and those wishing to understand the issue, it avoids excessive technicalities. The paper presents some selected examples of financial instruments for energy efficiency that could represent possible […]
What Comes After the Last Chance Commission?
Ahead of the 2019 institutional reconfiguration of the EU is a fitting moment to take stock of the European integration process and decide which priorities should define the strategic agenda of the next generation of incumbents. While acknowledging that the entire EU collective is concerned – member states and institutions alike – this report is […]