In October 2009, the European Union (EU) agreed to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by between 80 and 95 per cent by 2050 in the EU as a whole, as compared to 1990 levels – an objective that is in line with scientific calls to ensure we have a chance of limiting global temperature increase to 2°Celsius. With the EU’s energy sector required to almost completely decarbonise by 2050 (meaning almost zero GHG emissions from energy production, transportation and consumption), a major transition in just a few decades is necessary to achieve this goal. Therefore, a long-term policy perspective towards 2050 is essential. Many decisions taken today influence the EU’s ability to meet its decarbonisation goals. The authors investigate how far the EU is along the road to decarbonisation, and what remains to be done in policy development. They also seek to understand whether the decarbonisaton goal is a central feature of the EU’s external relations with its energy partners, and how these relations could change under decarbonisation.
Chapters:
1. Decarbonisation in the EU: Setting the Scene; Claire Dupont and Sebastian Oberthür
2. The EU Internal Energy Market and Decarbonisation; Radostina Primova
3. The Power Sector: Pioneer and Workhorse of Decarbonisation; Stefan Lechtenböhmer and Sascha Samadi
4. Electricity Grids: No Decarbonisation Without Infrastructure; Thomas Sattich
5. Decarbonising Industry in the EU: Climate, Trade and Industrial Policies; Max Åhman and Lars J. Nilsson
6. Transport: Addicted to Oil; Tom van Lier and Cathy Macharis
7. Buildings: Good Intentions Unfulfilled; Elin Lerum Boasson and Claire Dupont
8. The Geopolitics of the EU’s Decarbonisation Strategy: a Bird’s Eye Perspective; Tom Casier
9. Decarbonisation and EU Relations with the Caspian Sea Region; Claire Dupont
10. Evolutions and Revolutions in EU-Russia Energy Relations; Tomas Maltby and Olga Khrushcheva
11. EU-Norway Energy Relations Towards 2050: From Fossil Fuels to Low-Carbon Opportunities?; Torbjørg Jevnaker, Leiv Lunde and Jon Birger Skjærseth
12. Conclusions; Claire Dupont and Sebastian Oberthür
