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

This chapter discusses leading problems linked to energy that the world is now confronting and to propose some ideas concerning possible solutions. Oil deserves special attention among all energy sources. Since the beginning of 1981, it has merely been continuing and enhancing the downward movement in consumption and prices caused by excessive rises, especially for light crudes such as those from Africa, and the slowing down of worldwide economic growth. Densely-populated oil-producing countries need to produce to live, to pay for their food and their equipment. If the economic growth of the industrialized countries were to be 4%, even if investment in the rational use of energy were pushed to the limit and the development of nonpetroleum energy sources were also pursued actively, it would be extremely difficult to prevent a sharp rise in prices. It is evident that it is absolutely necessary to pursue actively the development of coal, natural gas, and nuclear power if a physical shortage of energy is not to block economic growth.

World energy outlook

Unemployment: macroeconomic performance and the labour market

http://amirkavousian.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Kavousian_etal_2013_DataDrivenEnergyEfficiency.pdf

Determinants of residential electricity consumption: Using smart meter data to examine the effect of climate, building characteristics, appliance stock, and occupants' behavior

This paper presents a thorough review of 75 modelling tools currently used for analysing energy and electricity systems. Increased activity within model development in recent years has led to several new models and modelling capabilities, partly motivated by the need to better represent the integration of variable renewables. The purpose of this paper is to give an updated overview of currently available modelling tools, their capabilities and to serve as an aid for modellers in their process of identifying and choosing an appropriate model. A broad spectrum of modelling tools, ranging from small-scale power system analysis tools to global long-term energy models, has been assessed. Key information regarding the general logic, spatiotemporal resolution as well as the technological and economic features of the models is presented in three comprehensive tables. This information has been validated and updated by model developers or affiliated contact persons, and is state-of-the-art as of the submission date. With the available suite of modelling tools, most challenges of today's electricity system can be assessed. For a future with an increasing share of variable renewables and increasing electrification of the energy system, there are some challenges such as how to represent short-term variability in long-term studies, incorporate the effect of climate change and ensure openness and transparency in modelling studies.

A review of modelling tools for energy and electricity systems with large shares of variable renewables

Long-term energy scenarios: : Bridging the gap between socio-economic storylines and energy modeling

Projections of energy services demand for residential buildings: Insights from a bottom-up methodology

Hydropower plays a major role in the Portuguese electrical mix. Given the projected impacts of climate change on the availability of water resources, effects on hydropower generation are widely recognized though scantily quantified in literature. Considering projected climate change impacts on water resources in Portugal, we use a partial equilibrium bottom-up optimization model (TIMES_PT) to assess the effects of climate change on the Portuguese electrical system by 2050 – particularly focusing on the impacts on water resources availability and hydropower generation. Results show that hydropower generation may decrease by 41% in 2050. Hydropower will remain one of the most cost-effective technologies in the power sector, though it will lose as compared to other renewable energy sources (solar PV and wind power) due to, not only, the almost fully exploited endogenous hydropower potential, but also, due to climate change impacts. This will result in higher electricity prices (up to a 17% increase). Moreover, the stronger the climate change impacts the higher the levels of greenhouse gas emissions (up to 7.2% increase) – thus demanding stronger political action to comply with EU climate goals for 2050.

Patrícia Fortes

Papers

Long-term energy scenarios: : Bridging the gap between socio-economic storylines and energy modeling

Projections of energy services demand for residential buildings: Insights from a bottom-up methodology

Assessing the impacts of climate change on hydropower generation and the power sector in Portugal: A partial equilibrium approach

Cost of energy and environmental policy in Portuguese CO2 abatement—scenario analysis to 2020

Integrated technological-economic modeling platform for energy and climate policy analysis