PERIODO: SETTEMBRE -OTTOBRE

Energy has been a driver for the evolution of life and civilization. Nowadays, energy is a key to understand the modernity and represent the future. The evolution of the human use of energy has many effects on global climate and environment, as well as immaterial impacts on the population wealth, society development and geopolitics. In perspective, these factors will strongly influence the global energy trends. Society, policy, technology and economy are all important faces of the current energy issue.
The course aims at highlighting those issues, as the main ingredients to understand and build an energy outlook according to different possible scenarios, which is the floor where the Energetics PhD students will play in the future. The awareness of the general framework, where they will have to work, should help in the qualification of more specific knowledge in their respective field of research.

• Relevance of the energy use for human life and civilization. The energy issue in the XXI century. (1.5 h)
• Material and immaterial consequences: the framework for global energy trends and outlook. Climate and environmental interferences (carbon, nitrogen and sulfur cycles). Quality of life and energy poverty. Geopolitics. (1.5 h)
• Pros and cons of (long term) forecasting. The IEA World Energy Outlook: scope and methodology. Building blocks of different scenarios: economy growth, population and demographics, energy prices, markets and technologies. (3h)
• Overview of energy trends in the next 20 years: "current policies" vs. "new policies" scenarios. The role of energy efficiency. (2h)
• Drivers and barriers of energy transitions. Energy and climate policy. Progress and limits of growth. (2 h)