Spotlight on Research about Global Energy Transition and Governance

Research & Policy Papers

The struggle of energy communities to enhance energy justice: insights from 113 German cases by Florian Hanke and Rachel Guyet
Based on the data from an online survey among 113 German energy communities, this paper investigates the extent to which energy communities enhance energy justice and democracy in the German energy transition.
Published by Energy, Sustainability and Society, Bio Med Central, Part of Springer Nature, 2023
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Florian Hanke is Senior Advisor in energy transition and climate protection at PD - Berater der öffentlichen Hand GmbH
Rachel Guyet is Programme Director of the Master in Global Energy Transition and Governance at CIFE.

The Justice Challenges of the EU Energy Trilemma by Rachel Guyet
Energy policies in Europe are embedded in the three dimensions of the so-called energy trilemma, for which the World Energy Council publishes an index every year. The current energy crisis has impacted all three dimensions of the trilemma putting at the core of the European strategies the security of supply, including the accelerated deployment of renewable energies, and the issue of affordability. The CIFE Policy Paper examines whether the emergency measures taken meet the conditions of just transition put forward in the European Green Deal.
CIFE Policy Paper, April 2023
Read or download the paper

Florian Hanke

Rachel Guyet 

Student Research Papers

Germany Energy Redeployment by Mariam Sendali

Right after the start of the war on Ukraine in February 2022, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called the developments in his country "Zeitenwende", a historical turning point. A year after it is safe to say that Scholz can be credited with successfully reshaping Germany's national discourse on strategic matters. What is now needed, is a commitment to re-evaluating Germany's energy policies, institutions, and procedures, and a sense of urgency that corresponds to the magnitude of the task at hand. The country also must recognize that Europe's security is highly contingent on Germany's economic response to this crisis, and that it plays a central role in this regard. Finally, it’s extremely important to take measures to solidify international relations with a variety of partners in order both to exclude new dependencies and ensure energy transition for decades to come. Only that way a real Zeitenwende can be achieved. 

Mariam Sendali has graduated at CIFE in Summer 2023 with the Master in Global Energy Transition ad Governance. 
Read or download the paper

Mariam Sendali

Videos and Podcasts

We're proud to share a new format, launched by our Energy Master students 2022/23: The CIFE Student Round Table offers a series of discussions about European and global energy topics.

'Heat or Eat': Energy Poverty in Europe | CIFE Student Round Table with Rachel Guyet
In the context of the Russian war on Ukraine and the skyrocketing energy prices, energy poverty has become a major topic in European and international politics. "Heat or Eat" stands for a dramatic dilemma many households are confronted with this winter. In this first edition of the CIFE Student Round Table, Pjotr Jacobs, Franceco Palma, Ginevra Figini and Mariam Sendali discuss together with Dr Rachel Guyet the most pressing challenges of energy poverty.
Watch the recording of their discussion about this important topic.

Renewables After The Russo-Ukraine War | CIFE Student Round Table with Gilles Lepesant
It’s time to deliver! We have reached a “Make or break” point in the European energy market: the stakes are high, and the challenges are enormous. What will be the consequences of the war in Ukraine and of the EU’s ambitious Green Deal targets for 2030? How will the energy landscape develop in the EU? In this second edition of the CIFE Student Roundtable, Professor Gilles Lepesant delivers an outlook on the developments of "Renewables After the Russo-Ukraine War”. 
Watch the recording

CIFE Student Podcast
Good traditions resumed: We're pleased that some of the students 2022/23 took over the CIFE Podcast launched by the EUGOV students in 2021/22. Francesco Palma, Christina Prifti, Ginevra Figini and Pjotr Jacobs, signed two episodes, centred on how questions of sustainability and energy transition were discussed at COP27 at Sharm el Sheikh.

Listen to episode 1 - COP27: What Is It About?

Listen to episode 2 - COP27: Key Takeaways

Round Table with Rachel Guyet

Round Table with Gilles Lepesant

News and Publications from the CIFE Energy Network

Is the Welsh Government cooking the books to make Wales seem green? by Thomas Lewis
The latest announcement from the Minister for Climate Change Julie James for 100% renewable electricity by 2035 has been on the whole welcomed, even being praised by Green Members of the European Parliament.
The thought of all lights and electrical activity across Wales being sourced entirely by renewables in just 12 years gives the impression that Wales is fulfilling its obligations to decarbonise. However, this is not the case, as polluting fossil gas is here to stay under the current programme.
(Published by Nation Cymru on 1 February 2023)
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Thomas Lewis is Campaign Coordinator at Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe and a CIFE Alumnus of the Master in Global Energy Transition and Governance 2018/19.

Thomas Lewis

A Fork in the Road for the Global Steel Sector by Fabio Passaro
The decarbonisation of hard-to-abate industries will need strong policy support. Robust policy instruments and supply chain coordination are required to support the steel industry transition to net zero, and must start now. These policies apply to different parts of the steel industry value chain: upstream (low-carbon energy and infrastructure), midstream (low-carbon production processes), and downstream (increasing demand for low-carbon steel and enhancing its circularity).
(Published by Climate Bonds Initiative in November 2022)
Read the paper

Fabio Passaro is Senior Transition Policy Analyst at the Climate Bonds Initiative and a CIFE Alumnus of the Master in Global Energy Transition and Governance 2019/20.

Fabio Passaro

Best Practice in Government Use and Development of Long-Term Energy Transition Scenarios by Pablo E. Carvajal, Asami Miketa, Nadeem Goussous and Pauline Fulcheri
Long-term energy scenarios (LTES) have been serving as an important planning tool by a wide range of institutions. This article focuses on how LTES have been used (and also devised in some cases) in the government sector, and specifically how the new challenges and opportunities brought by the aspiration for the clean energy transition change the way that governments use LTES. The authors highlight that in the context of the broad and complex challenges of a clean energy transition driven by ambitious climate targets, the LTES-based energy planning methodologies need to evolve, reflecting the changing landscapes, and that more effective and extensive use of LTES in government needs to be further encouraged.
(Published by Energies, MDPI, Basel, Switzerland on 16 March 2023)
Read the review

Nadeem Goussous is Associate Programme Officer - Clean Energy Transition Scenarios at the International Renewable Energy Agency, Bonn and a CIFE Alumnus of the Master in Global Energy Transition and Governance 2018/19.

Nadeem Gussous