The ENTRACK consortium proudly unveils the report titled Taxonomy of Social Energy Plans, Strategies, and Policies from EU Level Down to Municipal Level, presenting a detailed mapping of social energy policies across various governance levels—from the European Union to local social energy policy profiles of municipalities in the selected case studies.
The report details how these policies aim to combat climate change and enhance sustainable energy use, focusing on regions in the Southern Mediterranean, including Portugal, Spain, Italy, and Greece. It outlines how international frameworks like the Paris Agreement and the UN 2030 Sustainability Agenda influence local energy policies. The analysis reveals a predominantly topdown approach to policy development in the EU while recognising that local and regional influences on national and international policy may exist but that these influences are difficult to identify.
The report examines the interplay between policies to pinpoint the relationship types (the direct and parallel relationships described in the summary) that exist between policies and provides some early insights into the impact these relationship types may have on policy efficiency. Specifically, while numerous policies covering related scopes offer a complete policy response to a particular issue, this may be inefficient from the perspective of resource management, for example, in directing multiple resource streams where one may be sufficient. Direct policy development pathways were considered more intentional due to the cause/effect nature of the relationships between these policies, i.e., where secondary or more targeted policies were implemented in response to prior policies. Parallel policy pathways were considered less intentional precisely due to the lack of these cause/effect relationships, where several policies may exist targeting a similar scope with less accounting for how the specific goals and activities of one policy initiative affect another. Thus, based on these early findings, the report suggests that a higher prevalence of parallel policies may imply a greater degree of policy overlap and a less efficient management of resources. In addition to a review of the EU case study, the report includes case studies from Italy’s Campania region and Naples; Portugal’s Alto Alentejo, including Gavião and Ponte de Sor; Spain’s Catalonia, Barcelona, Girona, Osona, Gombrèn, Ripollès, and Sant Quirze de Besora; and Greece’s Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, highlighting municipalities like Avdira and Topeiros.
For each case, a map profiling the social energy policy landscape is provided, showing the pathway down from the international and EU levels, through to the national and, finally, regional and local levels. The production of the Taxonomy of Social Energy Plans, Strategies, and Policies from the EU Level Down to the Municipal Level report was expertly led by the NOVA School of Science and Technology (NOVA-FCT).
Identification and mapping of European, national, regional and local policies
The detailed classification within the ENTRACK project delineates how social energy policies are devised and implemented from the European Union level to the nuances of municipal regulations. It offers a panoramic view of the strategies, plans, and legislative actions that are instrumental in sculpting the energy landscape to be more sustainable and socially inclusive. The tables (included in the document Annexes) not only catalogue these policies but also examine their scope, interconnections, and their roles in fostering a cohesive energy policy environment. By systematically mapping out these policies, the taxonomy report provides policymakers, researchers, and practitioners with a preliminary insight into the social energy policy systems in Southern Mediterranean countries. The maps also generate a view into the key similarities and differences between the various case studies and reflections on the specific characteristics of each case. These insights inform future efforts to explore the social energy policy domain. Since Southern Mediterranean countries share several socio-economic vulnerabilities, such as comparatively low incomes, they also have a high potential for renewable energy development. Thus, mapping out the social energy landscape in these countries is informative for implementing a just and inclusive energy transition.
For those keen to delve deeper, fill in to visit the original Project Deliverable report available here as well as our Press Release which contains a summary of the key findings of the report – available here!