Policy Outreach Events

With the European Green New Deal, the ecological transition became an ineluctable priority. It is crucial due to climate change, pollution, and resource depletion, although concerns arise about how to ensure no one is left behind. In particular, carbon-intensive regions face the need for restructuring, leading to risks of significant job losses and reduced economic activity.

To address this challenge, The European Union introduced the Just Transition Mechanism (JTM) in January 2020, with the Just Transition Fund (JTF) as its funding component. The JTM is a set of strategies that aim to mitigate the impact of the just transition on regions, industries and workers. The cornerstone of this mechanism is the Territorial Just Transition Plans (TJTPs), presented by the countries or regions that will face the challenges of just transition. All Members States are required to present these plans in order to have access to the JTF, identifying the main strategies that they aspire to develop for the transition process until 2030, coherent with the objectives of the National Energy and Climate Plans.

The JTF serves as a financial instrument to assist energy-intensive and mining regions most impacted by the adverse effects of the energy transition. Its goal is also to alleviate the unequal distribution of costs, ensuring strategic support for those facing the most significant challenges in the transition. The JTF can play a crucial role in balancing the economic impacts of the transition, preventing job destruction in affected regions and ensuring reskilling for new sectors.

The need to create this mechanism stems from the fact that the transition has a direct impact on society and individuals’ lives. Historical instances of significant restructuring have demonstrated that entire regions may reverse into poverty without adequate support. If not handled properly, these consequences may result in considerable regional inequality, leading to an unfair situation for the areas whose economy relies on heavy industries. Moreover, there is still a lack of understanding about the actual functioning and impacts of and mechanisms for occupational and sectorial reallocation, and the definition of indicators to monitor these initiatives.

The criticalities of the JTF prompt us to questions that we intend to address in the session:

1. How do the JTM and JTF ensure that the transition is inclusive and socially just for workers and communities affected by the shift away from fossil fuels?
2. How does the Just Transition Mechanism address the social and economic challenges faced by regions heavily dependent on fossil fuel industries or other environmentally harmful activities? What are the strengths and weaknesses of the JTM?
3. How will green reskilling work and which sectors will be involved first?
4. Which indicators may be important to monitor the development of JTM?
5. How do TTJPs interact with existing labour market policies and initiatives at the regional or national levels?

The session organized by the EAERE POC, in collaboration with the European University Institute under the ongoing CAPABLE project, intends to discuss the challenges posed by the possible reforms described above. In line with the aim of the EAERE POC (i.e. providing advice and support to EU policymakers and institutions in designing policy interventions), particular attention will be devoted to the most suitable policies that should be implemented to make these reforms feasible and effective.

The event intends to continue the series of policy dialogues carried out by the Policy Outreach Committee since 2019 in collaboration with the European University Institute at the State of the Union in Florence and at the past EAERE Annual Conferences.

Speakers:

• Xavier Labandeira, University of Vigo, ECOBAS and EAERE Policy Outreach Committee
• Simone Borghesi, EAERE President, European University Institute and University of Siena
• Iva Zverinova, Charles University
• Ilaria Dibattista, Florence School of Regulation, European University Institute and University of Siena
• Aldo Ravazzi, Italian Ministry of Environment & Energy Security and EAERE Policy Outreach Committee
• Tadhg O’Briain, DG Energy, European Commission

The session aims at discussing modalities and strategies to stimulate more economic research to be embedded in the IPCC 7th Assessment Cycle and more in general in IPCC processes, including covering research innovation gaps.

Chair: Simone Borghesi (EAERE President, European University Institute and University of Siena)

Speakers:

• Jos Delbeke (EAERE Policy Outreach Committee and European University Institute)
• Phoebe Koundouri (Athens University of Economics and Business and Denmark Technical University)
• Xavier Labandeira (EAERE Policy Outreach Committee and University of Vigo)
• Jan Minx (MCC Berlin)
• Massimo Tavoni (Politecnico di Milano and CMCC)
• Philippe Tulkens (EU Commission – DG Research and Innovation)

The video recording is available on YouTube.

United Nations Climate Change Global Innovation Hub Session at UNFCCC COP29 Baku
09:00-10:00 (GMT+4)

Concept note

The Mediterranean region needs localised innovation to tackle the climate and natural resource crises and best build resilient communities. Scientific, educational, and governance cooperation can foster radical solutions that offer collective resilience and wellbeing to meet its unique environmental challenges and opportunities. In this session speakers will draw on their extensive experience with research, climate governance, and cooperation organisations to tackle the practicalities of collaborative governance for shared scarce natural resources, collective climate and development issues, and systemic intersections with geopolitics in the Mediterranean region.

Speakers

• Carmen Arguedas, Former President of AERNA and Full Professor at the Autonomous University of Madrid
• Raja Chakir, Steering Committee of FAERE and Research Director at Paris Saclay Applied Economics, INRAE-AgroParisTech
• Shouro Dasgupta, Researcher at CMCC, Lecturer at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice and Visiting Senior Fellow at Grantham Research Institute (LSE)
• Aldo Ravazzi Douvan, Chief Economist at DG Sustainable Development, EU & International Relations of the Italian Ministry of Environment

Moderator

• Simone Borghesi, President of EAERE, Director FSR Climate – EUI and Vice Rector for International Relations University of Siena

Watch the session on COP29 YouTube Channel.

EAERE is glad to announce its official side event at UNFCCC COP29 co-organised with SUR Lab Bocconi University and Ferrara University. The event focus on “Design and promotion of integrated approaches for carbon neutral and resilient cities” and will be held on Thursday, 21 November 2024 at 13:15-14:45 (GMT+4) – Room SIDE EVENT 5.

The event will explore and compare innovative urban approaches to driving carbon neutrality and enhancing climate resilience, showcasing a diverse range of strategies from around the world. Initiatives will be evaluated through the lenses of governance, financial viability, and measurable impact, all within the framework of an equitable and just transition. Featuring case studies from both developing and developed countries, the session will provide valuable insights into how cities of various contexts are addressing the challenges of climate adaptation and mitigation. The event aims to foster dialogue on scalable solutions, collaborative policy frameworks, and the role of cross-sector partnerships in building climate-neutral and resilient cities.

Speakers
– Simone Borghesi, President of EAERE and Director FSR Climate – EUI
– Edoardo Croci, Director SUR Lab, Bocconi University
– Alina Koschmieder, Associate, UN-Habitat
– Massimiliano Mazzanti, Full professor, Ferrara University
– Joanna Mclean Masic, Program Leader for Planet, Infrastructure and Digital in EU Member States, The World bank
– Giorgia Rambelli, Director Mission Innovation Urban Transitions Mission, Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy

Moderator
Benedetta Lucchitta, Research fellow SUR Lab, Bocconi University

Livestream on YouTube

COP 29 official website

In the 17th Episode of the CEPR/EAERE Webinar Series, on Monday 28 October 2024, from 4PM (CET), 11AM (EDT), and 3PM (GMT), Patrick Bolton (Imperial College London and CEPR) and Alissa M. Kleinnijenhuis (Cornell University, Imperial College London and CEPR) will present their paper “The Economic Case for Climate Finance at Scale”. The paper lays out the first economic case for scaling up climate finance from advanced countries to support EMDE decarbonization, particularly focusing on coal, the most polluting fossil fuel. With COP29 approaching and its agenda centered on setting a New Quantified Goal of Climate Finance (aiming to increase the $100 billion-a-year climate finance pledge to over $1 trillion a year), the paper’s findings are especially relevant. It empirically shows that large-scale climate finance is not only equitable but also economically beneficial for advanced economies.

The discussants, Geoffrey Heal (Columbia University and CEPR) and Lasse Heje Pedersen (Copenhagen Business School and CEPR), will provide complementary perspectives on the paper. Heal’s recent work on Blended Finance aligns with the presented paper’s focus on system-wide blended finance, while Pedersen’s research on Green Finance vs. Carbon Taxation, as explored in his CEPR VoxTalks Climate Finance podcast, finds that financial markets alone cannot achieve the necessary SCC. Pedersen’s paper is fundamental as it shows that green finance without government intervention cannot replicate a reasonable SCC, so if financial markets are to make a difference at the magnitude required to solve the climate crisis, system-wide public-private climate finance is likely important, which brings us back to The Economic Case for Climate Finance at Scale.

Click here to register.

For more information, check the invitation here.

The EAERE Policy Outreach event “Environment, Resources, and Cooperation in the Mediterranean“, in partnership with the University of Siena and the EUI, will take place on September 13, 2024 at 15:15-16:15 CEST in Pontignano, Siena (Italy) and will be streamed online.

The event is framed within the Vision Pontignano Conference on the Future of Europe 2024. The full agenda is available here.

Concept Note

Political borders and unions offer unparalleled opportunities for robust, integrated climate policy. The EU’s Green Deal, a suite of ambitious, largely binding, climate legislation is a prime example of this. However, they also artificially restrict the field of cooperation to within specific borders, a risky limitation in the face of notoriously cross-border climate impacts.

The EU’s Southern border with the Mediterranean is as relevant for climate futures as its Northern border with the Arctic, additionally layered with the social complexities of climate change, including resource conflicts, migration, energy access, and climate disasters. In the face of this, building on a rich history of Mediterranean cooperation and diversity, and on environmental economics cooperation around the world, we see ample scope for sustainable collective environmental progress. The University of Siena and Vision have long supported Mediterranean cooperation in research and development, most notably in Prime Minister Prodi’s advocacy of a Mediterranean University, and we are honored to support missions in this direction.

Chair

Simone Borghesi, Vice Rector for International Relations of the University of Siena, Director of the Florence School of Regulation (FSR) Climate at the European University Institute, and President of EAERE

Speakers

• Romano Prodi (Former President of the European Commission and former Prime Minister of Italy),
• Valeria Costantini (Economics Department Director at Roma Tre and President of the Italian Association of Environmental and Resource Economists),
• Marcello Scalisi (Director of the Mediterranean Universities Union – UNIMED),
• Angelo Riccaboni (President of the Partnership for Research and Innovation in the Mediterranean Area – PRIMA),
• Carmen Arguedas, (President of the Spanish-Portuguese Association of Natural and Environmental Resource Economics),
• Raja Chakir (Steering Committee of the French Association of Environmental and Resource Economists).

Online registration

If you are willing to follow the event online access this Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84186643605.

Adrien Bilal (Harvard University and CEPR) and Diego R. Känzig (Northwestern University and CEPR) will present their paper The Macroeconomic Impact of Climate Change: Global vs. Local Temperature. This paper estimates that the macroeconomic damages from climate change are six times larger than previously thought. The authors exploit natural variability in global temperature and rely on time-series variation. A 1°C increase in global temperature leads to a 12% decline in world GDP. Global temperature shocks correlate much more strongly with extreme climatic events than the country-level temperature shocks commonly used in the panel literature, explaining why the estimate is substantially larger. The authors use a reduced-form evidence to estimate structural damage functions in a standard neoclassical growth model. The results imply a Social Cost of Carbon of $1,056 per ton of carbon dioxide. A business-as-usual warming scenario leads to a present value welfare loss of 31%. Both are multiple orders of magnitude above previous estimates and imply that unilateral decarbonization policy is cost-effective for large countries such as the United States.

Join us on 17 July 2024, from 5 PM (CEST), 11 AM (ET), and 4 PM (BST) with co-authors:

Adrien Bilal
Harvard University and CEPR

Diego R. Känzig
Northwestern University and CEPR

Discussant 
Simon Dietz
London School of Economics and CEPR

The presentation will be followed by a discussion and Q&A session with the audience moderated by:
Christian Gollier
Toulouse School of Economics, EAERE, and CEPR

Register here.

For more information, check the invitation here.

The 14th edition of The State of the Union takes place in Florence on 23rd and 24th May 2024. This year, the conference will have a special emphasis on the core themes of democracy and the rule of law, the digital and green transition, the future enlargements of the European Union, all of which will play a crucial role in the run-up to the European elections in June 2024.

A policy session on “Resilient economies and institutions to mitigate and adapt to climate change” is jointly organised by FSR Climate and the EAERE Policy Outreach Committee.  The frequency of natural disasters due to climate change is increasing, and institutions across different geographic areas are not equally ready to cope with such events. In fact, the lack of adequate institutional responses is likely to exacerbate the consequences of these events. Making the EU and developing countries better able to cope with the devastating consequences of climate change requires an articulated policy mix around carbon price, and resilient and reactive institutions and processes. Many economical, political and social lessons can be drawn from the recent health and war crises but also natural disasters.

This panel will explore feasible manners to enhance resiliency to climate change pursuing the European Green Deal agenda, taking in consideration the climate mitigation policies. It will also address how to better prepare agriculture, biodiversity, the health system and our economies in general to cope with climate change and how to protect the most vulnerable populations in developing countries and in Europe.

Moderators:

• Simone Borghesi, EAERE President and Director of the Florence School of Regulation – Climate, EUI
• Fabrizia Mealli, Professor of EconometricsEuropean University Institute, EU

Panellists:

• Hans-Martin Füssel, Climate Change Adaptation Expert, European Environment Agency (EEA)
• Shonali Pachauri, Research group leader, International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA)
• Massamba Thioye, Project Executive UNFCCC Global Innovation Hub, UN Climate Change Secretariat
• Mira Manini Tiwari, Research Associate, RSCAS, EUI

The video recording of the event is available on YouTube.

In November 2023, the U.S. OMB has published new versions of Circular A-4 and Circular A-94 that contain in particular a new discounting system for public policy evaluation. The new risk-free discount rate is now fixed at 2% in real term, whereas it is also proposed to use a risk-adjusted discount rate of 3.1%. Compare to the earlier much larger discount rates, this reform is likely to make the American society more long-termist, in particular in the domain of environmental protection and climate change. This webinar will offer three critical analyses of the underlying approach which led to the reform, and of its consequences.

Join us on 3 April 2024, from 5 PM (CET), 11 AM (EST), and 4 PM (GMT) for a roundtable discussion with:

David Anthoff
University of California, Berkeley

Marcel Boyer
University of Montréal, and CIRANO

James K. Hammitt
Harvard University and Toulouse School of Economics

The presentation will be followed by a discussion and Q&A session with the audience moderated by
Christian Gollier
Toulouse School of Economics, EAERE, and CEPR

Register here

EAERE, Bocconi University and United Cities and Local Governments are glad to announce their COP28 Joint Side Event on “Innovative Instruments for Joint Biodiversity and Climate Policy“.

The Side Event will be held on Sunday, 10 December 2023,  18:30-20:00  (GMT+4)  |  15:30-17:00 CET Time) – SE Room 4.

ABSTRACT

Climate change and biodiversity agreements are strictly interconnected. Innovative economic and financial instruments can enhance biodiversity, increase resilience and reduce CO2 emissions. The event aims to assess the potential of joint climate and biodiversity policies at different territorial scales.

SPEAKERS

Simone BORGHESI, EAERE President-Elect, Director FSR Climate, EUI and University of Siena

Edoardo CROCI, Professor of Practice and Director of Sustainable Urban Regeneration Lab, Bocconi University

Sylvie GOULARD, President of the Institute for European policy-making, Bocconi University, and Co-chair of the International Advisory Panel on Biodiversity Credits

Andreas KONTOLEON, Professor of Environmental Economics and Public Policy, University of Cambridge

Alina KOSCHMIEDER, Climate change and environmental consultant UN-Habitat

Phoebe KOUNDOURI, President – European Association of Environmental Resource Economists, Chair – World Council of Environmental Resource Economists Associations, Chair – UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network Global Climate Hub, Professor – Athens University of Economics and Business, Professor – Technical University of Denmark

Eva MAYERHOFER, Head of Environmental Policy and Lead Biodiversity Specialist, European Investment Bank

Massamba THIOYE, Project Executive UN Climate Change Global Innovation Hub

CHAIRPERSONS

Jos DELBEKE, EIB Climate Chair, School of Transnational Governance, European University Institute

Benedetta LUCCHITTA, Research fellow Sustainable Urban Regeneration Lab, Bocconi University

Register to watch online or to confirm your presence at the venue, using the Registration Form.

For those attending on-site, please kindly note that the side event will be located in the Blue Zone where a specific UNFCCC accreditation is needed.