Overview and objectives of the Call for Evidence

The EUCalc model has been built by analysing large amount of data from various databases and literature sources, as well as structured engagement with a large number of sectorial expert stakeholders from academia, civil society, public and private sector.

If you are interested to learn more about the previous rounds of expert consultations during the different stages of building the model you can find the reports here.

By publishing preliminary modelling results under this Call for Evidence, it is our intention to engage with interested members of the public (both experts and non-experts) to test the user interface of the EUCalc model, Transition Pathways Explorer, as well as to ensure the robustness of the analysis, assumptions and data used before it is released for wider application. More specifically, we seek to:

  • Gather insights about the user experience and build understanding around the friendliness of the Transition Pathways Explorer.
  • Gather sectoral feedback based on the predefined parameters and preliminary quantitative results of the EUCalc model available through its user interface, and further explained in the supplied background scientific/technical documentation.
  • Scan for potential questions the EUCalc model can respond to that were not captured in previous consultations.

The Call for Evidence has been extended till the 26th of November 2019.

To this end, you are hereby invited to submit comments and evidence on a number of specific questions designed to structure responses in an actionable list of refinements to be undertaken by the project team.

The EUCalc project team intends to use these public responses to help refine the analysis underpinning the model and to maximize the friendliness of its user-interface. An updated version of the EUCalc model will be made available later in the year, to reflect some of the most pressing and well-evidenced revisions suggested during the Call for Evidence.

EUCalc products for your review and feedback

The EUCalc modelling work comprises several products, which you can access and review through the links provided hereinafter.

It contains the Transition Pathway Explorer (TPE) which aims at providing an accessible, user-friendly, dynamic interface between the model and the user. It is intended to be simple enough to be used by non-experts, yet complex enough to capture the main decarbonization paradigms of well-established models. With this interface you will be able create and test multiple possible net zero pathways for each EU Member State and Switzerland by choosing an ambition level for all relevant decarbonisation levers across the sectors, ranging from little or no effort to reduce emissions and save energy (‘level 1’) to extremely ambitious changes that push towards the physical or technical limits of what can be achieved (‘level 4’). The consequences of your choices for energy supply and demand, energy security and system costs, land use and biodiversity, water availability, people’s health, employment, and transboundary effects will be presented comprehensively and instantaneously, hence providing immediate insights about potential trade-offs and synergies for policy decision-making. A warning system and an economic module validate the viability of the chosen pathway. You can access the current version of TPE here.

Please note that the EUCalc model is still work in progress, meaning that some mechanisms are not yet fully implemented in the current version of the Transition Pathways Explorer. The current version that you are invited to test and review features descriptions of lever and level settings and a series of demonstration pathways including their impacts on a limited number of criteria (i.e. excluding jobs, health and transboundary effects which will be added later). To learn more about these sectors you can also look at the background scientific/technical documentation.

The EUCalc scientific/technical documentation includes the underlying analysis for each specific sector (or “module”) and describes: a) key challenges facing the sector in the context of net-zero transition alongside the specific question addressed by the module, b) scope of module and the calculation logic and c) the rationale behind the choice of levers, as well as the assumptions for the range of ambition levels adopted in the module. It also contains  explanation on  the assumptions and approach used, including the trajectories for each sector of the economy and some of their associated implications. The overarching document “Introduction to the EUCalc model – Cross-Sectoral model description and documentation” includes an overview of the model and common assumptions. The documentation is available here and can be accessed as well directly from the Transition Pathways Explorer.

The EUCalc model has been built using a KNIME software (programming integration platform). To get a copy of the project up and running on your local machine for testing purposes, please go to the Git repository of the EUCalc project and follow the instruction of the README. This will provide you with direct insights into the underlying architecture of the EUCalc model and you will be able to create and test decarbonization pathways to 2050, as well as the calculations and assumptions underpinning the model.

Target group(s)

Any interested party, including individuals and organizations, either from Civil Society (Non-governmental organisation, platform or network, Trade unions, Professional associations, Advocacy groups, Media, etc.), Research and Academia (Science institutions, Universities and schools, etc.), Public sector (European Commission, European Parliament, National, regional or local authority), Private sector (Corporations and businesses, Consulting companies, etc.),  International Organizations (IFIs, International bodies, etc.).

How to submit your contribution

Please note that to ensure a well-documented and transparent Call for Evidence process only contributions received through the online feedback form will be taken into account and included in the final publication.

Feedback form can be downloaded here for preview. To access it online and submit your contribution please follow this link.

The feedback form that follows the ‘Introduction and Guidance’ section will seek your contribution on a number of issues, structured as follows:

  • Section 2 includes questions about the design, user experience and application of the EUCalc model’s online user interface, Transition Pathways Explorer
  • Section 3 is designed for sector-specific feedback about the data, assumptions and methodology used as well as more broadly about the underlying architecture of the EUCalc model

In order to participate, it is not necessary that you fill in all questions in the form. You are welcome to respond to the questions that best correspond to your expertise and line of work. In addition, if you want to express your views in more detail, you can also upload a document with your views and insights and/or add a scientific paper as an argument which will be most helpful and concrete.

Only the fields in the final Section 4 of this form, marked with * are mandatory. The final section is reserved for your general profile as a reviewer and contact details. This will enable us to come back to you for clarification, if need be, as well as final comments and your informed consent.

Additional information

The European Calculator project team assures you that we will only record information that is necessary to address the central purpose of our research.

We highly appreciate your comments and would like to acknowledge your name and/or organization as a reviewer in the planned final publication which will be published in 2020.

At the same time, your inputs and contribution will not be attributed and will only appear in de-identified form in the final publication arising from this Call for Evidence, unless you have consented or specified otherwise.

Personal information including contact details, will be stored internally and managed by the EUCalc consortium under strict rules defined to protect private information and safeguard anonymity of your input unless you consent otherwise.