This paper contributes to the climate policy discussion by focusing on the challenges and opportunities of reaching net zero emissions by 2050 in Italy. To support Italian energy planning, we developed energy roadmaps towards national climate neutrality, consistent with the Paris Agreement objectives and the IPCC goal of limiting the increase in global surface temperature to 1.5 °C. Starting from the Italian framework, these scenarios identify the correlations among the main pillars for the change of the energy paradigm towards net emissions by 2050. The energy scenarios were developed using TIMES-RSE, a partial equilibrium and technology-rich optimization model of the entire Italian energy system. Subsequently, an in-depth analysis was developed with the sMTISIM, a long-term simulator of power system and electricity markets. The results show that, to achieve climate neutrality by 2050, the Italian energy system will have to experience profound transformations on multiple and strongly related dimensions. A predominantly renewable-based energy mix (at least 80–90% by 2050) is essential to decarbonize most of the final energy consumption. However, the strong increase of non-programmable renewable sources requires particular attention to new flexibility resources needed for the power system, such as Power-to-X. The green fuels produced from renewables via Power-to-X will be a vital energy source for those sectors where electrification faces technical and economic barriers. The paper’s findings also confirm that the European “energy efficiency first” principle represents the very first step on the road to climate neutrality.
In the near future cities will have to supply innovative and high value-added mobility services with respect for environmental, traffic and energy sustainability. It is a great challenge since transportation represents over 20% of the global energy consumption, 40% of which is in urban areas. In this context RSE has developed the project STORM (Strategies TOwaRds a sustainable Mobility) which aims to study smart and sustainable solutions and policies in urban mobility planning in order to supply passengers and goods mobility, with respect to economic, energy-efficiency and environmental targets. This paper investigates the impact and benefits of different mobility solutions and policies by applying a multimodal transport model. The Milan area is used as test case for two main reasons: first, its high population density and strong transport offer and second, the large amount of information and data available on passengers' mobility within this area. By assuming that the mobility demand is a constant, 8 mobility scenarios have been tested on the Milan area, which can be classified into two main groups: 4 measures to strengthen the public transport offer; 4 measures to restrict and discourage the use of private vehicles or introduce a relevant share of electric vehicles. Finally, three combinations of these scenarios were made in order to evaluate the impact of a deep and broad transformation of the current mobility trends. For each scenario a cost/benefit analysis was made in terms of energy efficiency, traffic reduction and environmental impact in order to draw up a ranking of the most advantageous and promising measures for urban mobility.
In the near future, cities will have to supply innovative and high value-added mobility services, that shall be sustainable in terms of environmental impact, traffic management and energy efficiency. This represents a great challenge: transportation accounts for 20% of the global energy consumption, with a large share in urban areas (around 40% of total transport consumption). One of the most promising solutions to reduce congestion, energy consumption and air pollutants in highly-populated areas is Ride Sharing. Ride Sharing systems aim to bring together travellers with similar itineraries and time schedules, thus providing significant societal and environmental benefits, such as reducing the number of cars used for personal travel and improving the utilization of available seat capacity (also defined "occupancy rate"). This paper examines the impact of Ride Sharing by developing an enhanced transport model in Visum, which takes into account the shareability of passengers mobility patterns. The model is applied to the Milan Metropolitan Area, which represents an interesting test case for two main reasons: first, its high population density and strong transport offer and second, the large amount of information and data available on passengers mobility. The paper assumes an optimal 20% participation rate to Ride Sharing and estimates its benefits in terms of congestion reduction, energy efficiency and environmental impact. The COPERT software is used to estimate Carbon Dioxide emissions and fuel consumption savings. The simulation results show that Ride Sharing brings a sort of rebound effect, since there is an increase in passengers traveling by car. However, the overall effect is a reduction in the number of vehicles used, with consequent reductions in vehicle kilometers travelled (-3,8%). This translates into 6% energy savings and 6% Carbon Dioxide emissions reduction. Some policy recommendations are provided to develop Ride Sharing in order to increase the effectiveness of this system while restraining side effects.
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