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The study was commissioned in December 2004, and a first meeting was held in Brussels on 17 January 2005. A first draft was submitted on 28 March, a second draft was submitted on 22 June 2005 and the final draft 22 September 2005.
Availability of energy is a prerequisite for economic growth and welfare in Europe and the world as such. Nowadays, we are totally dependent on an abundant and uninterrupted supply of energy for living and working. It is a key ingredient in all sectors of modern economies.
All over the world, increasing energy consumption, liberalisation of energy markets and the need to take action on climate change are producing new challenges for the energy sector. At the same time, there is increasing pressure for research, new technologies and industrial products to be socially acceptable and to generate economic wealth and quality of life. The result is a complex and dynamic set of conditions affecting decisions on investments in research and new energy technology.
The challenge for energy research is hence to reconcile conflicting pressures and seek to address:
- Security and diversity of energy supply
- Global climate change and environmental degradation
- Economic competitiveness, and
- Social benefit.
The strategic goal of EU energy research is to develop sustainable energy systems and services for Europe. In addition, the aim is to contribute to a more sustainable development worldwide (www.europa.eu.int/comm/research/energy/). This strategy will lead to an increased security and diversity of energy supply, and will provide Europe with high-quality, low-cost energy services, improved industrial competitiveness, reduced environmental impact and a better quality of life for all Europeans.
The report gives an overview of where the EU stands and a forward look over the coming years of research challenges. It is based on existing materials and literature and not on new data collection. This has presented major challenges in the assessment of the present strengths and weaknesses and in particular the assessment of future opportunities and threats. Such assessment would have benefited from a truly foresight approach, including broader stakeholder participation in the communication about the longer-term issues and the building of consensus on the most promising areas.
The report can be downloaded here: http://www.risoe.dk/rispubl/SYS/syspdf/ris-r-1533.pdf. |