A multi-regional input-output framework to evaluate European energy policies

The European Union began with the implementation of its comprehensive energy strategies 2020, 2030 and 2050, a profound transition process to establish competitive low-carbon economies. The ambitious climate change goals go hand in hand with several expansion policies of low-carbon production technologies including renewable energy sources and low-emission production technologies in the power sectors. However, this thesis provides a comparative-static model approach, which is capable of analysing the potential inter-regional effects caused by a technology switch in the electricity sectors of Austria, Germany and France by coupling a multi-regional multi-sectoral input output model with the electricity sector model ATLANTIS. Besides the traditional Leontief demand cycle, the model approach realizes a replacement-investment cycle and a consumption cycle to fully cover long-term effects. Since the energy sector is of a very heterogeneous nature, a technology definition approach splits the sector into several production technologies. A market share based technology switch approach then simulates the effects of a structural change in the sector. The results show that an energy transition increases domestic demand while decreasing the import demand in Austria. The opposite can be observed in France while Germany faces a decreased domestic as well as import demand. The employment within the electricity sector decreases in all three regions. Only Austria and China face slightly positive output effects as well as the sector which produces electrical and optical equipment. In all other regions and sectors emerge slightly negative effects. In terms of value added Germany and the electricity sector itself face positive impacts whereas China, along with the sector of electrical and optical production face only positive employment effects. Finally yet importantly, the primary energy delivering regions and the primary energy producing sectors face slightly negative effects.