Due to ambitious climate change targets and other energy and industrial policy goals such as the nuclear phase-out, the energy transition in Germany is heading toward a completely renewable energy system. This Weekly Report is the first to describe scenarios for 100 percent renewable energy...

Decarbonizing the global energy matrix through investments in renewable energy (RE) is considered a pathway to mitigate the effects of global climate change. Auctions have become an increasingly popular policy instrument for this purpose. In the last few years, auctions have been rapidly adopted...

The German response to the Fukushima nuclear power plant incident was possibly the most significant change of policy towards nuclear power outside Japan, leading to a sudden and very significant shift in the underlying power generation structure in Germany. This provides a very useful natural...

This paper exploits the randomness and exogeneity of weather conditions to identify the economic cost of decarbonization through renewable energy (RE) support policies. We find that both the aggregate cost and the distribution of cost between energy producers and consumers vary significantly...

The European Green Deal, initiated by the EU Commission, is a package of measures aimed at decarbonization and sustainable economic development with the goal of making the European Union climate neutral by 2050. To achieve this goal, the emission reductions target must be increased from 40...

This paper exploits the exogeneity of weather conditions to evaluate renewable energy (RE) subsidy programs in Germany and Spain in terms of their costs for reducing carbon dioxide emissions. We find that both the aggregate costs and the distribution of costs between energy producers and...

A variety of renewable electricity policies to promote investment in wind, solar, and other types of renewable generators exist across the United States. The federal renewable energy investment tax credit, the federal renewable energy production tax credit, and state renewable portfolio...

While progress in reducing greenhouse gas emissions is notable in the power sector, other sectors such as transportation and often heating are lagging behind. A strategy to propagate greenhouse gas emission reductions from the power sector to other sectors is so-called "sector coupling." Against...

The option of adapting to climate change is becoming more important in climate change policy. Hence, responding to climate change now involves both mitigation to address the cause and adaptation as a response to already ongoing or expected changes. These changes are also of relevance for the...

Amidst other national and global climate protection initiatives, the new EU Commission under the leadership of Ursula von der Leyen is facing the challenge of concretely following through on previous announcements regarding an ambitious climate policy. Specifically, action must be taken to raise...