Energy and climate policy
Explore our work on European climate and energy policy and the economic policies required to drive the transition to a more sustainable growth model.
Adequately responding to climate change requires a profound transformation in the way we produce and consume energy, as well as a wider reorganisation of our economic model. The situation is further complicated by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which triggered a major energy crisis in Europe and beyond. Bruegel fellows analyse European climate policy developments and the evolution of global climate governance, as well as data on energy flows.
Under the 2024/2025 research programme, Bruegel fellows focus on European energy security and competitiveness, the role of electricity markets in full decarbonisation, the potential for a European climate ‘fit for 90’ package, modelling the green transition, EU and non-EU companies’ disclosure of climate-related risks and opportunities and the circular economy and sustainability.
Energy
European natural gas imports
This dataset aggregates daily data on European natural gas import flows and storage levels.
Who should be charged? Principles for fair allocation of electricity system costs
This Policy Brief sets out four principles for pricing electricity fairly
Wired for the future: building Europe’s next-gen electricity grid
How smarter planning, better funding and political trust can supercharge the EU’s energy transition
European natural gas demand tracker
Tracking monthly natural gas demand by country and the EU as a whole, with a breakdown of the power, industry and household sectors where possible
Europe’s energy information problem
Choices are needed about responsibilities at European and national levels, expanding existing institutions or creating new independent ones
European clean tech tracker
This tracker provides an overview of the main innovation, manufacturing and deployment trends in clean tech in Europe
Decarbonising for competitiveness: four ways to reduce European energy prices
Energy prices are higher in the European Union than in most other industrialised economies, presenting a fundamental competitiveness challenge
Upcoming events
Europe’s energy information problem
Choices are needed about responsibilities at European and national levels, expanding existing institutions or creating new independent ones
Talks@Bruegel: Industrial competitiveness and global emission reduction with Sandra Phlippen
How would the opening of ETS affect industrial competitiveness and global climate goals?
Publications
Defence and climate: seven points for a common agenda
Beyond the debated public spending trade-off between defence and climate goals lie converging interests
Ending European Union imports of Russian uranium
Continuing to do business with Rosatom, the company responsible for the commercial relationship on uranium with the EU, raises four issues
Making the best of the new EU Social Climate Fund
Governments should employ good practices in tackling building and transport emissions whilst protecting the most vulnerable
Europe urgently needs a common strategy on Russian gas
An uncoordinated approach threatens EU energy security and the green transition
Transatlantic clean investment monitor 3: battery manufacturing
Battery manufacturing investment is rising fast on both sides of the Atlantic with the US outstripping Europe – for now
Greening the EU budget: why climate mainstreaming needs reform
The EU’s climate mainstreaming framework suffers from design flaws and complexity, risks greenwashing and does not detect harmful activities
First glances
Climate expenditure for survival
A coalition of willing wealthy countries should provide financing for the net-zero transitions of developing countries
Streamlining or hollowing out? The implications of the Omnibus package for sustainable finance
EU reporting simplification will result in less information and introduce distortions in the sustainable finance market
How data centres can chase renewable energy across Europe
Harnessing the flexibility offered by data centres depending on renewable energy availability could cut costs and emissions
Updated assessment: Memos to the commissioners responsible for energy and climate
The precarious promise of the Paris Agreement’s Article 6
Agreement on a global carbon trading framework could complete the global climate architecture, but the risks are significant
Trump’s comeback and its implications for EU climate and energy policy
Trump’s return should not be seen as a threat to EU decarbonisation, but as a rallying cry to unite and push forward more strongly
Energy
Explore Bruegel's work on the energy transition.
Read morePodcasts
The price of a liveable future: Financing climate action
How the global economy must adapt to the costs of climate change
Nature on the balance sheet: a financial perspective
How can businesses, governments and financial institutions work together to tackle the global biodiversity crisis?
Closing the loop: the case for a circular EU economy
Why moving to a circular economy is essential in the fight against climate change
Counting sunshine: solar energy data and public policy
How better information can fuel the green transition