Energy-socio-economic-environmental modelling for the EU energy and post-COVID-19 transitions.

Relevant energy questions have arisen because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic shock leads to emissions' reductions consistent with the rates of decrease required to achieve the Paris Agreement goals. Those unforeseen drastic reductions in emissions are temporary as long as they do not involve structural changes. However, the COVID-19 consequences and the subsequent policy response will affect the economy for decades. Focusing on the EU, this discussion article argues how recovery plans are an opportunity to deepen the way towards a low-carbon economy, improving at the same time employment, health, and equity and the role of modelling tools. Long-term alignment with the low-carbon path and the development of a resilient transition towards renewable sources should guide instruments and policies, conditioning aid to energy-intensive sectors such as transport, tourism, and the automotive industry. However, the potential dangers of short-termism and carbon leakage persist. The current energy-socio-economic-environmental modelling tools are precious to widen the scope and deal with these complex problems. The scientific community has to assess disparate, non-equilibrium, and non-ordinary scenarios, such as sectors and countries lockdowns, drastic changes in consumption patterns, significant investments in renewable energies, and disruptive technologies and incorporate uncertainty analysis. All these instruments will evaluate the cost-effectiveness of decarbonization options and potential consequences on employment, income distribution, and vulnerability.

Towards energy transition in Tunisia: Sustainability assessment of a hybrid concentrated solar power and biomass plant.

Electricity demand in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region increases at a rate of 6-8% per year. It is expected to double by 2020 and triple by 2030. Renewable electricity ensures climate protection and energy security. This work presents a sustainability assessment of CSP hybridization with biomass technology to be installed in Tunisia. Environmental impacts have been assessed by Life Cycle Analysis (LCA). For socioeconomic impacts, a Multiregional Input-Output (MRIO) analysis was used to estimate the production of goods and services, value added and employment creation. Regarding the results, the system reports 22 gCO2eq per kWh. The most important component in terms of emissions is the gasifier system, due to biomass transport. Socioeconomic results show important impacts for employment creation in Tunisia, coming essentially from the O&M phase. The multiplier effect of the direct investment for production of goods and services amounts to 2.4 (3.5 accounting induced effects). Domestic value added in investment is low, only 28.9% of the overall value added created. Thus, increasing the national content of the investment stage would bring additional local benefits. Using extended MRIO, CO2 emissions have also been calculated and differences in the CO2 emission with both methodologies are discussed.