EJ: Europe, what energy future?

The issue n. 11 of our Energy Journal is focused on the energy future for Europe.  After the approval of the Kyoto protocol,  twenty years ago, Europe took the lead in the transition towards a more environmentally sustainable energy , attempting to make it an opportunity for a new development model.  The “Second State of the Energy Union” was the starting point from which we begin  to explore all aspects of this transition.
Moreover,  we have tried to cover another crucial aspect: Brexit and its effects. In particular, to investigate how energy could be affected,  we discussed this issue with three energy experts: Kristian Ruby, Secretary-General of Eurelectric; Malcolm Keay, Senior Research Fellow at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies; and Giacomo Luciani, Scientific Director of the Master in International Energy of the Paris School of International Affairs at Sciences-Po.
If Europe is one of the world leaders of  this energy revolution, then it is essential to look what Germany is doing.  The country has delineated  a strategy – Energiewende – that substitutes nuclear energy production with renewable sources and has invested heavily in infrastructure, creating new HVDC corridors. Nevertheless, Energiewende displays some weaknesses: the objectives it has achieved in terms of reduction of emissions have yet to live up to expectations.
Exploring what is happening in Europe, we have faced with energy poverty. For far too long we’ve talked about this issue as something regarding distant continents. Today we’re discovering it affects European citizens too: 10% of Europe’s population lives in these conditions.
Energy generation, mobility, energy efficiency in buildings… These are crucial sectors for environmental sustainability, and deal first and foremost with the urban context.   Today cities are the place where people are experimenting the most. In this issue we begin a voyage among the world’s avant-garde cities, starting in Vienna, a capital that is driving toward a zero-impact energy future .