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The study "Towards a Single and Innovative European Transport System" is developing action plans for the establishment of an integrated transport system in Europe. This report was created in a joint effort between VDI/VDE Innovation + Technik GmbH (Germany), Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy (Germany) and the Centre of Research and Technology Hellas, CERTH (Greece) on behalf of the European Commission's DG MOVE. Focus of the report is the international assessment of six different countries - Brazil, China, India, Japan, South Korea, USA - in five focus areas across all transportation modes. It provides actions plans on how to overcome existing European barriers towards a single and innovative European Transport System based on best practices and lessons learned in the countries under study. In addition to the actions plans, the study also provides recommendations for international collaboration.
After two decades of privatization and outsourcing being the dominant trends across public services, an inclination towards founding new municipal power utilities can be observed. In this article, the authors examine the preservation strategies of the German energy regime following the transition approach developed by Geels. From the multi-level perspective, it can be stated that innovations take place in niches and have to overcome the obstacles and persistence of the conventional fossil-nuclear energy regime. Through an empirical analysis, it can be concluded that the established regime significantly delays the decentralization process required for a transformation of energy structures on local electricity grids. Furthermore, it is shown that municipal utilities (Stadtwerke) are important key actors for the German Energiewende (energy transition) as they function as local energy distributors and they meet a variety of requirements to promote fundamental structural change. The trend towards re-municipalization and the re-establishment of municipal utilities reveal the desire to further strengthen the scope of local politics.
Concretely defined targets are guiding policy efforts and the measures required to achieve national energy and low-carbon transformations in order to reach the maximum 2 degree climate change mitigation target agreed at the COP in Paris in 2015. Reducing energy consumption by harnessing the potential of energy efficiency, expanding the use of renewable energy resources, and transforming all sectors into low-energy and low-carbon structures is crucial. Among the G20 states, most states have set targets for renewable energies, energy efficiency, and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions. Yet, it seems that starting points and target units differ a lot between the G20, and hence comparability is difficult. This topical paper presents a synopsis on the current targets within the G20. The relative lack of energy efficiency targets shows that this pillar needs much greater efforts in current and future energy policy.
Energy efficiency activities are high on the current EU energy policy agenda. Key policy instruments like the Energy Efficiency Directive (EED), the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) and the Energy Labelling Directive are under revision.
In a project for the German government, we therefore analysed the effectiveness and consistency of existing sectoral policy packages anew, to open the discussion on which policy changes to the EU's energy efficiency policy packages are crucial to reach the targets.
This comprehensive review addressed the industrial, buildings, and transport sectors plus the overarching governance framework (targets and roadmaps, EED, energy taxation and EU ETS). For each of these, the first step was a gap analysis of the main deficits in the sectoral policy packages, against effective model packages.
At first glance, the combination of energy efficiency policies at EU level seems already quite comprehensive. However, their design and implementation often lack a consistent and ambitious approach to leverage their full potential.
To give some examples of the many shortcomings identified, the governance framework suffers from exceptions and the transport sector being only marginally considered in the EED; an outdated Energy Tax Directive has very low minimum rates and several exception clauses; there is a lack of commitment to implement energy management systems and investment projects in large companies; a clear EU-wide definition of nearly zero energy buildings (nZEB) is missing; and the labelling of energy-using products is still confusing for consumers. Subsequently, we elaborated comprehensive policy recommendations to increase the effectiveness of all these policies, and to bridge some gaps with new policies. A list of priorities was established to sort them by their relevance.
Kern des Projektes war es zu untersuchen, wie der Untersuchungsraum in Bezug auf die Energiewende aufgestellt ist und welche Entwicklungspotenziale künftig im Zuge einer gesellschaftlich und politisch gewollten Energiewende genutzt werden können. Zur Qualifizierung des wissenschaftlichen Nachwuchs wurde im Rahmen der hier bearbeiteten Forschungsfragen Studierende darin angeleitet, im Bereich der energiebezogenen Transformationsforschung eigenständig Teilaspekte zu untersuchen.
Dementsprechend wurden vom Wuppertal Institut insgesamt vier Studienarbeiten mit verschiedenen Themenschwerpunkten ausgeschrieben. Diese sollten am konkreten Beispiel der zu untersuchenden Region aufzeigen, welche Stärken und Schwächen, aber auch Chancen und Risiken in Bezug auf die pro-aktive Gestaltung der Energiewende bestehen. Zusätzlich sollte untersucht werden, wie stark kleine und mittlere Unternehmen (KMU) in der Region Unna davon betroffen sind beziehungsweise inwieweit sie als Akteure der Energiewende die Nachhaltigkeit ihrer unternehmerischen Tätigkeit stärken und sichern können. Auch die regionalwirtschaftlichen Effekte wie Wertschöpfungs- und Arbeitsplatzeffekte, die erzielbar wären, wenn die mittelständischen Unternehmen der Region pro aktiv die Herausforderungen der Energiewende in den Bereichen Energieeffizienz, erneuerbare Energien und dezentrale KWK aufgreifen, waren Bestandteil der Studienarbeiten. Der Schwerpunkt lag hier insbesondere im Bereich Energieeffizienz.
This policy brief discusses the importance of SUMPs (Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans). We test the hypothesis that the development of an ambitious plan in itself does not necessarily translate into successful policies and measures and in actual sustainable urban mobility. We find that the existence of a SUMP correlates positively with a higher share of public transport but that the existence of a SUMP does not as yet have a significant impact on the overall share of non-motorised modes of transport.
Sustainable energy
(2017)
Many low-carbon transport strategies can help achieve other economic, social and environmental objectives. These include improving access to mobility, reducing traffic and parking congestion, saving consumers money, supporting economic development, increasing public health and safety, and reducing air and noise pollution. Based on Avoid-Shift-Improve approaches and case studies from Germany, Colombia, India and Singapore, this paper shows that low-carbon transport generates significant and quantifiable benefits that can create a basis for political and societal coalitions.
Estimates suggest that currently available and cost effective measures can reduce transport Greenhouse Gas emissions by 40-50% compared to 2010. Yet, a number of barriers affect the optimal exploitation of this potential. Considering the possible economic, social and environmental benefits of sustainable transport, the shift towards a low-carbon pathway of this sector can be a win-win situation for climate protection and local development goals. This paper aims to make a contribution to understand these opportunities by highlighting the linkages between objectives, presenting case studies, facts and figures. The paper will also explore assessment methodologies and tools that can help practitioners to assess sustainable development benefits (SDB) and providing evidence for policy-makers to make more informed decisions on transport investments and polices.
Städte und Klimawandel : Ruhrgebiet 2050 ; integriertes Modell Ruhrgebiet und Regionaler Modal Shift
(2017)
Das Ziel des Teilprojekts "Integriertes Modell Ruhrgebiet 2050" war die Entwicklung und Anwendung eines integrierten Modellsystems, mit dem die Auswirkungen von Handlungsansätzen zur Reduzierung des Energieverbrauchs und von Treibhausgasemissionen in Stadtregionen bis zum Jahr 2050 abgeschätzt und bewertet werden können. In dem Teilprojekt wurde ein für das östliche Ruhrgebiet vorhandenes Flächennutzungs- und Verkehrsmodell auf das gesamte Ruhrgebiet erweitert und durch Teilmodelle des Energieverbrauchs von Gebäuden und Verkehr ergänzt. Die Ergebnisse sollen Zivilgesellschaft, Planung und Politik Hinweise darauf geben, welche Maßnahmen auf europäischer, nationaler, regionaler und lokaler Ebene durchgeführt werden müssen, um die Ziele der Energiewende im Ruhrgebiet zu erreichen.
Im Fokus des Teilprojekts "Regionaler Modal Shift" stand der regionale Personenverkehr im Ruhrgebiet. Hier werden bislang 53 Prozent aller Wege mit dem motorisierten Individualverkehr zurückgelegt gegenüber einem Ziel-Modal Split mit einem Pkw-Anteil von 25 Prozent und jeweils 25 weiteren Prozenten für Fuß- und Radverkehr sowie ÖPNV. Ein zentraler Ansatz zur Reduzierung des Energieverbrauchs und der Treibhausgasemissionen ist die Verlagerung (Modal Shift) von motorisiertem Individualverkehr auf den Umweltverbund (Fuß, Rad, ÖPNV, Car-Sharing). Die polyzentrische Struktur des Verkehrsnetzes des Ruhrgebiets bietet gute Voraussetzungen für eine klimafreundliche Mobilität im Umweltverbund. Darüber hinaus kann Elektromobilität einen weiteren Beitrag zur Reduzierung von Energieverbrauch und Treibhausgasemissionen leisten.
Dieser Bericht stellt die Ergebnisse aus den beiden Teilprojekten in integrierter Form dar.