A thesis proposal presentation by doctoral student Mara Balasa.

Europe, like other parts of the world, currently grapples with the dual challenges of environmental change and democratic backsliding. In a context marked by rising populism, misinformation, and political manipulation, designing credible sustainable climate policies is more important than ever. The 2024 annual Energy Talk, organized by the Stockholm Institute of Transition Economics (SITE), gathered experts to bring insight into these challenges and explore potential solutions for enhancing green politics.

In the brand new FT ranking Europe’s Leading Startup Hubs, SSE’s startup incubator receives several accolades. SSE Business Lab is number one in Sweden and has the best track record in Europe, according to the ranking.

SSE Business Lab was one of the first incubators in Sweden to introduce diversity and sustainability criteria in their admissions. Now, they’re raising the bar further by making sustainability coaching mandatory for all companies.

A recent report by Rickard Sandberg, Head of the Center for Data Analytics, investigates the effects of wind and temperature on electricity prices across Sweden, revealing that wind conditions significantly influence price volatility. Published in January 2024 by Energiforsk, it highlights the growing impact of wind power on the electricity market's dynamics.

On 8-10 September, 2023, the Stockholm Institute of Transition Economics (SITE) and the FREE Network hosted the annual Retreat in Visby to discuss its institutes’ respective work of research areas, from politics to climate change to consumer behavior and joint efforts within the Network.

After an intensive admissions period, SSE Business Lab is taking in eleven new companies. The startups are tackling challenges like the green energy transition and people’s deteriorating private finances.

Throughout 2022, the reduction in Russian gas imports to the EU and the resilience of European energy markets have been subject of significant public discourse and policy-making. Of particular concern has been the EU’s ability to maintain its environmental goals. In this policy brief, researchers from SITE and the University of Pennsylvania aim to reevaluate the consequences from the loss of Russian gas and the EU’s response to it on greenhouse gas emissions in the region.

Against the background of fast rising gasoline and diesel prices in 2022, a number of European countries have reduced fuel tax rates, often in the form of temporary “gas tax holidays”. In this policy brief, SITE researchers Julius Andersson and Celina Tippmann, analyse the tax incidence by comparing the gasoline price development in Sweden to that in Denmark, where the fuel tax rate remained unchanged.

The concern of Russian gas supply disruption and its implications has never been as serious. Chloé Le Coq, Professor at the University of Paris II Panthéon-Assas (CRED) and a Research Fellow at the Stockholm Institute of Transition Economics (SITE), discusses how nudging energy consumers to lower their demand may support the plans of the European Commission (EC).