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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...

Associations between Proximity to Gas Production Activity in Counties and Birth Outcomes across the US Course

Despite mounting evidence on the health effects of natural gas development (NGD), including hydraulic fracturing(“fracking”), existing research has been constrained to high-producing states, limiting generalizability. Toexpand the scope of previous research, we examined the associations between prenatal exposure and NGDproduction activity in 28 states on birth outcomes overall and by race/ethnicity. ...

Workshop FoReSee „Stranded assets in the fossil resource sector“

The final workshop of the project FoReSee will discuss latest research and findings on the effects of climate change and climate policy on asset stranding in the fossil resource sector. Researchers from Berlin and abroad will present their research. Stéphane Hallegatte (Worldbank) will give a keynote speech on asset stranding in theory and practice.DIW Berlin will host the workshop that is...

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

Not Only a Mild Winter: German Consumers Change Their Behavior to Save Natural Gas: Commentary

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...