This report was produced as part of the THINK project. Challenges for policy makers are huge if the EU climate policy goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to 80- 95% below 1990 levels by 2050 shall be reached. There is no doubt that a new energy technology policy design for the post-2020 period is needed, not only because the current policy framework is running out in 2020, but also because of increasing global competitive pressure in the low-carbon technology sectors. Moreover, as market actors are calling for new, transparent and lasting policy commitments now, the policy will likely be negotiated in times of financial crisis and institutional frictions in the EU, of which no one can predict its duration. To contribute to this debate and assist DG ENER in preparing a new Communication on 'Energy Technologies in a future European Energy Policy', this THINK report develops and discusses possible paths for a renewed EU energy technology policy towards 2050.

This report was produced as part of the THINK project. Challenges for policy makers are huge if the EU climate policy goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to 80- 95% below 1990 levels by 2050 shall be reached. There is no doubt that a new energy technology policy design for the post-2020 period is needed, not only because the current policy framework is running out in 2020, but also because of increasing global competitive pressure in the low-carbon technology sectors. Moreover, as market actors are calling for new, transparent and lasting policy commitments now, the policy will likely be negotiated in times of financial crisis and institutional frictions in the EU, of which no one can predict its duration. To contribute to this debate and assist DG ENER in preparing a new Communication on {OCLCbr#D0}‘Energy Technologies in a future European Energy Policy{OCLCbr#D0}’, this THINK report develops and discusses possible paths for a renewed EU energy technology policy towards 2050.

As current policy frameworks are expiring in 2020, the EU is revisiting its energy technology policy for the post-2020 horizon. The main long-run objective for energy technology policy is to foster the achievement of ambitious EU goals for decarbonisation by 2050. Given this objective, we discuss how European energy technology policy towards 2050 can be effective despite i) uncertain carbon prices, ii) uncertain technological change and iii) uncertain or alternating policy paradigms shifting its focus from decarbonisation to competition or security of supplies. Public support to innovation in energy technologies is needed to correct for market failures and imperfections, as well as to fully exploit trade opportunities of such technologies on the world market. Benefits from EU intervention can be expected from the coordination of national policies. Effective European technology push should put strong emphasis on pushing consumption-oriented and enabling technologies, as these offer a no-regret strategy vis-à-vis any future context.

This volume discusses the European "2050 Energy Roadmap to a law Carbon Economy: Energy Policy & Innovation." It represents the outcome of the 3rd Academic Roundtable of the Loyola de Palacio Chair at the European University Institute held in Florence in 2011. Besides academic articles, speeches and opinions, it contains reports of the THINK Tank of DG Energy hosted in Florence.--

"Although technological innovation is undoubtedly crucial for addressing climate change, low-carbon innovation policies and politics have hardly been studied. This book clearly reveals the promises and pitfalls of European efforts in this field – recommended reading!"—Sebastian Oberthür, Institute for European Studies, Belguim "This compact volume effectively addresses a surprisingly unknown territory in an otherwise well-explored landscape. In doing so, it will provide a useful resource to all who follow the uneven progress of climate and energy policy in the EU context, as well as those who are interested in policies to stimulate technology development more broadly." —Tim Rayner, Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, University of East Anglia, UK The EU Strategic Energy Technology Plan (SET-Plan) was aimed at accelerating low-carbon innovation by raising, coordinating and concentrating resources to certain low-carbon technologies. At the ten-year anniversary of the SET-Plan, this book examines why it was adopted and what it has achieved. Using an analytical framework developed to capture the ‘politics of innovation’, the authors trace the history of the Plan from initiation to implementation, and then explain its development as seen from the perspectives of the EU institutions, member-states, industry, the research community and international technology markets. The concluding chapter discusses lessons and prospects for European low-carbon innovation towards 2030 and beyond. This new work fills a void in the literature on EU climate and energy policies, and will appeal to scholars, students and practitioners in these fields.

This outlook highlights climate-safe investment options until 2050, policies for transition and specific regional challenges. It also explores options to eventually cut emissions to zero.