Policy Publication: Three responses to the energy crisis: the co-benefits of energy efficiency

The IAM COMPACT project issued its second policy publication, aiming to provide three ‘corner’ options for the EU to address the energy crisis. The policy brief has successfully fed into the European Commission’s 2040 target planning process.

The ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine has fuelled an energy crisis, which has considerably impacted the EU, given the bloc's significant reliance on Russian natural gas until recently. The brief explores three scenarios to replace Russian gas imports: increasing gas imports from other regions, increasing domestic production, and accelerating energy efficiency.

Using four Integrated Assessment Models (GCAM, TIAM, MUSE, PROMETHEUS) and two sectoral models (MARIO, EXPANSE) of the IAM COMPACT project ensemble, we find that eliminating reliance on Russian natural gas can drive emissions reductions in hard-to-abate sectors and speed up the transition to renewables and electrification. Replacing Russian gas with other imported gas would have a very small impact on EU energy-related emissions, while replacing it with domestic clean energy alternatives would lead to an interplay between demand-side energy-related emissions decreasing and supply-side energy-related emissions increasing. Energy efficiency could lead to the highest emission cuts in the demand side, although concerns remain over a post-2040 rebound. Other benefits of energy savings and energy efficiency measures include reduced investment needs and lower electricity prices.

You may visit our Policy Briefs section to view all policy briefs issued by the IAM COMPACT project.