Modelling platform development for new scenarios based on Energy Efficiency First Principle (EEFP)

This report presents the modelling platform for developing energy-efficient scenarios for the countries of the European Union and the United Kingdom (EU27+UK), applying the Energy Efficiency First Principle. The platform consists of a data component and an energy-system analysis component – this report describes both components. Energy-efficient scenarios for the energy system of each country include all the energy sectors including transport, industry and buildings. The main aim of the following energy system modelling and energy system analysis is to balance energy efficiency and renewable energy integration, enabled by the modelling platform described in this report. The energy system scenario results will feed into a Handbook for science-based interaction with policy objectives aimed at achieving the Energy Efficiency First Principle

Local municipalities and the influence of national networks on city climate governance: Small places with big possibilities

Reaching the 1.5°C target of the Paris Agreement not only requires ambitious goals from national governments, but also the active participation of local municipalities. It is in cities where climate actions need to be implemented to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and reach international and national climate goals. While the importance of cities and their participation in networks has been well-researched, studies have systematically neglected the committed individual agents in small and medium-sized cities and overlooked the importance of national networks. To address these research gaps, this article looks at how local climate managers use their municipality's membership in national networks to increase action and implementation. This article is based on 12 semi-structured interviews with seven municipal representatives and five representatives of two national city networks, and four informal discussions. Through comparative content analysis, it was identified that the main functions derived from network participation are direct exchanges between the climate managers, mobilization of others in the municipality, accounting of greenhouse gas emissions, and project support. These functions helped overcome key limitations that the actors often faced within the municipality related to a lack of legal competences, administrative resources and internal support for climate work and financial resources. This has implications for city networks which have been focusing on larger cities and not including smaller cities who have less capacity and who can benefit the most from the functions provided by them

Designing Tools for Energy System Scenario Making in Municipal Energy Planning

Energy planning increasingly revolves around the use of tools for energy system modelling and analysis with a view to generating scenarios to show implications and possibilities for decision makers. Municipalities engage in the transition to renewable energy systems through the formulation of strategies and goals at a local level despite often lacking appropriate tools and resources to conduct the needed complex analyses. Tools for energy system analyses have traditionally been designed either with the scope of national energy systems or detailed project-specific analysis in mind, leaving municipal planners in a state of flux. This study aims to identify important specifications and critical design principles for future energy system modelling tools designed for municipal planners. Through a qualitative case-oriented approach, this study investigates the planning practices of four municipalities. It is found that future tools for municipal planning purposes need to combine the need for systematic analyses with concrete and implementable initiatives while balancing analytical complexity with operational simplicity