The Energy Sector is currently facing major challenges due to the transition to a low carbon energy system and its implications in terms of security of supply and industrial competitiveness. The Symposium will try to shed light on the hesitation created in the sector about how to face these unprecedented challenges. Authors are invited to submit empirical papers with policy implications regarding the economics oil, gas or electricity sector.

The Symposium on Energy and Environmental Policy will bring together high ranking researchers in the field of energy economics. The meeting will examine various questions related to the low carbon alternatives (energy storage, RES-E, and shale gas), the markets and networks (energy losses, CO2 market design and distributed generation), and the environmental policies (RES-E promotion, consumption side policies, industrial policy for climate change mitigation, and environmental R&D investment).

The Symposium on Energy Markets and Sustainability will bring together high ranking researchers in the field of energy economics. The meeting will examine various questions related to the energy markets (gas and electricity markets, adjustment markets, and markets design), the infrastructure (auction designs for smart grids, electricity transmission networks, and gas interconnection), and the policies for sustainability (renewables promotion, greenhouse gas emissions, and energy efficiency).

The meeting, to be held in Barcelona on 03 February 2015, forms part of the activities organised by the UB-IEB Chair in Energy Sustainability, sponsored by the Foundation for Energy and Environmental Sustainability (FUNSEAM). The group hopes that the symposium will help disseminate the work of leading researchers in the field of energy economics, with a particular emphasis on markets and sustainability.

The Symposium R&D on Energy in Barcelona will bring together high ranking researchers in the field of energy economics. The energy sector is facing major challenges in most of its activities and segments. The main challenges are related to the mitigation of climate change and increasing efficiency, and fostering innovation is crucial to meeting these challenges. The meeting will examine various questions related to the link between the energy sector and R&D activity. The first topic is on the main challenges and issues for R&D on energy, comprising the climate change mitigation, the roadmap 2050, and the debate regarding the R&D investment targets and sufficiency. The second topic is patenting which is focuses on patents as proxy of innovations with impact over the energy sector, developed both within and outside of this sector. The third topic regards efficiency projects and financing constraints, which include issues as the impact of R&D over the efficiency, and the debate regarding financial constraint to perform R&D activities on energy sector.

The meeting, to be held in Barcelona on 28 January 2014, forms part of the activities organised by the UB-IEB Chair in Energy Sustainability, sponsored by the Foundation for Energy and Environmental Sustainability (FUNSEAM). The group hopes that the symposium will help disseminate the work of leading researchers in the field of energy economics, with a particular emphasis on R&D on energy.