A new project, Energy Governance for Sustainable Development (ENERGO), is funded by the EEA Grants 2014-2021. ENERGO undertakes a thorough investigation of the public policies that relate to local content and sustainable management of energy projects. ENERGO further assesses the policy implications of diversification of energy sources (increasing penetration of renewable energy sources in the energy mix and fossil fuel divest) and sustainable development targets for revenue management.

Both Norway and Greece aim at exploiting their energy resources considering sustainable development goals, just energy transition and climate change policy targets. In this context, local content and prudent management of energy revenues play a crucial role. “Local content” refers to the creation of jobs and innovation opportunities for local communities and businesses. “Revenue management policies” refer to the use of public revenues generated from energy projects for investment (e.g., infrastructure), saving or spending. Local content can reverse brain drain (at local and national level), provide a stimulus for innovation, employment, and local activity. Prudent revenue management is linked to both sustainable development goals and climate change mitigation policies. Sustainable growth can be supported through fair and efficient allocation of revenues between current and future generations, between the local communities and the rest of the society and between different uses (e.g., education, infrastructure etc.). Addressing questions related to local content and revenue management for energy projects is relevant to both Norway and Greece. Analysis can provide mutually beneficial insights and useful results for other countries in the Southeast Mediterranean, like Cyprus.

ENERGO is implemented by the Department of Economics at the University of Ioannina in collaboration with the  Norwegian Institute of International Affairs and the Political Economy of Sustainable Development Lab at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. The project has a duration of 36 months (April 2021-April 2024).

The project aims at the advancement of scientific evidence-based mutual knowledge development in the fields of energy economics and policies, governance, and sustainable development. ENERGO further supports capacity building and continuous collaboration by bringing together a multi-disciplinary team of experts, from Norway and Greece, to systematically analyze common challenges and solutions. The project addresses challenges at national and transnational level in an inter-disciplinary approach and it extracts useful policy recommendations with regards to sustainable and inclusive energy policies in Greece and Norway through:

• Knowledge sharing and transfer of experiences from Norwegian to Greek actors and vice versa
• Increased contact between professionals in the two countries, with focus on supporting female experts and early—career researchers
• Discussion and joint working out of strategies to solve common challenges
• Capacity building
• Understanding and bridging of the priorities and incentives of different stakeholders (local communities, investors, policy makers)

Project results feed the development of training, capacity building and dissemination material with the intention to support well informed public and policy debate. The target/beneficiaries during the project lifetime and beyond are:

• Public & private entities, researchers & civil society interested in promoting sustainable growth, innovation, and knowledge transfer in the energy sector
• Public bodies, policy makers and national regulators dealing with energy projects
• Local communities where energy infrastructure is in place or energy projects are/will be running
• Policy makers dealing with national, regional, and transnational governance challenges of shared resources and common policies of energy, national and regional development
• Academics, researchers, and students working on subjects of economics, public policy, business, industrial development, and energy

Connect and follow the project progress and updates:

https://www.linkedin.com/company/energo-project

https://www.facebook.com/Energy-Governance-for-Sustainable-Development-100356042291808

https://twitter.com/ENERGO50440162

Need more info?

We want to hear from you.  For more please contact the project scientific coordinator Stella Tsani.

Email: stellatsani@uoi.gr

Address: Department of Economics University of Ioannina 451 10 Ioannina Greece

17 June 2021