By the end of the course, students are expected to understand the main policy measures and instruments supporting energy production and particularly the green energy transition, as incentives or obligations/mandates, that drive the behaviour of the main actors in current and future energy markets. The student will be informed about energy policy instrument as main EU Directives/Green Deal and National Energy and Climate plans, as well as the major trends in energy markets as estimated by International Institutions like IEA. They will have to be able to compare different policy tools depending on the policy objectives and type of challenges and market failures addressed. They should know where to retrieve aggregate data on economic trends in energy markets and be able to discuss the main methods and models used to estimate energy market relations. They will have acquired a good understanding on energy demand, markets dynamics, and regulation. Moreover, they should be able to assess the economic feasibility of investments in energy infrastructure, also taking into account their environmental impact and critically compare different investment options from an economic point of view. Students will also achieve a good understanding of SDG and sustainability assessment, and the relevance for green energy production.

A basic knowledge on energy generation systems is requested, both fossil and renewable. Basic knowledge of applied economics and statistics constitutes an advantage, but is not required.

Energy scenarios, policies, and processes Energy markets, regulation and investment analysis

Part 1 – Energy scenarios, policies, and processes 1. Introduction to the course and to the global energy scenario. Sources of world data on primary sources, regional aggregations, energy flows, etc. Energy and National energy scenarios. 2. EU and International energy policies and decarbonisation. Millennium and Sustainable Development Goals, EU Green Deal, FitFor55, EU Directives and Delegated/Implementing Acts. 3. Fossil and renewable energy supply. Examples of Innovative Financing Schemes, 4. Incentive systems to renewable energy. Storage and balancing the energy system. 5. Energy for transport (maritime, aviation and road). Definitions. Sustainable Biofuels. 6. Carbon Dioxide Removals policies. Voluntary and mandated Carbon markets. 7. LCA and sustainability assessment Part 2 – Energy markets, regulation and investment analysis 1. Energy demand. Short run and long run price and income elasticities. Behavioural aspects: nudges, rebound effects, energy efficiency gap/energy savings, social norms. 2. Energy markets. Price formation, market concentration (OPEC), international vs. local markets. 3. Regulation. Price-based mechanisms (rate of return, price caps) and non-price based-mechanisms (yardstick competition/benchmarking), hybrid regulations. Independent regulatory agencies 4. Climate change economics. CO2 accounting and carbon budgets. Global and intergenerational market failures, social discount rates. Estimating empirically the socio-economic impacts of climate change on GDP, health, migration. Climate policies and energy transitions. 5. Energy and economic development. Energy use and income growth. Non-renewable resources: curse or blessing? Energy poverty and opportunities for renewables. 6. Corporate sustainability management: does it ‘pay to be green’? Stranded assets and the management of exposure to fossil fuels. 7. Investment evaluation. Understanding how to compare different investments and how to take environmental impact into account.

Teaching material and links to reports and documents provided by the instructor. As an optional reference textbook, Evans, and Lester C. Hunt (Eds). 2011 “International Handbook on the Economics of Energy”, Edward Elgar.

Lecture slides;

You can take this exam before attending the course

Exam: Written test;

Classroom examination The written final exam, closed-book, is composed by 16 multiple choice questions covering the entire course: 1 hour 30 min are available to complete the exam. A minimum of 18 points must be reached to pass the exam. Each correct answer will correspond to 2 points, no answer 0 points, while wrong answers will cause -0.5 points. Remote examination The content of the remote exam is the same as the previous case. The written exam will be implemented through the Exam platform using the Lockdown Browser. The students can check the instructions for the platform use that are made available in the “Materiale” section of the course page. It is responsibility of the student to carry out the Quiz Simulation “Simulazione Demo” (testing the correct functioning of the Lockdown Browser) available on the Portal. The use of mobile/smart phones, tablet etc is not allowed. The use of slides as well as other materials, such as books, is not allowed during the exam. Students are allowed to withdraw from the exam as 80% of the time available is reached: in that case, the exam will not be considered. Once the exam is completed, the outcome will be formally registered regardless of a positive (pass) or negative (failure) mark.

In addition to the message sent by the online system, students with disabilities or Specific Learning Disorders (SLD) are invited to directly inform the professor in charge of the course about the special arrangements for the exam that have been agreed with the Special Needs Unit. The professor has to be informed at least one week before the beginning of the examination session in order to provide students with the most suitable arrangements for each specific type of exam.