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Open Heat BE

The heat supply in the city of Berlin will have to be substantially reformed to reach the goal of climate neutrality by 2045 while it has to cope with high gas prices today. In the research project Open Heat BE, two open numerical models are combined to analyse the short term and long term challenges of heat supply in Berlin. At TU Berlin, the energy system model GENeSYS-MOD is used at municipal...

Green Innovation Policies

Achieving climate neutrality and energy independence will require the accelerated diffusion ofexisting technologies, further cost reductions, as well as innovation in new technologies.However, climate related frontier innovation, as measured by patent fi lings, has been decliningsince 2012. In contrast, the deployment of existing technologies seems on the rise. The focus ondiffusion and commercialization ...

Green Macroeconomics: Time for a New Paradigm

Making macroeconomics fit for a climate-neutral future: The European Union decided to be climate-neutral by 2050 and, hence, become the first climate-neutral continent in the world. Becoming climate-neutral can be considered one of the biggest challenges in our industrial societies. This transition will shape our future tremendously. The invasion of Ukraine further reinforced the necessity to speed ...

Green Political Economy: What Is Holding up the Green Transition?

Critical discussions about decarbonising our economy: This new series brings together leading thinkers in the political economy of the environment to discuss why business as usual is still going so strong, despite the scientific evidence that urgent action is needed. In this series, we ask our guests "what is holding up the green transition"? The events explore systemic root causes of the climate crisis ...

Chinese Loans to African Countries Differ from Western Development Loans

Over the past 20 years, China has granted a conspicuous amount of loans to African countries. New loan data show that compared to Western multilateral loans, Chinese loans have relatively high interest rates and shorter maturities, tend to be highly collateralized, and are volatile over time. Thus, Western loans are generally more likely to be in the economic interest of the borrowing country. Furthermore, ...

LNG Import Capacity Expansion in Germany: Short-term Relief Likely to Turn into Medium-term Stranded Assets

International Partnerships for a Just Energy Transition: Findings from South Africa

In 2021, the G7 and South Africa agreed upon the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP). This new instrument in international cooperation should support emerging and developing economies in a just energy transition and in phasing out coal. It is intended to facilitate equal partnerships between donors and recipients, thereby also facilitating the energy transition. An evaluation of the South African ...

Replacing Gas Boilers with Heat Pumps Is the Fastest Way to Cut German Gas Consumption

The supply security of fossil gas has been disrupted by the Russo-Ukrainian War. Decisions to relocate the production and transport of gas have become so urgent that new long-term contracts are imminent that undermine the Paris Climate Agreement. Here, we simulate how quickly the addition of renewable electricity and the installation of heat pumps can substitute enough gas to reduce supply risk, while ...

Stranded Nations? Transition Risks and Opportunities towards a Clean Economy

The transition away from a fossil-fuel powered economy towards a cleaner production system will create winners and losers in the global trade system. We compile a list of 'brown' traded products whose use is highly likely to decline if the world is to mitigate climate change, and explore which countries are most at risk of seeing their productive capabilities 'stranded'. Using methods from economic ...

A Collective Blueprint, Not a Crystal Ball: How Expectations and Participation Shape Long-Term Energy Scenarios

The development of energy systems is not a technocratic process but equally shaped by societal and cultural forces. Key instruments in this process are model-based scenarios describing a future energy system. Applying the concept of fictional expectations from social economics, we show how energy scenarios are tools to channel political, economic, and academic efforts into a common direction. To impact ...