Newton Fund: Links 2015 - Linkages between energy, food and water consumption for Brazil in the context of climate change mitigation strategies
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Cambridge
Department Name: Land Economy
Abstract
The collaborative research project combines the qualitative and quantitative research capabilities of the University of Cambridge, the Universidade do Sul de Santa Catarina, and the Pontificia Universidade Catolica de Sao Paulo to analyse the linkages between energy, food and water consumption for Brazil, in the context of climate change mitigation strategies.
This project concerns developing a mid- to long-term research programme for the study of technically and legally feasible configurations of the Brazilian energy and agriculture sector in close collaboration between the UK and Brazilian partners. This project will revolve around the use of the technology and decision diffusion model methodology Future Technology Transformations (FTT), under development in Cambridge by a team of 4 researchers led Dr. J.-F. Mercure, along with the global macroeconometric model E3ME (www.e3me.com). This capacity will be linked to an internationally leading research team headed by Prof. Vinuales on political and legal analysis of energy and sustainable development policy. Among subjects of interest will be freshwater and land use changes in relation to the energy and agricultural sectors, using both the FTT modules for the energy and agricultural sectors (FTT:Power, FTT:Agriculture). The targeted analysis will include local and international food demand, trade, as well as changes in employment generated by the development of low-carbon innovations and the diffusion of new technology in both the energy and agriculture sectors. While FTT is operated by the University of Cambridge, E3ME is maintained, operated and developed by Cambridge Econometrics Ltd, who will be in charge of training the Brazilian researchers in the use of the platform E3ME-FTT.
Through detailed analysis of the legal and governance contexts and their cross-sectoral impacts, the project will examine actual and prospective mitigation policies for Brazil, facilitated through close collaboration with local experts, most notably from the PUC-SP, with insights into the local challenges and opportunities. The active collaboration and the development of local analysis capabilities will provide support for capacity-building and knowledge-sharing. Enhanced understanding of the interactions between environmental and societal actions in analysed policies for Brazil could strengthen the generic basis for integration of climate action in the broader development agenda of the country.
A significant part of this networking project aims at building new research capacity, through the exchange of computational tools and training, to researchers from Universidade do Sul de Santa Catarina and Pontificia Universidade Catolica de Sao Paulo, who are actively involved in engaging local policy-makers. They will learn how to use the computational platforms E3ME-FTT developed in Cambridge to study specific locally relevant issues of energy, food and water linkages for Brazil, and help devise insight relevant for policy-making. Meanwhile, the Brazilian partners will provide invaluable contextual knowledge on locally relevant issues such that the research has relevance for policy-making, which could impact livelihoods in rural areas and low-income communities.
The activities of this networking project can be divided into six main categories:
(1.) Coordination Meetings (2.) International Conference (3.) Training (4.) Publications (5.) Network (6.) Public Awareness
The expected result of this networking project is to design a strong and coherent consortium of researchers covering all relevant aspects of the Energy-Water-Food nexus in the context of climate change mitigation policy in Brazil: sustainable development (economics, energy, agriculture) modelling and case studies, environmental policy and law, and a strong connection to networks in Brazil in order to ensure sustained impact.
This project concerns developing a mid- to long-term research programme for the study of technically and legally feasible configurations of the Brazilian energy and agriculture sector in close collaboration between the UK and Brazilian partners. This project will revolve around the use of the technology and decision diffusion model methodology Future Technology Transformations (FTT), under development in Cambridge by a team of 4 researchers led Dr. J.-F. Mercure, along with the global macroeconometric model E3ME (www.e3me.com). This capacity will be linked to an internationally leading research team headed by Prof. Vinuales on political and legal analysis of energy and sustainable development policy. Among subjects of interest will be freshwater and land use changes in relation to the energy and agricultural sectors, using both the FTT modules for the energy and agricultural sectors (FTT:Power, FTT:Agriculture). The targeted analysis will include local and international food demand, trade, as well as changes in employment generated by the development of low-carbon innovations and the diffusion of new technology in both the energy and agriculture sectors. While FTT is operated by the University of Cambridge, E3ME is maintained, operated and developed by Cambridge Econometrics Ltd, who will be in charge of training the Brazilian researchers in the use of the platform E3ME-FTT.
Through detailed analysis of the legal and governance contexts and their cross-sectoral impacts, the project will examine actual and prospective mitigation policies for Brazil, facilitated through close collaboration with local experts, most notably from the PUC-SP, with insights into the local challenges and opportunities. The active collaboration and the development of local analysis capabilities will provide support for capacity-building and knowledge-sharing. Enhanced understanding of the interactions between environmental and societal actions in analysed policies for Brazil could strengthen the generic basis for integration of climate action in the broader development agenda of the country.
A significant part of this networking project aims at building new research capacity, through the exchange of computational tools and training, to researchers from Universidade do Sul de Santa Catarina and Pontificia Universidade Catolica de Sao Paulo, who are actively involved in engaging local policy-makers. They will learn how to use the computational platforms E3ME-FTT developed in Cambridge to study specific locally relevant issues of energy, food and water linkages for Brazil, and help devise insight relevant for policy-making. Meanwhile, the Brazilian partners will provide invaluable contextual knowledge on locally relevant issues such that the research has relevance for policy-making, which could impact livelihoods in rural areas and low-income communities.
The activities of this networking project can be divided into six main categories:
(1.) Coordination Meetings (2.) International Conference (3.) Training (4.) Publications (5.) Network (6.) Public Awareness
The expected result of this networking project is to design a strong and coherent consortium of researchers covering all relevant aspects of the Energy-Water-Food nexus in the context of climate change mitigation policy in Brazil: sustainable development (economics, energy, agriculture) modelling and case studies, environmental policy and law, and a strong connection to networks in Brazil in order to ensure sustained impact.
Planned Impact
The activities of this networking project will be divided into six main categories, of which the contribution to impact is summarised as follows:
(1.) Coordination Meetings: Three meetings will be held between the participating universities to monitor the progression of project objectives, one in Brazil and two in Cambridge. For one of the meetings in Cambridge, policy makers from the EU related to Brazil will be invited to participate, in order to use their expertise as a valuable input for the project, as well as to maximise the impact of it, providing policy relevant outcome. For the meeting in Brazil, several authorities, policy makers and key decision-makers from the private sector will be invited to participate as well. This will serve as a backbone to the project's intended extensive networking and link-building activities across the range of existing and potential stakeholders.
(2.) International Conference: An additional international conference will be organised by the University of Cambridge, the Universidade do Sul de Santa Catarina and the PUC-SP with the main objective of discussing about the current situation in Brazil regarding energy, food and water usage, availability and linkages. The conference will take place in Brazil and it be divided in the following areas:
- Theme 1: Brazil and its current energy, food and water use and availability.
- Theme 2: Technological change of the Brazilian energy sector, and its impact on land use changes, food, water and greenhouse gas emissions.
- Theme 3: Policy responses to energy, food and water conflicting demand.
- Theme 4: Engagement with policymakers to ensure policy relevance in Brazil.
Key decision-makers and academics working on these areas will be invited to participate in the conference. Important links are expected to be developed, with the purpose of creating a long-term network between the research centres in the UK and Brazil and local policy-makers.
(3.) Training: The University of Cambridge in partnership with Cambridge Econometrics will train the Brazilian researchers in the use of the modelling platform E3ME-FTT. This will result in sustained built analytical capacity that, with the help of the network built during the project, will enable to analyse complex environmental policy issues in Brazil beyond the end of this project's duration.
(4.) Publications: Following the international conference and the meetings, a set of publications will be presented to disseminate and promote the knowledge and information related to climate change mitigation strategies and sustainable management of energy, food and water in Brazil analysed in this project.
(5.) Network: The collaboration between Universidade do Sul de Santa Catarina, the PUC-SP and the University of Cambridge established with this project will enable a research network to be formed. This will involve Brazilian researchers going to Cambridge to study the modelling platforms and methods, and, vice versa, Cambridge researchers going to Santa Catarina and Sao Paulo to study the implementation of renewable energies systems and energy efficiency projects in rural areas focus on the promotion of regional and rural development.
(6.) Public Awareness: In order to increase the awareness about the importance of the efficient use of energy, food and water resources, multimedia content will be produced and distributed. The target audience for this information will be policy makers, local authorities, universities and public schools.
(1.) Coordination Meetings: Three meetings will be held between the participating universities to monitor the progression of project objectives, one in Brazil and two in Cambridge. For one of the meetings in Cambridge, policy makers from the EU related to Brazil will be invited to participate, in order to use their expertise as a valuable input for the project, as well as to maximise the impact of it, providing policy relevant outcome. For the meeting in Brazil, several authorities, policy makers and key decision-makers from the private sector will be invited to participate as well. This will serve as a backbone to the project's intended extensive networking and link-building activities across the range of existing and potential stakeholders.
(2.) International Conference: An additional international conference will be organised by the University of Cambridge, the Universidade do Sul de Santa Catarina and the PUC-SP with the main objective of discussing about the current situation in Brazil regarding energy, food and water usage, availability and linkages. The conference will take place in Brazil and it be divided in the following areas:
- Theme 1: Brazil and its current energy, food and water use and availability.
- Theme 2: Technological change of the Brazilian energy sector, and its impact on land use changes, food, water and greenhouse gas emissions.
- Theme 3: Policy responses to energy, food and water conflicting demand.
- Theme 4: Engagement with policymakers to ensure policy relevance in Brazil.
Key decision-makers and academics working on these areas will be invited to participate in the conference. Important links are expected to be developed, with the purpose of creating a long-term network between the research centres in the UK and Brazil and local policy-makers.
(3.) Training: The University of Cambridge in partnership with Cambridge Econometrics will train the Brazilian researchers in the use of the modelling platform E3ME-FTT. This will result in sustained built analytical capacity that, with the help of the network built during the project, will enable to analyse complex environmental policy issues in Brazil beyond the end of this project's duration.
(4.) Publications: Following the international conference and the meetings, a set of publications will be presented to disseminate and promote the knowledge and information related to climate change mitigation strategies and sustainable management of energy, food and water in Brazil analysed in this project.
(5.) Network: The collaboration between Universidade do Sul de Santa Catarina, the PUC-SP and the University of Cambridge established with this project will enable a research network to be formed. This will involve Brazilian researchers going to Cambridge to study the modelling platforms and methods, and, vice versa, Cambridge researchers going to Santa Catarina and Sao Paulo to study the implementation of renewable energies systems and energy efficiency projects in rural areas focus on the promotion of regional and rural development.
(6.) Public Awareness: In order to increase the awareness about the importance of the efficient use of energy, food and water resources, multimedia content will be produced and distributed. The target audience for this information will be policy makers, local authorities, universities and public schools.
Organisations
- University of Cambridge (Lead Research Organisation)
- University of Southern Santa Catarina (Collaboration)
- The Open University (Collaboration)
- Cambridge Econometrics (Collaboration)
- Radboud University Nijmegen (Collaboration)
- UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE (Collaboration)
- UNIVERSITY OF EXETER (Collaboration)
Publications
Brouwer F
(2018)
Energy modelling and the Nexus concept
in Energy Strategy Reviews
Holden P
(2018)
Climate-carbon cycle uncertainties and the Paris Agreement
in Nature Climate Change
Knobloch F
(2020)
Net emission reductions from electric cars and heat pumps in 59 world regions over time.
in Nature sustainability
Mercure J
(2021)
Reframing incentives for climate policy action
in Nature Energy
Mercure J
(2016)
Modelling complex systems of heterogeneous agents to better design sustainability transitions policy
in Global Environmental Change
Mercure J
(2018)
Macroeconomic impact of stranded fossil fuel assets
in Nature Climate Change
Mercure J
(2018)
Environmental impact assessment for climate change policy with the simulation-based integrated assessment model E3ME-FTT-GENIE
in Energy Strategy Reviews
Mercure J
(2019)
System complexity and policy integration challenges: The Brazilian Energy- Water-Food Nexus
in Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews
Paim M
(2019)
Mainstreaming the Water-Energy-Food Nexus through nationally determined contributions (NDCs): the case of Brazil
in Climate Policy
Paim M
(2019)
Evaluating regulatory strategies for mitigating hydrological risk in Brazil through diversification of its electricity mix
in Energy Policy
| Description | Under this networking grant, we have developed a consortium of scientists and academics that enabled to carry out research on the Energy-Water-Food (EWF) Nexus in Brazil and beyond. The primary objective of this project was to first develop the consortium for research in order to develop more extensive research projects and grant applications. The second was to carry out capacity-building and engagement activities in Brazil, and third, to carry out some preliminary research in the area of the EWF nexus in Brazil. The first objective was met more than satisfactorily, as the emerging consortium has been highly successful with a further, extensive, grant proposal, under the Newton Fund, to study the EWF nexus as a research project over three years, built upon this networking grant LINKS2015. The successful bid, as a continuation of LINKS2015, has been called BRIDGE (Building Resilience In a Dynamic Global Economy: Complexity across scales in the Brazilian Food-Water-Energy Nexus), involves four institutions and has a total value of over £800k, funds managed by the ESRC (Project no ES/N013174/1, starting date not determined yet). Based on this we consider the LINKS2015 project successful. The second objective was one of capacity building in Brazil, both for academics and non-academics, which we have successfully carried out with a conference (in Brazil) and two training events for Brazilians (one in Brazil, one in the UK) using UK modelling and policy analysis tools. This has resulted in a highly consolidated team. The third objective was to carry out research in relation to the policy analysis that we wished to carry out beyond LINKS. This has been successful with the elaboration, by the group, of a new approach for managing the science-policy interface, by using dynamical models and highly robust uncertainty analysis, as proposed in the BRIDGE project. The BRIDGE methodology was formalised in a high impact publication in the journal Global Environmental Change (Mercure et al. 2016). An in depth review study of the Brazilian energy-water-food Nexus, in the perspective of both governance and the natural sciences, was published in Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews in 2019. Further publications are underway in collaboration between the UK and Brazilian groups. |
| Exploitation Route | The findings in our methodology publication (Mercure 2016) will likely be taken forward by the climate change modelling and policy analysis community, as well as by our own consortium during the BRIDGE project, in order to improve significantly the amount of policy-relevant insight that can be derived from dynamical models with uncertainty analysis, as opposed to current methods. Recent developments in the climate change mitigation and environmental policy analysis fields indicate how current methods, including for example cost-benefit analysis and equilibrium economic methods, can be limiting for analyses that involve dynamic change. For example, current methods preclude studying issues of green growth arising from investment in low-carbon or efficiency improving technology. This current bottleneck can be released using the methodology that we propose, as we hope to demonstrate in our new collaborative BRIDGE project. |
| Sectors | Agriculture, Food and Drink,Energy,Environment,Government, Democracy and Justice,Transport |
| URL | https://www.ceenrg.landecon.cam.ac.uk/research/climate-change-and-energy-policy/the-bridge-project |
| Description | This award is a one-year networking grant, and thus too short to see any impacts take place during the time it takes place. It led, however, to obtaining a larger grant to further these activities, the BRIDGE project (ES/N013174/1). The activities that we have carried out are now resulting in significant impact beyond academic research. The most important of these is related to engagement of non-academic spheres of Brazilian society. The second is related to capacity building in Brazil for policy analysis. The third relates to a strengthened collaboration between the UK and Brazil for the development of the science-policy interface in order to identify potential future issues and opportunities in relation to the Energy-Water-Food nexus. The primary impact relates to engagement in Brazil, which we carried out with several relatively large conferences as part of both the LINKS and BRIDGE grants, organised in Florianololis at the end of August 2015, in 2016 and 2017, to which many academics, policy-makers, students and members of the public participated. The EWF nexus visibly engages highly all spheres of population in Brazil, on which a debate is emerging. Indeed, Brazil faces many challenges in this regard. Thus our efforts at structuring the debate in scientific and policy-engagement terms has been well received. We have met with various regional and national policy-makers to discuss climate change, water, energy and agricultural issues. We were awarded with the traditional Florianopolis Hercilio Luz Bridge trophy by Florianopolis municipality in recognition of our efforts at starting a science-policy dialogue. We will carry this dialogue forward through the BRIDGE project. The second impact related to our training activities with Brazilians on UK methods, models and software to use for policy analysis in Brazil. This was successful and gave a good foundation to our capacity building efforts, which will be carried forward further through the BRIDGE project. Finally, the collaboration between the UK and Brazil was taken forward significantly by developing a strong collaboration, which will now be established for the long term. This platform is now enabling us, through the BRIDGE project, to engage firmly with policy-makers, academics and the public, in matters relating to environmental policy, climate change, economics and the EWF nexus. We recently publish a large review study on the Energy-Water-Food Nexus in Brazil, which is attributable to this award, as it kick-started our research in this field. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2015 |
| Sector | Agriculture, Food and Drink,Energy,Environment |
| Impact Types | Societal,Economic,Policy & public services |
| Description | (NAVIGATE) - Next generation of AdVanced InteGrated Assessment modelling to support climaTE policy making |
| Amount | € 6,998,343 (EUR) |
| Funding ID | 821124 |
| Organisation | European Commission |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | European Union (EU) |
| Start | 09/2019 |
| End | 08/2023 |
| Description | BRIDGE - Building Resilience In a Dynamic Global Economy: Complexity across scales in the Food-Water-Energy Nexus |
| Amount | £578,903 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | ES/N013174/1 |
| Organisation | Economic and Social Research Council |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 10/2016 |
| End | 03/2020 |
| Description | Economics of Energy Innovation and System Transition (BEIS) |
| Amount | £3,000,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 07/2021 |
| End | 07/2023 |
| Description | Economics of Energy Innovation and System Transition (CIFF) |
| Amount | $1,000,000 (USD) |
| Organisation | Children's Investment Fund Foundation |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 07/2021 |
| End | 07/2021 |
| Description | Financial risk and the impact of climate change |
| Amount | £226,001 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | NE/S017119/1 |
| Organisation | Natural Environment Research Council |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 02/2019 |
| End | 12/2020 |
| Description | Horizon 2020, Sim4Nexus project |
| Amount | € 200,000 (EUR) |
| Funding ID | 689150 |
| Organisation | European Commission |
| Department | Horizon 2020 |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | European Union (EU) |
| Start | 06/2016 |
| End | 06/2020 |
| Description | Plausible policy pathways to Paris |
| Amount | £112,753 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | NE/P015093/1 |
| Organisation | Natural Environment Research Council |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 10/2016 |
| End | 07/2018 |
| Title | The E3ME-FTT-GENIE simlation-based Integrated Assessment Model for informing climate policy |
| Description | Through a collaboration between the UK's open University, Cambridge University, Cambridge Econometrics and Radboud University (NL), a new integrated assessment model (IAM) for informing climate policy-making was developed, coordinated in large parts by myself as a result of my EPSRC fellowship. This model is arguably the most advanced in its category, since no other model is fully based on simulation and fully calibrated by observational data, while it has the highest resolution of all IAMs used by the international community (IPCC). This model is made of the FTT family of technology evolution models, the E3ME macroeconoemtric model, and the GENIE or GENIE-PLASIM carbon cycle and climate models of intermediate complexity. This makes our IAM the only fully dynamical simulation of human-environmental processes. |
| Type Of Material | Model of mechanisms or symptoms - human |
| Year Produced | 2018 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | Impacts are to be seen in the coming years. For now, it resulted in being invited to several Horizon 2020 consortia bidding for funds, and being included in the international climate change modelling community. This is very new, and therefore public information on this model is still scarce, however we have a new article in press fully describing this model, to appear in the journal Energy Strategy Reviews, while three submissions are under review in Nature Climate Change resulting from this work. |
| Description | A Simulation Based Integrated Assessment Model for informing climate change mitigation policy |
| Organisation | Cambridge Econometrics |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | Three institutions (U. Cambridge, Cambridge Econometrics, the Open University) agreed to join their expertise to build a new beyond the state of the art Integrated Assessment Model (IAM) for evaluating the impacts of environmental policies and advising policy-making. In this, I (U. Exeter) contribute computational models of technology diffusion in transport and the electricity sector, the Future Technology Transformations system (FTT:Power and FTT:Transport), as well as decision-making in agriculture and bioenergy. This will simulate the diffusion of new technologies and account for fuel use greenhouse gas emissions from those technologies. I also coordinated creating the method to dynamically combine the models. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Cambridge Econometrics and the University of Exeter contribute a global macroeconometric model E3ME, used to calculate the demand for energy and emissions intensive services, which are simulated by our models of technology. The Open University contributes models of the climate system (PLASIM) and of the carbon cycle (GENIE). These enable to evaluate climate change as a result of emissions trajectories calculated using the combined models E3ME-FTT. Cambridge University contributes expertise in international law, governance and policy, and methods for strategic policy-making. The combination of these components enables to evaluate impacts assessments from the policies to their environmental impacts with the evolution of the global economy. It is arguably the most advanced IAM that currently exists, the only one simulation-based. The method is described in our recent collaborative publication Mercure et al. 2018 in Energy Strategy Reviews. |
| Impact | Our collaboration is formalised by our first joint output, Mercure et al. Energy Policy 73 (2014) 686-700, and by its methodology, published jointly in Mercure et al. Global Environmental Change (2016). We have used this collaboration as a base to form a consortium for applying for Horizon 2020 funding of €5M and 20 partners across the world. Our proposal passed the first stage, and the full proposal was submitted in Sept. 2014, and scored highly on the second round. Following this, we were successful with a Newton Fund/ESRC bid for £800, in collaboration with partners in Brazil, for application of this model to the Brazilian Energy-Water-Food nexus. This project started in the spring 2016. More recently we obtained a £100k grant from NERC to study the 1.5 degree C target of the Paris Agreement, followed by another £250k grant to study the ownership of low-carbon transition financial risk. Work in this collaboration led us to publish two papers in Nature Climate Change, and one in Nature Energy (in last stages of review). The consortium later coordinated and won a bid for £4.8M of funds from BEIS and CIFF (the Children's Investment Fund Foundation) on the basis of the 2016 paper in Global Environmental Change, working with officials from UK government and governments in China, India and Brazil. |
| Start Year | 2015 |
| Description | A Simulation Based Integrated Assessment Model for informing climate change mitigation policy |
| Organisation | Open University |
| Department | Department of Environment, Earth and Ecosystems |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Three institutions (U. Cambridge, Cambridge Econometrics, the Open University) agreed to join their expertise to build a new beyond the state of the art Integrated Assessment Model (IAM) for evaluating the impacts of environmental policies and advising policy-making. In this, I (U. Exeter) contribute computational models of technology diffusion in transport and the electricity sector, the Future Technology Transformations system (FTT:Power and FTT:Transport), as well as decision-making in agriculture and bioenergy. This will simulate the diffusion of new technologies and account for fuel use greenhouse gas emissions from those technologies. I also coordinated creating the method to dynamically combine the models. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Cambridge Econometrics and the University of Exeter contribute a global macroeconometric model E3ME, used to calculate the demand for energy and emissions intensive services, which are simulated by our models of technology. The Open University contributes models of the climate system (PLASIM) and of the carbon cycle (GENIE). These enable to evaluate climate change as a result of emissions trajectories calculated using the combined models E3ME-FTT. Cambridge University contributes expertise in international law, governance and policy, and methods for strategic policy-making. The combination of these components enables to evaluate impacts assessments from the policies to their environmental impacts with the evolution of the global economy. It is arguably the most advanced IAM that currently exists, the only one simulation-based. The method is described in our recent collaborative publication Mercure et al. 2018 in Energy Strategy Reviews. |
| Impact | Our collaboration is formalised by our first joint output, Mercure et al. Energy Policy 73 (2014) 686-700, and by its methodology, published jointly in Mercure et al. Global Environmental Change (2016). We have used this collaboration as a base to form a consortium for applying for Horizon 2020 funding of €5M and 20 partners across the world. Our proposal passed the first stage, and the full proposal was submitted in Sept. 2014, and scored highly on the second round. Following this, we were successful with a Newton Fund/ESRC bid for £800, in collaboration with partners in Brazil, for application of this model to the Brazilian Energy-Water-Food nexus. This project started in the spring 2016. More recently we obtained a £100k grant from NERC to study the 1.5 degree C target of the Paris Agreement, followed by another £250k grant to study the ownership of low-carbon transition financial risk. Work in this collaboration led us to publish two papers in Nature Climate Change, and one in Nature Energy (in last stages of review). The consortium later coordinated and won a bid for £4.8M of funds from BEIS and CIFF (the Children's Investment Fund Foundation) on the basis of the 2016 paper in Global Environmental Change, working with officials from UK government and governments in China, India and Brazil. |
| Start Year | 2015 |
| Description | A Simulation Based Integrated Assessment Model for informing climate change mitigation policy |
| Organisation | Radboud University Nijmegen |
| Country | Netherlands |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Three institutions (U. Cambridge, Cambridge Econometrics, the Open University) agreed to join their expertise to build a new beyond the state of the art Integrated Assessment Model (IAM) for evaluating the impacts of environmental policies and advising policy-making. In this, I (U. Exeter) contribute computational models of technology diffusion in transport and the electricity sector, the Future Technology Transformations system (FTT:Power and FTT:Transport), as well as decision-making in agriculture and bioenergy. This will simulate the diffusion of new technologies and account for fuel use greenhouse gas emissions from those technologies. I also coordinated creating the method to dynamically combine the models. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Cambridge Econometrics and the University of Exeter contribute a global macroeconometric model E3ME, used to calculate the demand for energy and emissions intensive services, which are simulated by our models of technology. The Open University contributes models of the climate system (PLASIM) and of the carbon cycle (GENIE). These enable to evaluate climate change as a result of emissions trajectories calculated using the combined models E3ME-FTT. Cambridge University contributes expertise in international law, governance and policy, and methods for strategic policy-making. The combination of these components enables to evaluate impacts assessments from the policies to their environmental impacts with the evolution of the global economy. It is arguably the most advanced IAM that currently exists, the only one simulation-based. The method is described in our recent collaborative publication Mercure et al. 2018 in Energy Strategy Reviews. |
| Impact | Our collaboration is formalised by our first joint output, Mercure et al. Energy Policy 73 (2014) 686-700, and by its methodology, published jointly in Mercure et al. Global Environmental Change (2016). We have used this collaboration as a base to form a consortium for applying for Horizon 2020 funding of €5M and 20 partners across the world. Our proposal passed the first stage, and the full proposal was submitted in Sept. 2014, and scored highly on the second round. Following this, we were successful with a Newton Fund/ESRC bid for £800, in collaboration with partners in Brazil, for application of this model to the Brazilian Energy-Water-Food nexus. This project started in the spring 2016. More recently we obtained a £100k grant from NERC to study the 1.5 degree C target of the Paris Agreement, followed by another £250k grant to study the ownership of low-carbon transition financial risk. Work in this collaboration led us to publish two papers in Nature Climate Change, and one in Nature Energy (in last stages of review). The consortium later coordinated and won a bid for £4.8M of funds from BEIS and CIFF (the Children's Investment Fund Foundation) on the basis of the 2016 paper in Global Environmental Change, working with officials from UK government and governments in China, India and Brazil. |
| Start Year | 2015 |
| Description | A Simulation Based Integrated Assessment Model for informing climate change mitigation policy |
| Organisation | University of Cambridge |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Three institutions (U. Cambridge, Cambridge Econometrics, the Open University) agreed to join their expertise to build a new beyond the state of the art Integrated Assessment Model (IAM) for evaluating the impacts of environmental policies and advising policy-making. In this, I (U. Exeter) contribute computational models of technology diffusion in transport and the electricity sector, the Future Technology Transformations system (FTT:Power and FTT:Transport), as well as decision-making in agriculture and bioenergy. This will simulate the diffusion of new technologies and account for fuel use greenhouse gas emissions from those technologies. I also coordinated creating the method to dynamically combine the models. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Cambridge Econometrics and the University of Exeter contribute a global macroeconometric model E3ME, used to calculate the demand for energy and emissions intensive services, which are simulated by our models of technology. The Open University contributes models of the climate system (PLASIM) and of the carbon cycle (GENIE). These enable to evaluate climate change as a result of emissions trajectories calculated using the combined models E3ME-FTT. Cambridge University contributes expertise in international law, governance and policy, and methods for strategic policy-making. The combination of these components enables to evaluate impacts assessments from the policies to their environmental impacts with the evolution of the global economy. It is arguably the most advanced IAM that currently exists, the only one simulation-based. The method is described in our recent collaborative publication Mercure et al. 2018 in Energy Strategy Reviews. |
| Impact | Our collaboration is formalised by our first joint output, Mercure et al. Energy Policy 73 (2014) 686-700, and by its methodology, published jointly in Mercure et al. Global Environmental Change (2016). We have used this collaboration as a base to form a consortium for applying for Horizon 2020 funding of €5M and 20 partners across the world. Our proposal passed the first stage, and the full proposal was submitted in Sept. 2014, and scored highly on the second round. Following this, we were successful with a Newton Fund/ESRC bid for £800, in collaboration with partners in Brazil, for application of this model to the Brazilian Energy-Water-Food nexus. This project started in the spring 2016. More recently we obtained a £100k grant from NERC to study the 1.5 degree C target of the Paris Agreement, followed by another £250k grant to study the ownership of low-carbon transition financial risk. Work in this collaboration led us to publish two papers in Nature Climate Change, and one in Nature Energy (in last stages of review). The consortium later coordinated and won a bid for £4.8M of funds from BEIS and CIFF (the Children's Investment Fund Foundation) on the basis of the 2016 paper in Global Environmental Change, working with officials from UK government and governments in China, India and Brazil. |
| Start Year | 2015 |
| Description | A Simulation Based Integrated Assessment Model for informing climate change mitigation policy |
| Organisation | University of Exeter |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Three institutions (U. Cambridge, Cambridge Econometrics, the Open University) agreed to join their expertise to build a new beyond the state of the art Integrated Assessment Model (IAM) for evaluating the impacts of environmental policies and advising policy-making. In this, I (U. Exeter) contribute computational models of technology diffusion in transport and the electricity sector, the Future Technology Transformations system (FTT:Power and FTT:Transport), as well as decision-making in agriculture and bioenergy. This will simulate the diffusion of new technologies and account for fuel use greenhouse gas emissions from those technologies. I also coordinated creating the method to dynamically combine the models. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Cambridge Econometrics and the University of Exeter contribute a global macroeconometric model E3ME, used to calculate the demand for energy and emissions intensive services, which are simulated by our models of technology. The Open University contributes models of the climate system (PLASIM) and of the carbon cycle (GENIE). These enable to evaluate climate change as a result of emissions trajectories calculated using the combined models E3ME-FTT. Cambridge University contributes expertise in international law, governance and policy, and methods for strategic policy-making. The combination of these components enables to evaluate impacts assessments from the policies to their environmental impacts with the evolution of the global economy. It is arguably the most advanced IAM that currently exists, the only one simulation-based. The method is described in our recent collaborative publication Mercure et al. 2018 in Energy Strategy Reviews. |
| Impact | Our collaboration is formalised by our first joint output, Mercure et al. Energy Policy 73 (2014) 686-700, and by its methodology, published jointly in Mercure et al. Global Environmental Change (2016). We have used this collaboration as a base to form a consortium for applying for Horizon 2020 funding of €5M and 20 partners across the world. Our proposal passed the first stage, and the full proposal was submitted in Sept. 2014, and scored highly on the second round. Following this, we were successful with a Newton Fund/ESRC bid for £800, in collaboration with partners in Brazil, for application of this model to the Brazilian Energy-Water-Food nexus. This project started in the spring 2016. More recently we obtained a £100k grant from NERC to study the 1.5 degree C target of the Paris Agreement, followed by another £250k grant to study the ownership of low-carbon transition financial risk. Work in this collaboration led us to publish two papers in Nature Climate Change, and one in Nature Energy (in last stages of review). The consortium later coordinated and won a bid for £4.8M of funds from BEIS and CIFF (the Children's Investment Fund Foundation) on the basis of the 2016 paper in Global Environmental Change, working with officials from UK government and governments in China, India and Brazil. |
| Start Year | 2015 |
| Description | BRIDGE team, Newton Fund project |
| Organisation | Cambridge Econometrics |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | My former institution (Radboud University, formerly U. Cambridge, I am now based at Exeter) has lead the BRIDGE project, with me as director of research in the project. I directed the design and proposal writing for the Newton Fund/ESRC/FAPESC. This bid was successful. The project started in 2016 and ended in 2019. The collaboration carries on with other funds and other projects. |
| Collaborator Contribution | RU coordinated research. UCAM coordinates the science-policy interface and stakeholder engagement in Brazil UNISUL coordinates dissemination and co-leads the stakeholder engagement OU participates with RU on emulating models of the natural earth system CE participates with RU to modelling the global economy, the agricultural and technology systems |
| Impact | The project started with a Kick-off meeting at the end of April 2016. We organised a workshop on comparative environmental law to which policy analysts and modellers also participated, in Cambridge, January 2017. We organised a stakeholder event in Florianopolis and Brazilia in April 2017. The website is up and working. A good number of publications have resulted. This work is multidisciplinary and involves research in economics, energy, agriculture, climate science, plant science, engineering, business and management, environmental law and political science. The model for stakeholder engagement has been re-used in a much larger, BEIS-funded £4.8M project called 'Economics of Energy Innovation and System Transition' (www.eeist.co.uk), which I coordinate and includes this collaboration expanded to now include 16 partners. |
| Start Year | 2016 |
| Description | BRIDGE team, Newton Fund project |
| Organisation | Open University |
| Department | Department of Environment, Earth and Ecosystems |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | My former institution (Radboud University, formerly U. Cambridge, I am now based at Exeter) has lead the BRIDGE project, with me as director of research in the project. I directed the design and proposal writing for the Newton Fund/ESRC/FAPESC. This bid was successful. The project started in 2016 and ended in 2019. The collaboration carries on with other funds and other projects. |
| Collaborator Contribution | RU coordinated research. UCAM coordinates the science-policy interface and stakeholder engagement in Brazil UNISUL coordinates dissemination and co-leads the stakeholder engagement OU participates with RU on emulating models of the natural earth system CE participates with RU to modelling the global economy, the agricultural and technology systems |
| Impact | The project started with a Kick-off meeting at the end of April 2016. We organised a workshop on comparative environmental law to which policy analysts and modellers also participated, in Cambridge, January 2017. We organised a stakeholder event in Florianopolis and Brazilia in April 2017. The website is up and working. A good number of publications have resulted. This work is multidisciplinary and involves research in economics, energy, agriculture, climate science, plant science, engineering, business and management, environmental law and political science. The model for stakeholder engagement has been re-used in a much larger, BEIS-funded £4.8M project called 'Economics of Energy Innovation and System Transition' (www.eeist.co.uk), which I coordinate and includes this collaboration expanded to now include 16 partners. |
| Start Year | 2016 |
| Description | BRIDGE team, Newton Fund project |
| Organisation | Radboud University Nijmegen |
| Department | Environmental Science |
| Country | Netherlands |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | My former institution (Radboud University, formerly U. Cambridge, I am now based at Exeter) has lead the BRIDGE project, with me as director of research in the project. I directed the design and proposal writing for the Newton Fund/ESRC/FAPESC. This bid was successful. The project started in 2016 and ended in 2019. The collaboration carries on with other funds and other projects. |
| Collaborator Contribution | RU coordinated research. UCAM coordinates the science-policy interface and stakeholder engagement in Brazil UNISUL coordinates dissemination and co-leads the stakeholder engagement OU participates with RU on emulating models of the natural earth system CE participates with RU to modelling the global economy, the agricultural and technology systems |
| Impact | The project started with a Kick-off meeting at the end of April 2016. We organised a workshop on comparative environmental law to which policy analysts and modellers also participated, in Cambridge, January 2017. We organised a stakeholder event in Florianopolis and Brazilia in April 2017. The website is up and working. A good number of publications have resulted. This work is multidisciplinary and involves research in economics, energy, agriculture, climate science, plant science, engineering, business and management, environmental law and political science. The model for stakeholder engagement has been re-used in a much larger, BEIS-funded £4.8M project called 'Economics of Energy Innovation and System Transition' (www.eeist.co.uk), which I coordinate and includes this collaboration expanded to now include 16 partners. |
| Start Year | 2016 |
| Description | BRIDGE team, Newton Fund project |
| Organisation | University of Cambridge |
| Department | Department of Land Economy |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | My former institution (Radboud University, formerly U. Cambridge, I am now based at Exeter) has lead the BRIDGE project, with me as director of research in the project. I directed the design and proposal writing for the Newton Fund/ESRC/FAPESC. This bid was successful. The project started in 2016 and ended in 2019. The collaboration carries on with other funds and other projects. |
| Collaborator Contribution | RU coordinated research. UCAM coordinates the science-policy interface and stakeholder engagement in Brazil UNISUL coordinates dissemination and co-leads the stakeholder engagement OU participates with RU on emulating models of the natural earth system CE participates with RU to modelling the global economy, the agricultural and technology systems |
| Impact | The project started with a Kick-off meeting at the end of April 2016. We organised a workshop on comparative environmental law to which policy analysts and modellers also participated, in Cambridge, January 2017. We organised a stakeholder event in Florianopolis and Brazilia in April 2017. The website is up and working. A good number of publications have resulted. This work is multidisciplinary and involves research in economics, energy, agriculture, climate science, plant science, engineering, business and management, environmental law and political science. The model for stakeholder engagement has been re-used in a much larger, BEIS-funded £4.8M project called 'Economics of Energy Innovation and System Transition' (www.eeist.co.uk), which I coordinate and includes this collaboration expanded to now include 16 partners. |
| Start Year | 2016 |
| Description | BRIDGE team, Newton Fund project |
| Organisation | University of Exeter |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | My former institution (Radboud University, formerly U. Cambridge, I am now based at Exeter) has lead the BRIDGE project, with me as director of research in the project. I directed the design and proposal writing for the Newton Fund/ESRC/FAPESC. This bid was successful. The project started in 2016 and ended in 2019. The collaboration carries on with other funds and other projects. |
| Collaborator Contribution | RU coordinated research. UCAM coordinates the science-policy interface and stakeholder engagement in Brazil UNISUL coordinates dissemination and co-leads the stakeholder engagement OU participates with RU on emulating models of the natural earth system CE participates with RU to modelling the global economy, the agricultural and technology systems |
| Impact | The project started with a Kick-off meeting at the end of April 2016. We organised a workshop on comparative environmental law to which policy analysts and modellers also participated, in Cambridge, January 2017. We organised a stakeholder event in Florianopolis and Brazilia in April 2017. The website is up and working. A good number of publications have resulted. This work is multidisciplinary and involves research in economics, energy, agriculture, climate science, plant science, engineering, business and management, environmental law and political science. The model for stakeholder engagement has been re-used in a much larger, BEIS-funded £4.8M project called 'Economics of Energy Innovation and System Transition' (www.eeist.co.uk), which I coordinate and includes this collaboration expanded to now include 16 partners. |
| Start Year | 2016 |
| Description | BRIDGE team, Newton Fund project |
| Organisation | University of Southern Santa Catarina |
| Country | Brazil |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | My former institution (Radboud University, formerly U. Cambridge, I am now based at Exeter) has lead the BRIDGE project, with me as director of research in the project. I directed the design and proposal writing for the Newton Fund/ESRC/FAPESC. This bid was successful. The project started in 2016 and ended in 2019. The collaboration carries on with other funds and other projects. |
| Collaborator Contribution | RU coordinated research. UCAM coordinates the science-policy interface and stakeholder engagement in Brazil UNISUL coordinates dissemination and co-leads the stakeholder engagement OU participates with RU on emulating models of the natural earth system CE participates with RU to modelling the global economy, the agricultural and technology systems |
| Impact | The project started with a Kick-off meeting at the end of April 2016. We organised a workshop on comparative environmental law to which policy analysts and modellers also participated, in Cambridge, January 2017. We organised a stakeholder event in Florianopolis and Brazilia in April 2017. The website is up and working. A good number of publications have resulted. This work is multidisciplinary and involves research in economics, energy, agriculture, climate science, plant science, engineering, business and management, environmental law and political science. The model for stakeholder engagement has been re-used in a much larger, BEIS-funded £4.8M project called 'Economics of Energy Innovation and System Transition' (www.eeist.co.uk), which I coordinate and includes this collaboration expanded to now include 16 partners. |
| Start Year | 2016 |
| Description | Conference (Florianopolis, Brazil) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | This was a conference attracting academics, policy-makers (regional and national), students and the general public. The subject concerned the Energy-Water-Food nexus and the science-policy interface. This tool place in Florianopolis, South of Brazil. We engaged directly with policy-makers at the parliament of the State of Santa-Catarina and with regional policy-makers at the municipality. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | Conference on the Energy-Water-Food Nexus |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Workshop in Florianopolis, Brazil, to inform on science and policy issues for the energy-water-food nexus. This targeted both academics in the field, as well as students, policy-makers, the general public and practitioners, who came from all over Brazil to participate. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | Stakeholder engagement workshops, Florianopolis and Brazilia, Brazil |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | We organised two stakeholder engagement workshops in Brazil, as well as visits to various stakeholders, in April 2017. (1) We organised a relatively large stakeholder engagement event for policy-makers (around 50 participants), based on a community of practice approach, in Florianopolis. This lead to building a large network of interacting stakeholders based at various levels of governance related to energy, water and food. We also visited and engaged with Santa Catarina state policy-makers. (2) We co-organised a workshop with academics in law and political science at the University of Brazilia, on energy water and food nexus governance, in which around 20 academics and students attended. We also visited and engaged with national policy-makers in the department of energy, Brazilia. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Training course to Brazilians on energy-economic modelling |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
| Results and Impact | This was a training course aimed at capacity building for modelling energy policy impacts using the FTT:Power model, with Brazilian students and researchers. We invited the Brazilians to travel to Cambridge, at two different dates, in June 2015 and December 2015. Both courses lasted for one week. It resulted in the capacity to use the Cambridge policy analysis tools at UNISUL in Brazil. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |