A dedicated website is now online !
Discover the project and a presentation of the first results.

The implementation of the Paris Agreement is calling for reinforced action in all member States. At the European level, reaching carbon neutrality by 2050 will require an ambitious and coordinated energy transition strategy.

The the European Green Deal and Fit for 55% package are great opportunities to do so. Until today, at the European level, no energy transition scenario has been constructed in a bottom-up manner, starting from national trajectories. We aim to achieve the first supranational scenario that reconciles the need for ambition heightened by the climate emergency, with the technical, societal and political feasibility of the necessary transformations, supported by genuine policies targeted to this end.

An ambitious methodology based on the Sufficiency, Efficiency, and Renewables framework

The CLEVER scenario will focus on the question of energy sufficiency : how can we rethink and redesign individual and collective practices to favour activities and services that are intrinsically low on energy use ? The sufficiency potential is enormous at the European level but is rarely considered – or highlighted- at its full scale in European decarbonisation pathways. With this work, we hope to show that a comprehensive policy articulating sufficiency, efficiency and renewable development is key to reach the 1,5°C climate goal.

A scenario built on national characteristics

This project is based on a unique approach : the CLEVER pathway is being developed through a dialogue with national scenario makers in order to aggregate national visions into a European one and thus increase its credibility/feasability. The CLEVER pathway will fully take into account national specificities while also looking at optimisation gains of a coordinated action at the European level.

A European network of technical partners

This project is led in collaboration with a network of national and European organisations. Since 2018, the national partners have been engaged in a technical dialogue to ensure the collective development of this project.
This dialogue has allowed them to question their work and modelling approaches, and share best practices, which results in built-up capacity and raised ambition. Thematic working groups and methodological meetings have also been regularly organised. Through this network, partners have been able to share information on the ways policies or actions are being implemented in different member States, and how setting conditions may vary from one region to another.

The network includes more than 24 partners from 20 European countries, with different levels of involvement in the project (active partners working on bottom-up trajectories — commenting partners — observing partners).

Work plan to 2023

• In 2019 and 2020, common objectives, methodological approach and modelling tools were agreed upon and built in a technical dialogue.

• In 2021 and 2022, national trajectories were constructed, harmonised and reinforced, by looking at all sustainability potentials in covered countries.

• Partners are currently finalising those trajectories and working on their aggregation towards a European vision.

  • First technical results will be published in the Summer 2022, and presented at the end of the Autumn
  • CLEVER will be finalised and presented in the Spring 2023

Major publications

Project presentations

• General project presentation, briefing note
• General project presentation, powerpoint
• Academic paper at the 2021 online edition of eceee’s Summer Study
• Methodological briefing note around the construction of the scenario

Sufficiency focus

• Briefing note on energy sufficiency, introducing it as a concept and its practical integration in climate and energy policies and scenario building
• An illustrated guide on sufficiency

Sectoral technical and policy documentation

• Industry technical note presenting production, energy consumption and intensity corridors for key industrial sectors towards 2050. The corridors were constructed top-down, on the basis of major industry decarbonisation scenarios, with the aim to enable convergent national decarbonisation and circularity trajectories. First policy proposals are detailed to support those corridors.
• Residential technical note presenting corridors of energy consumption by 2050 for national countries on major indicators for the residential sector. Those corridors including a lower and upper limit of consumption for 2050 were constructed bottom-up through the technical dialogue amongst partners. They aim to bridge the access to decent energy consumption levels for some countries, and a decrease in the level of consumption in others, with the purpose to remain within planetary limits and a 1.5 degrees-compatible trajectory.
• Mobility technical note
• AFOLUB note

Funding

négaWatt and its network of partners are looking for additional funding to complete this budget.

Our funders :

• Our members and donors
  negaWatt has organised a crowdfunding campaign to support the project in Spring 2019 which resulted in a total of 51.760€ collected. negaWatt also allocates part of its overall budget to this project.
• Foundations and agencies
  Key foundations have been supporting this project since the prefiguration phase : The European Climate Foundation (ECF), the Foundation for the progress of Humankind, and the Watt for Change foundation. ADEME, the French ecological transition agency is also contributing with a grant.

Contacts :

Nicolas TAILLARD – CLEVER Project manager

Stephane BOURGEOIS – European relations and policy manager – +33633320993

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