Energy and Climate Plans in Energy System Modelling Scenarios

The national energy and climate plans were introduced as a means to explain how each EU country will reach its energy-related goals, among others, to achieve the EU targets for 2030 and climate neutrality by 2050. Because the plans state each country's individualistic plan, they propose an uncoordinated solution. Energy system modelling can give us an overview of the integrated energy system in an area. In this paper, we compare the energy system modelling results from European energy transition scenarios and investigate the consequences of approved policies and their impact on a longer horizon, compared to an ideal energy transition and compared to a scenario with less effort spent on a clean energy transition. The results provide insight into the value of cooperation across member states compared to an individualistic mindset, which can lead to barriers and protectionism that make the clean energy transition more expensive than necessary.