On December 11, researchers from the Economics of Energy Innovation and System Transition (EEIST) project presented findings at COP28. You can access a recording of the event below (please note that footage begins playing at 8’30):
NEW REPORT: The New Economics of Innovation and Transition: Evaluating Opportunities and Risks
On December 11, researchers from the Economics of Energy Innovation and System Transition (EEIST) project presented findings at COP28. You can access a recording of the event below (please note that footage begins playing at 8’30):
Event Summary
Dr. Cristina Peñasco, Assistant Professor at the University of Cambridge, and Senior Research Economist at Banque de France, chaired the event and kicked off the discussion with an overview of EEIST’s work.
Professor Michael Grubb, Deputy Director of the UCL Institute for Sustainable Resources, highlighted that “we are in dynamic economic ecosystems [that] are continuously evolving.” As negotiations about the future of oil & gas, renewable energy, and Just Transitions unfold at COP28 and beyond, insights from complexity-based models that can account for this dynamism are more relevant than ever.
Country-Based Research:
Ulka Kelkar of WRI India discussed policy recommendations for decarbonising India’s industrial sector, including:
Professor Zhang Xiliang of Tsinghua University outlined findings from EEIST’s research in China, including the fact that when externalities like air quality are taken into account, the benefits of decarbonisation are higher than the costs.
The recent publication of the Brazil country report, which includes insights for policymakers, similarly highlights the utility of EEIST modelling tools when developing national transition strategies.
Q&A Session:
EEIST models challenge the status quo by integrating socioeconomic considerations into its models. With this in mind, the Q&A session delved into the role that EEIST models can play in Just Transitions. Simon Sharpe, of United Nations Climate Champions and the World Resources Institute, noted: “Governments are still very unaware of these kinds of [complexity] models, so there’s an opportunity to have an impact.” Ulka Kelkar similarly described the value of EEIST models in the context of Just Transitions given their potential to identify unexpected consequences of policy decisions.
The Future of the EEIST Project:
While the EEIST project is drawing to an end, its aims remain clear. Panellists called for more efforts to disseminate and expand EEIST models (particularly in networks of early career researchers). Simon Sharpe also discussed how EEIST tools can identify tipping points in hard-to-abate material sectors in order to replicate the success seen with the expansion of electric vehicles.
You can explore the reports guiding discussions at COP28 below:
The New Economics of Innovation and Transition: Evaluating Opportunities and Risks highlights that some of the greatest successes in the clean energy transition so far, such as dramatic cost reductions in wind and solar power and LED lighting, have come from policies to shape markets that were not generally those recommended by conventional economic analysis. To replicate these successes, the report calls on policy makers to learn the lessons and think differently about the dynamics of change in our economies.
Ten Principles for Policy Making in the Energy Transition offers governments new methods to use policy to accelerate clean technology transitions to drive action on climate goals.
Through 15 real-world, global, regional and national case studies, developed in partnership with policy stakeholders, New economic models of energy innovation and transition demonstrates how new economic modelling approaches can deliver crucial insights for decision makers. It also provides guidance on how to evaluate and choose between different modelling approaches and how to support their use.
