3/40Contact Persons : during development
200 rue de la Loi
Brussels
Mr. Pierre Valette Tel: 32-2-295-6356 / 3701
Fax: 32-2-296-3024 / 0621
Prof. P. Capros National Technical University of Athens
Patission 42, 10682 Athens
Fax.: 301-384 3722
Prof. Y. Smeers Université Catholique de Louvsain, CORE
34, Voie du Roman Pays, B-1368 Louvain La Neuve
Fax.: 32-10-474301
GEM-E3, namely General Equilibrium Moel for Energy - Economics - Environment, is a multinational, multi-sector general equilibrium model. It includes detailed representation of the energy supply, of the energy consumption, of the polluting emissions related to the later and of the damages to environment that the emissions generate. It also provides links with details sectoral energy models.
The GEM-E3 model intends to deal with the general subject of sustainable economic growth, in a way to support concrete policy analysis issues. Sustainable economic growth refers to tightly linked environmental and energy related strategic objectives that have to be considered in the same time as prerequisites and conditions for achieving stability and economic development. A particular subject which encompasses almost all aspects and interactions within the objective of sustainable economic growth is the greenhouse problem and the analysis of related policies. In fact, in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, in particular CO2 emissions, it is necessary to achieve substantial gains in energy conservation and in the efficient use of fossil fuels in electricity generation, as well as to perform important fuel substitutions throughout the energy system (for instance in favour of natural gas). Within the increasingly liberalising markets, the effective carriers of such a policy can mainly be the carbon-related taxes, the pollution permits and other instruments, which certainly have significant macroeconomic effects. The efficient use and production of energy, as well as the fuel substitutions, induced by the greenhouse targets, have also beneficial effects on other types of pollution and direct impacts on the international energy markets. Thus, all the three systems, namely economy, energy and environment, are interrelated. Is it possible to achieve economic growth which will not be altered by environmental problems (e.g. greenhouse) or energy shortages, and at which economic or social cost? This is the general type of questions to be analysed by GEM-E3.
The model addresses an important additional issue, so as to support the policy analysis needs of the Commission. This is termed "burden sharing" and concerns the distributional effects of efforts towards sustainable economic growth. Distributional effects are considered in two senses: distribution among European countries and distribution among social or economic groups within each country. This concerns the particular allocation of taxation between nations, producing sectors and consumer groups.
Closely related to the previous subjects are the restructuring the energy system in Europe and changes in the conditions of energy provisions. These two subject emerge as a consequence of both the European unification and the evolution in eastern European countries. The former subject includes in particular the deregulation of the energy sectors which may change electricity and gas supply patterns in Europe. The latter subject includes the "energy charter" and its follow-up, which may induce a new situation in natural gas provisions of Europe.
The model will be used in policy analysis for energy, environment and Research and Development.
Currently under development as a multinational collaboration project, funded by the European Commission, DG XII, JOULE Programme. A fully tested version is scheduled to be available at the beginning of 1995.
A comprehensive set of references of available working or published documents in printed or electronic form is available from the project coordinator.