This research project aims at identifying and understanding energy transition issues and opportunities for innovation from a governance, legal and economic perspective. In this project we will both employ a retrospective as well as an onward looking perspective into these issues in order to suggest instruments to facilitate the energy transition in the power and energy intensive industry.

The power and energy intensive industries present substantial challenges in the transition towards more sustainable energy because of the large quantities of energy consumed, the fossil resources of this energy and, therefore, the amount of CO2 emissions. Through societal and political awareness of this issue, these sectors are increasingly pressured to make considerable changes to the ways they consume and generate energy.

Social, legal and economic research into these two industries and their connection to each other, the energy system at large and renewable energy is lagging behind other research aspects of the energy transition, such as technical research, consumer behaviour and market regulation. Research has only just begun to uncover the complexities of these two industries and, insofar as it exists, mainly focuses on China and Germany.

https://www.uu.nl/en/research/regulation-of-innovation/sustainable-energy

• prof. mr. Marleen van Rijswick
• mr. Anoeska Buijze
• dr. Ank Michels

Nature-Based Solutions have the potential to limit impacts of climate change, enhance biodiversity and improve environmental quality while contributing to economic activities and social well-being. Examples are green roofs and city parks that limit heat stress, city lagoons that store water and permeable surfaces, vegetation and rain gardens to intercept storm water. To unlock the potential of nature based solutions for sustainable urban development, NATURVATION takes a transdisciplinary, internationally comparative approach to capture the multiple impacts and values of these solutions. Based on a comparison of 1000 nature based solutions across 6 cities, it identifies the most promising governance, business, finance and participation models and how to overcome the systemic conditions that currently limit their use. The real-world impact of NATURVATION is realized through co-design, co-development and co-implementation of new partnerships, knowledge, processes and tools required to build capacity, enable replication and foster cultural change.

• prof. dr. ir. Rob Raven
• dr. Friedemann Polzin
• prof. dr. Hens Runhaar
• dr. Helen Toxopeus

• Durham University
• Central European University
• Ecologic Institute gGmbH
• ICLEI
• Institut Fur Landeskunde
• PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency
• Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona
• Lund University
• ENT Environment and Management
• The Centre for Economic and Regional Studies
• Malmo City
• Newcastle City Council
• Gemeente Utrecht