Energy Transition  

Energy is ubiquitous and vital. It is an inherent part of all Earth’s processes and is an essential requirement for all living organisms. In the same vein, continuous energy flows are indispensable for the functioning of our economies and for the existence of modern societies. From fire to nuclear reactions, humanity has continuously tapped into various energy sources to “fuel” societal transformations and to maintain a growing socio-economic metabolism. Yet, at the same time that our energy systems enable us to create and innovate, they are increasingly threatening global social stability and human well-being due to rapid climatic changes, increasing pollution, and ecological degradation. Thus, for any hope of achieving a sustainable future, our energy systems must be transformed. In simple terms, an energy transition is at the heart of a sustainability transition. 

The Energy Transition team at Novia UAS is led by Team Leader Jorge Gomez-Paredes and the team looks at energy from a “big perspective”. It not only considers energy systems in terms of the network of energy resources, generation, storage, conversion technologies, transmission, distribution, and energy services but also considers energy as the “bloodstream” of our modern Socio-Economic Metabolism (SEM). Furthermore, it analyses how energy systems are embedded and co-evolve with Social-Ecological Systems (SES). Thus, its research is focused on:  

• Water-Energy-Food-Ecosystems (WEFE) Nexus: An integrated framework to analyze the impacts of the energy transition on other critical sustainability factors (i.e., water, food, and biodiversity)  

• Spillover Effects: The global consequences of implementing sustainability agendas (e.g., the Sustainable Development Goals -SDG-, -including SDG7) within “national silos”  

• Circular Economy: The prospects and promises of transforming “linear” economic processes into systems that minimize energy and material inputs, and emissions and waste outputs  

• Rebound Effects: The social and economic adaptations to increased energy efficiency that may undermine energy and emissions reduction goals  

The methodological approach combines systems thinking (Complex Systems Modelling) and macroeconomic modeling (Input-Output Analysis) to understand our SES and underlying SEM and identify ways to generate changes toward sustainability.