
Headline:
Energy Transitions and Public Policy
The research group Energy Transitions and Public Policy conducts problem-driven research about the transition to a climate-neutral energy system. The key aim is to inform policy choices, policy design and evaluation for a rapid and socially just transition with robust scientific insight.
The group conducts research on public policies for all stages of the energy transition: from innovation and diffusion of zero-carbon technologies to institutional reconfiguration and policies for phasing out fossil fuels. The researchers are interested in the interactions between different energy and climate policies and other policy aims, including market liberalisation, europeanisation, and social justice. They address policies at international, national, and regional levels.
The Energy Transitions and Public Policy group does empirically-driven research and draws on disciplines including transition studies, political science, and economics. The research questions are drawn from current debates, and are sometimes co-created with stakeholders, including policymakers, industry, or NGOs. The group is currently involved in three third-party funded projects, granted by the European Research Council (ERC) and the European Commission's Horizon 2020 programme. In these projects, the group works to:
- analyse impacts and trade-offs of policy options, strategies, and instruments to bring about a transition to a carbon-neutral energy sector (TRIPOD, SENTINEL);
- improve understanding of how public policies and stakeholder activities advance transitions (TRIPOD, TIPPING+);
- increase societal and political relevance of the tools used for transition analysis (SENTINEL, TRIPOD).