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Renewable energy transition
The energy transition is a pathway toward transformation of the global energy
sector from fossil-based to zero-carbon by the second half of this century. At its
heart is the need to reduce energy-related CO2 emissions to limit climate change.
Decarbonization of the energy sector requires urgent action on a global scale, and
while a global energy transition is underway, further action is needed to reduce
carbon emissions and mitigate the effects of climate change. Renewable energy
and energy efficiency measures can potentially achieve 90% of the required
carbon reductions.
strength of this approach is its foundation on a solid empirical data set; it has a
proven track record of policy applications. Unlike other approaches, it allows the
representation of additional policies or regulations drawing from idle economic
resources, a situation often observed in reality. Furthermore, the approach takes
unemployment into account, a key concern for policy makers.
Globally, there are nearly 1.1 billion people who lack access to electricity and
nearly 2.6 billion who rely on traditional biomass for heating (IEA and World
Bank, 2015).
At the current pace of expansion, it is estimated that nearly 1 billion people will
still lack access to electricity in 2030 and 2.5 billion will still be relying on
traditional biomass for cooking (IEA, 2013).
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Achieving universal access would require annual investments to increase from
the current USD 9 billion annually to nearly USD 50 billion (IEA and World
Bank, 2015).
The latest addition to this body of work, IRENA (2015a), estimates that the
renewable energy sector supported around 7.7 million direct and indirect gross
jobs in 2014, representing an 18% increase from the previous year.
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Jobs in renewable energy in 2030 by country
(million jobs)
SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS
First, and most important, are the tool parameters, which determine the results of
the analysis.
In the E3ME tool, these parameters are estimated empirically using econometric
equations.
While it is not possible to provide standard errors for the tool as a whole, standard
errors are reported for each individual equation.
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The method used maximizes the Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) so
nonsignificant parameters are typically excluded from the estimation.
The tool estimation system provides a range of diagnostic tests, and equations
which do not pass these tests are excluded from the tool solution.
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DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE E3ME TOOL
The key strengths of E3ME are: Q close integration of the economy, energy
systems and the environment with explicit linkages between each component; Q
detailed sectoral disaggregation in the tool’s classifications allowing for the
analysis of similarly detailed cases; Q global coverage while allowing for
analysis at the national level for major economies; Q bottom-up treatment of the
power sector allowing a detailed analysis of the renewables mix.
TOOL APPLICATIONS E3ME has recently been used in the following studies:
Q the EU’s social assessment of its 2030 climate and energy targets and an
assessment of the EU’s long-term Energy Roadmap Q assessment of
decarbonisation options in Latin America Q assessment of low-carbon policy in
East Asia Q assessment of the impacts of phasing out fossil fuel subsidies in India
and Indonesia The tool website provides a full list of academic publications that
have used the tool, stretching back to the 1990s.
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LIMITATIONS
Finally, the main limitations of this analysis define a path forward for future
research outlined below; R Use a more dynamic approach and explore the elects
of variable demand elasticity.
It would thus reveal trade flows, and R Refine the analysis by adding more
countries or new economic variables such as household incomes and
consumption.
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CONCLUSIONS