Investment in European electricity transmission requires facilitation at the European level. The rate at which renewable energy is integrated into the power sector over the next decade will necessitate significant transmission infrastructure expansion and upgrades, with clear pan-European objectives. Historically, grid planning was primarily carried out at the national level with limited arrangements ...
The building sector is a key focus area of the Energy Concept of the German Federal Government, among other reasons because it has the potential to avoid a large share of CO2 emissions while also saving costs. Thus far, however, only a small percentage of residential building owners have undertaken comprehensive thermal retrofits, and the target retrofit rate of 2% remains a distant goal. In order ...
The Eurozone is still stuck in a downward spiral: high public and private debts weigh on potential growth; gloomy prospects for growth prevent the further reduction of these debts. A European plan to support growth should be a complement, and not a substitute, to the ongoing efforts to reduce public deficits. It should both encourage structural reforms and incentivize investments. In the short term, ...
Installations covered by the European Emission Trading Scheme (EU ETS) can use credits from the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) to cover a share of their emissions. The CDM credits are generated by low-carbon projects in developing countries that require the CDM support to become financially viable. We review the objectives that are pursued by the EU and by CDM host countries with the CDM, and assess ...
The EU European Trading Scheme (EU ETS) started operating in 2005 and was established with the EU Climate Package of 2008 as a permanent mechanism for Europe. Now in its second phase, policymakers are evaluating its success to date and considering next steps for its evolution. With the ultimate goal of a low-carbon economy, key questions have been: does the ETS facilitate a shift from carbon-intensive ...
Conducting a building thermal efficiency retrofit (or further thermal retrofit) is a long and relatively complex decision-making process involving building owners, managers, residents/tenants, and construction industry professionals. A variety of information instruments exists to support participants at each stage of this process. This paper highlights the existing literature on information instruments ...
