EDITS webinar series

EDITS WEBINAR #12: Quantifying minimum mobility needs: The who, the where and the why

Speakers: Marlin Arnz, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH and Jihoon Min, IIASA 

Moderator: John P. Pritchard, OECD-ITF

Time: 25.03.2026 | 11:00 (CEST) 

Abstract: The concept of “sustainable consumption corridors” bridges two topics critical to assessing energy and transport systems: human wellbeing and planetary boundaries. However, large disagreements remain regarding how to define minimum, essential and decent levels of demand, which form the floor of such corridors. Aggregate approaches based upon distance travelled (e.g. passenger-kilometres) are insufficient, as they omit why people move. To address this gap,  “decent mobility” is defined here as the condition when an individual can enact a set of trips that allow satisfaction of their needs, within their resources and capabilities. In the webinar we explain how this definition unifies (i) individual capabilities and resources (time, money), (ii) available physical infrastructure and services, and (iii) socio-political contexts that shape personal freedom. We show how we operationalise and quantify decent mobility with a “persona” approach. We show two case studies with very distinct mobility systems – Switzerland and Mauritius – to illustrate the flexibility of the framework. They show which methods and data sources are required to consistently assess decent mobility of individuals, as well as travel time, distance, energy use, and emissions. Overall, the framework offers a method for evaluating present and future transport systems by putting human needs and their heterogeneity at the centre.

The webinar will largely build on: Arnz, Marlin, Zakia Soomauroo, Vivien Fisch-Romito, Jihoon Min, Joel Millward-Hopkins, Paul Natsuo Kishimoto, Benigna Boza-Kiss, Caroline Zimm, and Bas Van Ruijven. 2025. “Quantifying Minimum Mobility and Transport Needs: The Who, the Where and the Why.” Energy Research & Social Science 128:104306. doi:10.1016/j.erss.2025.104306.

EDITS WEBINAR #11: Integrating Demand-side Solutions for Accelerated Decarbonization of Power Supply System: Insights from Bangladesh and Thailand

Speaker: Firuz Ahamed Nahid, Post Doctoral Researcher, Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand

Moderator: Jubair Sieed, Researcher, Research Institute of Innovative Technology for the Earth, Japan

Time: 05.11.2025 | 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm (CET) 

Abstract: Electricity generation sector in Bangladesh and Thailand remain predominantly fossil fuel powered (62.6% and 67%, respectively). Each country has set long-term climate goals (Thailand: carbon neutrality by 2050 and net-zero by 2065; Bangladesh: 41% renewables by 2041). This study constructs nationally tailored (pledged and higher ambition action) least-cost pathways for 2030 to 2050 using PyPSA-BD/TH-IDS (Integrated Demand and Supply) developed for the purpose, coupling high-resolution spatial (30×30 km) resource availability with hourly system operation and validation against 2019 officially published data. Scenarios include (eight for Bangladesh and ten for Thailand) end-use energy efficiency (EE, up to 50%), demand-side flexibility (DSF, up to 10% load shifting) and supply-side expansion of renewable shares that span low (≤40%), moderate (40–70%), and high (>70%) scales of penetration. Results show that demand side solution integrated planning reduces supply system size by avoiding overbuild of renewable expansion, improves affordability, and lowers resource mobilization needs including financial resources and land footprint while reducing near-term CO₂ emissions relative to supply-only pathways. By 2050, Bangladesh’s 100% clean power case with integrated end-use efficiency and demand- side flexibility requires 172.55 GW, ~58% less than the capacity requirement in the supply-only pathway, with an affordable generation cost of 0.049 €/kWh, while the current cost is ~0.80 €/kWh. The land footprint is about 1,960 km² (~1.32% of total land area of the country). In supply-only pathways they are 3,695 km² (~2.49% of total land area of the country). The financial resource mobilization need is €144 billion over a period of 25 years(~1.78 times lower) and employment potential is ~1.92 times higher (7.34 million) compared to the supply-side only pathway. Similarly, for Thailand, 100% clean electricity by 2050 requires 297.11 GW of total installed capacity, which is ~56% of the supply-only pathway, with 0.065 €/kWh generation cost indicates affordability in integrated demand and supply-side pathway, while the current generation cost is ~0.089 €/kWh . The integrated end-use EE and DSF combined with supply- side expansion reduces land footprint by ~44% (3153 km 2 which is 0.61% of total land area) compared with the supply-side only pathway, while the resource mobilization need is ~48% lower (€120.20 billion) and job creation potential is ~1.56 times higher (9.43 million). Finally, the open-source, nationally grounded framework of the model supports local capacity development through open collaboration and provides actionable guidance for policy making in developing economies and also to understand nuances of transition challenges. 

EDITS WEBINAR #9: Circular Economy Modelling for Climate Change Mitigation – Updates from the Horizon Europe CIRCOMOD project

Speakers: 

• Oreane Edelenbosch and Detlef van Vuuren, University of Utrecht
• Peter Berrill, Leiden University
• Edgar Hertwich, Norwegian University of Science and Technology

Moderator: Patrícia Fortes (NOVA University, Lisboa)

Time: 10.02.2025 | 9:15-10:30 CET 

Abstract: While we realise that circular economy offers promising reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, we have no good understanding of its impact, magnitude, synergetic and rebound effects. The current scenarios models and scenarios do not include circular economy options. CIRCOMOD develops a new generation of models that will address this gap. During this session, we report and discuss the results of 2.5 years of work in the CIRCOMOD project, focussing on model framework, demand-side solutions, supply side measures, and economy-wide modelling.

Agenda:

• Brief overview of CIRCOMOD. Oreane Edelenbosch and Detlef van Vuuren (10 min)
• Analytical framework and scope of work, highlights, by sector, by material, by R-Strategy.  Oreane Edelenbosch (7 min)
• Highlights from the demand side. Peter Berrill (7 min)
• Highlights from the supply side. Edgar Hertwich (7 min)
• Highlights from economic modelling: CE strategies in CGE models. Leonidas Paroussos (7 min)
• The CIRCOMOD Data hub. Stefan Pauliuk (7 min)
• Outlook: remaining work plan and ways to engage. Detlef van Vuuren (5 min)
• Q&A (20 min)

This EDITS webinar was a collaboration between the CMCC Foundation, CIRCOMOD project, and the Socioeconomic Metabolism Section of the International Society for Industrial Ecology (ISIE-SEM).

The CIRCOMOD project has received funding from the Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Action Programme under Grant Agreement No. 101056868.

EDITS WEBINAR #8: New avenues for macro-economic modelling under global constraints: The HARMONEY, MARCO, and MEDEAS models

Speakers: 

• Paul Brockway - Faculty of Environment - University of Leeds, UK
• Carey King - Energy Institute, The University of Texas at Austin
• Jaime Nieto Vega, University of Valladolid, Spain and the University of Leeds, UK

Moderator: Stefan Pauliuk, Uni Freiburg, Germany

Time: 16.07.2024 | 16:00-17:30 CEST // 9-10:30 a.m. CDT 

Abstract: Common energy-economy models feature only limited energy-economy integration and thermodynamic consistency. Typically, they only assign a small role for energy in economic growth and fail to explicitly include the useful stage of energy flows or ignore thermodynamic efficiencies in primary–final–useful energy transformations. As a consequence, the economy-wide impacts of the energy system transformation are potentially underestimated, and the physical feasibility of different transformation remains unassessed. Furthermore, material cycles and stocks of buildings, infrastructure and machinery, as well as explicit indicators of service provisioning for housing, nutrition, mobility, etc are often also not well represented (Wiedenhofer et al. 2024). This limits our ability to assess the potentials of materials- and energy-oriented supply- and demand-side strategies aligned with a 1.5-2°C global warming limit. 

In response, novel macro-econometric models are being developed for coupling the transformations of the energy system (efficiency, energy services, rebound), the industrial system (materials, products) and the macro-economic system (employment, GDP, debt). In this seminar, three leading model frameworks are presented, which address these challenges:

HARMONEY, presented by Carey King: A long-term dynamic growth model that endogenously links biophysical and economic variables in a stock-flow consistent manner.

MARCO, presented by Paul Brockway: A post-Keynesian framework, explicitly including thermodynamic energy efficiency and flows of useful energy, with stochastic equations and econometrically estimated parameters.

MEDEAS, presented by Jamie Nieto: An open source modelling framework to represent biophysical constraints to energy availability, integration of detailed sectoral economic structure (input–output analysis) within a system dynamics approach, and a rich set of socioeconomic and environmental impact indicators.

After an introduction to the model frameworks, there will be a common discussion about the underlying assumptions, data needs, further development, and future applications.

This webinar was organized by the industry working group of the IIASA-EDITS project “Energy Demand changes Induced by Technological and Social innovations"

EDITS WEBINAR #7: Building sector modeling: how to explore low energy demand futures

Speaker:

• Alessio Mastrucci, IIASA
• Benigna Boza-Kiss, IIASA

Moderator: Leila Niamir, IIASA

Time: 18.06.2024 | 10:00 (CEST)

Abstract: Buildings provide critical services for human activities and well-being by providing shelter and other important functions to their users. Buildings are also responsible for major energy use and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions during their life cycle. It is critical to understand how the building sector could best ensure these services with the least impact on climate and sustainability targets.

Building sector models have become essential tools for decision support on strategies to reduce energy demand and GHG emissions. Yet current models have significant limitations in their ability to assess the transformations required for LED. In this webinar we will review the current variety of building sector models ranging from the subnational to the global scale to identify best practices and critical gaps in representing transformations toward LED futures. We focus on three key dimensions of intervention (socio-behavioral, infrastructural, and technological), three megatrends (digitalization, sharing economy, and circular economy), and decent living standards. We will discuss what model developments are needed to better assess LED transformations in buildings and support decision-making toward sustainability targets.

EDITS WEBINAR #6: Leverage demand-side policies for energy security

Speaker: Nuno Bento, Integrated Researcher at the DINÂMIA’CET research center at University Institute of Lisbon – Iscte  

Moderator: Miyuki Nagashima, Senior Researcher, Systems Analysis Group, Research Institute of Innovative Technology for the Earth (RITE)

Time: 06.06.2024 | 11:00 (CEST)

Abstract: Energy security is a top priority for governments, companies, and households because energy systems and the critical functions that they support are threatened by disruptions from wars, pandemics, climate change, and other shocks. More often than not, governments rely on policies focused on energy supply to enhance energy security while generally ignoring demand-side possibilities. Further, the indicators traditionally used to measure energy security are also tilted toward the supply side; this fails to capture the full spectrum of vulnerability to energy crises. Energy security assessments need to reflect the wider benefits of security-related interventions more accurately. To that end, we develop a systematic approach to measuring the energy security impacts of policy interventions that explicitly considers energy demand (buildings, transport, and industry). We determine that demand-side actions outperform conventional supply-side approaches at making countries more resilient. Read more in the full paper (here).

EDITS WEBINAR #5: Energy and wellbeing: The Indian case-study

Speaker: 

• Souran Chatterjee (Plymouth University)
• Alessio Mastrucci (IIASA)
• Ashok Skeevinas (Prayas)
• Kaveri Ashok (CSTEP)
• Vassilis Daioglou (PBL) 

Moderator: Souran Chatterjee (Plymouth University)

Time: 14.12.2023 | 14.30-16.30 (IST) | 10.00-12.00 pm (CET)

Abstract: Improving well-being for all is a prime social target in the Global South and should be prioritized in many ways. The seminar “Energy and well-being. The Indian case study” explores the intricate relationship between energy and well-being within the context of India. The Consortium of the University of Plymouth (UoP, UK), the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA, Austria), Prayas Energy Group (India), The Center for Study of Science, Technology and Policy (CSTEP, India), University of Oxford (UK), Central European University (CEU, Austria), and PBL (Netherlands) are excited to invite you to a hybrid seminar. The seminar is designed for professionals, policymakers, researchers, and individuals passionate about understanding and contributing to the synergy between energy and well-being in the Indian context. The seminar will connect dedicated local and international experts under the umbrella of the “Energy Demand changes Induced by Technological and Social innovations (EDITS)” initiative. Distinguished scholars will share their insights on the opportunities to provide well-being to all and at the same time limit exacerbant greenhouse-gas emissions, shedding light on the multifaceted dynamics that influence the well-being of individuals in the presence or absence of sustainable and accessible energy resources.

EDITS WEBINAR #4: Implications of Energy Sufficiency on Electricity Demand and System Costs : a Quantified Assessment

Speaker: Bianka Shoai-Tehrani, RTE 

Moderator: Benigna Boza-Kiss, IIASA

Time: 17 May 2023, 3.00 pm (CEST)

Abstract: While an increasing number of countries adopt a carbon neutrality target, the search for emission cutting solutions tends to shift from low-carbon energy technologies towards demand-side transformations, including low-energy demand lifestyles. Such lifestyles can include both energy efficiency and energy sufficiency measures. While energy efficiency revolves around technology-based solutions to cut consumption and thus emissions – though not always effective due to rebound effect – sufficiency consists in reducing one’s own demand as a choice. Such a transformation thus has the potential to reduce energy demand with economic benefits as it could allow avoiding some of the low-carbon investments needed to achieve carbon neutrality. However, as it is rooted in socio-behavioral considerations, it is difficult to quantify the potential for the reduction in energy consumption that would result from the adoption of an energy sufficient lifestyle.

In light of these issues, this paper aims at identifying plausible changes in electricity consumption behaviors in France linked with a sufficient lifestyle, and quantifying the associated energy consumption reduction and economic benefits on the road to carbon neutrality by 2050.

EDITS WEBINAR #3: Demand-side opportunities to address recent crises: recent findings from the buildings sector

Speaker: 

• Souran Chatterjee, University of Plymouth
• Diana Urge-Vorsatz, Central European University

Moderator: Souran Chatterjee (Plymouth University)

Time: Thursday, 30.03.2023| 15:00 (CEST) 

Abstract: Disruptions and crises pose major hardship for humanity, the provisioning systems, and the ecosystem. At the same time, these non-linear events also provide unique opportunities for accelerating the energy transition, while addressing the challenges of the crises themselves. Yet, it has been shown that very little of the opportunities to restructure the energy demand system due to the pandemic have been taken advantage of. Similarly, the discourse on response measures to recent crises (COVID-19, energy security problems in Europe, civil disorder, energy market and price volatilities, cost of living shocks, etc.) miss or at least under-emphasize key potentials to rethink how societal longer-term goals of universal wellbeing within the planetary boundaries could be reached.

The presentation will highlight the key opportunities through which crisis response strategies can mitigate the impacts of current and future crises while accelerating our progress towards climate mitigation targets through demand-side measures. With a stronger focus on the demand-side (and distributed renewables) related measures, harnessing and piggy-backing on changes brought by these crises (e.g., energy price hikes, pop-up infrastructure), policies can achieve a broader spectrum of benefits (e.g., jobs, health, pollution reduction, energy security, equity). Focusing particularly on the buildings sector will allow to mitigate the burden of these disruptions on households and economies in a better way than many of the currently popular supply-side response measures. In particular, demand-side measures are also ideally fit to combat the acute energy price crisis and ensuing inflation, making them key for creating just energy transitions.

EDITS WEBINAR #2: Reductions in material production induced by demand-side strategies: Implications for sustainable development

Speaker: Stefan Pauliuk, University of Freiburg, Germany

Moderator: Laurent Drouet, RFF-CMCC European Institute on Economics and the Environment (EIEE), Centro Euro-Mediterraneo sui Cambiamenti Climatici, Italy

Time: 15.09.2022 | 12:00 pm (CEST)

Abstract: Growing in-use stocks of materials in the technosphere are essential for further human development, especially in emerging economies, but also for the energy transition and digital transformation in the Global North. At the same time, growing in-use stocks are a major obstacle for a circular economy and they are major drivers of environmental destruction and GHG emissions from material production from primary resources. Demand-side solutions from efficiency and sufficiency strategies can lead to reduced need for new products and thus new materials. I present modelling results for the LED scenario (Grubler et al. 2018) for the impact of demand-side strategies for passenger vehicles and buildings on material production and related GHG emissions. I will explain the data and assumptions that went into our scenarios and point out the shortcomings of the modelling approach used. The discussion can then focus on approaches for consistent and inter-disciplinary low demand modelling of industrial output and material production, in particular.