By Christian von Hirschhausen, Valerie J. Karplus and Juan Rosellón
A cordial welcome to this anniversary issue of EEEP, Economics of Energy and Environmental Policy! As we are celebrating the first decade of the journal, we reflect on some of the major issues driving policy, industry, and academia. We look back a decade (and more), but also look forward, towards emerging issues, new topics, and shed light on the ongoing energy transformation.
Economics of Energy & Environmental Policy (EEEP) has been established in 2011 as a new IAEE publication in order to nurture the dialogue between academics, business and public authorities. As a policy-oriented journal, it aims to provide a scholarly and research-based, yet easily read and accessible source of information on contemporary economic thinking and analysis of energy and environmental policy.
Energy and the environment often do not go along well with each other, and this is the challenge for the journal. In fact, when EEEP was initially conceived, it was because many traditional energy economists concluded that the environmental aspects of what was then called “our industry” were insufficiently taken into account, both, in the policy process, and the academic literature. Climate change had become a ubiquitous topic, spurred by the global success and controversies of Lord Stern’s (2007) Review of the Economics of Climate Change. In fact, all of a sudden, all energy economists had become, explicitly or implicitly, climate economists. At the same time, other pollutants had also gained in importance, such as nitrous oxides (NOx), dust and fine particles, and mercury (Hg). In essence, all energy economists had also become environmental economists…
A decade into the existence of EEEP, it is useful to take stock and look into the future of the Economics of Energy & Environmental Policy, and to sketch out elements of a research and policy agenda, both for the Journal itself, but also for the profession that is undergoing a structural change: In fact, one observes the proliferation of environmental topics in all fields of energy, so that no real distinction can be made any longer between the two. The objective of this symposium, therefore, is to take stock of recent linkages between energy and environmental issues, as well as the relation between energy and policy.
Access the full text in the International Association for Energy Economics or access the pdf in the right-hand sidebar.
