The talk with present the key results of the IPCC Working Group III 5th assessment report. Concluding four years of intense scientific collaboration by hundreds of authors from around the world, the report responds to the request of the world's governments for a comprehensive, objective and policy neutral assessment of the current scientific knowledge on mitigating climate change. The report has been extensively reviewed by experts and governments to ensure quality and comprehensiveness.

Climate change 2014 - Mitigation of climate change

Assessment of the theoretical demand response potential in Europe

A clear consensus exists in the German society that renewable energies have to play a dominant role in the future German energy supply system. However, many questions are still under discussion; for instance the relevance of the different technologies such as photovoltaic systems and wind energy converters installed offshore in the North Sea and the Baltic Sea. Also concerns exist about the cost of a future energy system mainly based on renewable energies. In order to be able to address the raised issues on a scientifically sound basis we have set up a new simulation model REMod-D (Renewable Energy Model-Deutschland) that models the energy balance of the electricity and heat sector including all renewable energy converters, storage components and loads for a future German energy system for a whole year based on an hourly energy balance. The target energy systems modeled use a high fraction up to 100% of renewable energies to cover the electricity and heat demand (heating and hot water). The model includes also energy retrofit of buildings as a measure to reduce future heat loads of the building sector. A mathematical–numerical optimizer is applied in order to identify system configurations with minimal overall annual cost. In this first part of a two-paper series we describe the methodology of the REMod-D model and discuss cost and performance values of all included components and in the second part we will discuss the results.

A comprehensive model for the German electricity and heat sector in a future energy system with a dominant contribution from renewable energy technologies – Part II: Results

This paper empirically investigates the factors driving the adoption of energy-efficiency measures by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Our analyses are based on cross-sectional data from SMEs which participated in a German energy audit program between 2008 and 2010. In general, our findings appear robust to alternative model specifications and are consistent with the theoretical and still scarce empirical literature on barriers to energy efficiency in SMEs. More specifically, high investment costs, which are captured by subjective and objective proxies, appear to impede the adoption of energy-efficient measures, even if these measures are deemed profitable. Similarly, we find that lack of capital slows the adoption of energy-efficient measures, primarily for larger investments. Hence, investment subsidies or soft loans (for larger invest-ments) may help accelerating the diffusion of energy-efficiency measures in SMEs. Other barriers were not found to be statistically significant. Finally, our findings provide evidence that the quality of energy audits affects the adoption of energy-efficiency measures. Hence, effective regulation should involve quality standards for energy au-dits, templates for audit reports or mandatory monitoring of energy audits.

Adoption of energy-efficiency measures in SMEs - An empirical analysis based on energy audit data

This book explores the nature, operation and relative importance of different barriers to energy efficiency through a comprehensive examination of energy management practices within a wide range of public and private sector organisations. The authors use concepts from new institutional economics to explain individual and organisational behaviour in relation to energy efficiency, and identify the mechanisms through which such barriers may be overcome. In doing so, they are able to shed new light on the ‘barriers debate’ and provide a valuable input to the future development of climate policy.

Katharina Wohlfarth

Papers

Differences in the public perception of CCS in Germany depending on CO2 source, transport option and storage location

Energy efficiency and demand response – two sides of the same coin?

Energieverbrauch des Sektors Gewerbe, Handel, Dienstleistungen (GHD) in Deutschland für die Jahre 2011 bis 2013

Learning networks as an enabler for informed decisions to target energy-efficiency potentials in companies

Demand response in the service sector – Theoretical, technical and practical potentials