PROJECT DESCRIPTION
BACKGROUND
The EU's climate policy is becoming increasingly ambitious. The EU has set itself the target of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 20% by 2020 and 40% by 2030. Discussions and work are underway to develop pathways and measures to achieve climate neutrality by mid-century. These targets are to be achieved by countries with varying levels of wealth and technological and economic capacity to tackle global warming. A generalised decision-making process therefore does not always meet the criteria of efficiency, effectiveness and equity at both European and national levels. As a result, reductions in greenhouse gas emissions are smaller and more costly than they could be. There is a need to develop instruments and implement policies that stimulate emission reductions in line with a country's economic situation. To achieve this goal, it is necessary to collect qualitative and quantitative data on climate policies and ensure that it reaches relevant decision-makers. Such data would include the costs and emission reduction effects of different national climate policy implementation scenarios, in key sectors and across the economy, complemented by a range of modelling tools. Such an approach ensures the provision of the best available information on the possible impacts of policies and contributes to a better understanding of the combined effects of policies.
OBJECTIVES
The main objective of the LIFE Climate CAKE PL project was to develop a sustainable and comprehensive information generation and exchange system to support the efficient implementation of EU climate and energy policies. Such a system facilitates decision-making processes and enhances the potential capacities of relevant administrations to implement these policies, in particular the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and the transition to a low-carbon economy, both in Poland and in other Member States. Specifically, the project aimed to:
- provide high-quality information about the impacts of measures implemented under EU energy and climate policies, using analytical tools developed as part of the project;
- deliver this high-quality information to public administrations, private entities and the general public;
- build a comprehensive toolkit, based on a computable general equilibrium (CGE) model combined with interlinked sectoral models (energy, transport and agriculture), for assessing the measures proposed at Member State and EU levels, taking into account a country’s sectoral dimensions;
- raise the environmental awareness of the public, with particular consideration given to climate and energy policies, by widely disseminating the project information.
The Centre for Climate and Energy Analyses (CAKE for its Polish acronym) was established to help achieve these goals and ensure the long-term sustainability of the project. CAKE has established a team of experts to develop and use the analytical toolkit, further develop analyses and support the stakeholder network, with the aim of continuously generating information to support decision-making during implementation and beyond the project.
RESULTS
The general project quantitative benefits are demonstrated by the following values:
- among stakeholders, the satisfaction level regarding availability of and access to data/information on economic impacts of climate and energy policy increased by 62.3%, while in energy, transport and agriculture respectively sectors by 55.7%, 94.2% and 65.3%. Assessment of the project contribution to this improvement is rated 5.05 on a 1-6 scale;
- satisfaction level regarding usefulness/relevance of data on economic impacts of climate and energy policy increased by 50.5%. Assessment of the project contribution to this improvement is rated 5.07 on a 1-6 scale;
- satisfaction level regarding the quality of data economic impacts of climate and energy policy increased by 64.1%. Assessment of the project contribution to this improvement is rated 5.1 on a 1-6 scale.
The results of the analyses conducted on the basis of the macro-economic CGE model created under the project were widely used by the Poland’s government. For example, the Minister of Climate and Environment justifies Polish agreement consent expressed during the European Council in December 2020, based on, inter alia, the results of analyses prepared under the LIFE Climate CAKE project.
Additionally, the project results were used during the preparation of the following national strategies/policies:
- 'Energy policy of Poland until 2040', published in March 2021 - the most important Polish national document dedicated to the Energy Sector in the context of its national economy. In this document, two scenarios of CO2 prices projections are envisaged: lower prices with the same projection as in Polish NECP – based on 40 % reduction target for 2030 – and higher prices with projection based on CAKE analysis;
- 'Polish Nuclear Energy Programme', published in December 2020 – in this document, various scenarios for future energy mix are based on the emissions cost path from the CAKE analyses;
- 'Strategy for district heating by 2030 with a perspective by 2040', published in 2022 - in this document, EU Emission Trading System prices projection prepared by the CAKE team was used as the argument of the need for changes in the heating sector.
