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#Energy & Sustainability

A Balanced Path to a Net Zero Future: Expansion, Flexibility, Integration and Innovation

  • October 15, 2024
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The CERRE report, “A Balanced Path to a Net Zero Future: Expansion, Flexibility, Integration and Innovation”, authored by CERRE Research Fellows Andrei Covatariu (Energy Policy Group) and Nils-Henrik M. von der Fehr (University of Oslo) explores the challenges that may arise on the EU’s path to net zero. 

The report argues that while the EU is on track to meet its 2030 climate goals, the more ambitious targets for 2050 will require a faster-paced transition. This increases the risk of imbalances in four crucial areas: total available generation capacity, the capacity mix, system flexibility, and network infrastructure. 

To explore these challenges, the report presents six case studies, each addressing a specific issue, enriched by insights from a survey of selected CERRE members. These case studies span the Netherlands, Norway, Quebec, Romania, Spain, and Sweden, offering a comprehensive view of different energy systems. 

What emerges is that imbalances result, fundamentally, from a lack of coordination. They are consequence of an uneven speed of the major changes to the energy system, where each depends on the progress of the others, including uptake of renewable energy (often decentralised, non-dispatchable and with low marginal cost), adaptation of demand (incl. reductions in volume, increased efficiency, change of energy composition and flexibility), and development and modernisation of infrastructure (including grids, storage and on-demand consumption and production to balance demand and supply in space and time). 

Finally, the authors conclude that, to address energy imbalances, the EU should invest in flexible demand-supply solutions, expediting infrastructure projects, and streamlining permitting processes. Markets, which are instrumental in steering the energy transition, should be complemented by a stable but adaptive regulatory framework that maintains technology neutrality and fosters innovation and resilience. 

Watch the full recording of the presentation of the report at the CERRE Path to Net Zero Summit

Author(s)
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Andrei Covatariu
Andrei Covatariu

Andrei Covatariu is an international energy and climate change expert. His activity focuses on climate and energy policies, concentrating on the energy transition process and its geopolitical, economic, and social challenges. Andrei’s views and policy analyses are constantly published and cited in international media. He holds multiple roles, working at the intersection of theoreticians (think tanks, academia) and practitioners (energy industry, international organizations, domestic), engaging with both private and public stakeholders, across Europe, the Middle East, and the United States.

Andrei is currently the Co-Chair of the Task Force on “Digitalization in Energy” and a Vice-Chair of the Group of Experts on Energy Efficiency at the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). Simultaneously, he serves as a Non-resident Scholar in the Climate and Water Program at the Middle East Institute (United States), a Senior Research Associate at Energy Policy Group (Romania), and an Associate Lecturer at the Bucharest University of Economic Studies, teaching energy and environmental policies. In 2021, Andrei co-founded ECERA, a network of sustainability practitioners aiming to produce policy-relevant knowledge, helping governments, companies, NGOs, universities, and others navigate the various facets of sustainability.

In the past, Andrei has worked for other for-profit companies, or with different multilateral and international organizations (e.g. International Energy Agency, World Energy Council), think tanks (e.g. Harvard’s Belfer Center; Energy Policy Group), or NGOs (Climate Reality Project, Climate Interactive, etc.).

Andrei holds a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in nuclear engineering, a master’s degree in business administration, and a master’s in public policy (MPP) from the Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford, with a summer project at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School.

Andrei Covatariu is an international energy and climate change expert. His activity focuses on climate and energy policies, concentrating on the energy transition process and its geopolitical, economic, and social challenges. Andrei’s views and policy analyses are constantly published and cited in international media. He holds multiple roles, working at the intersection of theoreticians (think tanks, academia) and practitioners (energy industry, international organizations, domestic), engaging with both private and public stakeholders, across Europe, the Middle East, and the United States.

Andrei is currently the Co-Chair of the Task Force on “Digitalization in Energy” and a Vice-Chair of the Group of Experts on Energy Efficiency at the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). Simultaneously, he serves as a Non-resident Scholar in the Climate and Water Program at the Middle East Institute (United States), a Senior Research Associate at Energy Policy Group (Romania), and an Associate Lecturer at the Bucharest University of Economic Studies, teaching energy and environmental policies. In 2021, Andrei co-founded ECERA, a network of sustainability practitioners aiming to produce policy-relevant knowledge, helping governments, companies, NGOs, universities, and others navigate the various facets of sustainability.

In the past, Andrei has worked for other for-profit companies, or with different multilateral and international organizations (e.g. International Energy Agency, World Energy Council), think tanks (e.g. Harvard’s Belfer Center; Energy Policy Group), or NGOs (Climate Reality Project, Climate Interactive, etc.).

Andrei holds a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in nuclear engineering, a master’s degree in business administration, and a master’s in public policy (MPP) from the Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford, with a summer project at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School.

Nils Henrik Von Der Fehr (2)
Nils-Henrik von der Fehr
Research Fellow
and University of Oslo

Professor Nils-Henrik M. von der Fehr is Professor of Economics at the University of Oslo. In addition to numerous academic positions, Nils-Henrik has chaired or served as a member of government committees both in his native Norway and internationally; he continues to provide expert advice to private companies and government institutions around the world on energy, as well as other issues. His research interests include microeconomics, industrial economics, regulation and competition policy.

Professor Nils-Henrik M. von der Fehr is Professor of Economics at the University of Oslo. In addition to numerous academic positions, Nils-Henrik has chaired or served as a member of government committees both in his native Norway and internationally; he continues to provide expert advice to private companies and government institutions around the world on energy, as well as other issues. His research interests include microeconomics, industrial economics, regulation and competition policy.

More publications

on #Energy & Sustainability

Market Design Options for CCS in Europe: CO2 Transport and Storage Regulation
25 March 2025
Europe’s Pathways to Net Zero: The Role of Renewable Gases and Flexibility
15 October 2024
Speeding Up Renewable Energy Permitting in Europe: Overcoming Implementation Challenges
15 October 2024
Securing Europe’s Net Zero Path with Flexible LNG
25 September 2024
Ambitions for Europe 2024-2029
27 June 2024
Towards a More Dynamic Regulation for Energy Networks
26 March 2024
Scaling up Offshore Wind Energy in Europe
11 October 2023
Building Resilience in Europe’s Energy System
1 June 2023
Regulation and Standards for a Resilient European Energy System
22 February 2023
Building Europe’s Hydrogen and Renewable Gas Markets
10 February 2023

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