Energy and climate policy
Explore our work on European climate and energy policy and the economic policies required to drive the transition to a more sustainable growth model.
Adequately responding to climate change requires a profound transformation in the way we produce and consume energy, as well as a wider reorganisation of our economic model. The situation is further complicated by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which triggered a major energy crisis in Europe and beyond. Bruegel fellows analyse European climate policy developments and the evolution of global climate governance, as well as data on energy flows.
Under the 2025-2026 research programme, Bruegel fellows focus on how tax policy can improve efficiency, competitiveness and climate, the design of the next Multiannual Financial Framework, green industrialisation for European competitiveness and security, and the development of functioning international carbon markets.
Energy
European natural gas imports
This dataset aggregates daily data on European natural gas import flows and storage levels.
European natural gas demand tracker
Tracking monthly natural gas demand by country and the EU as a whole, with a breakdown of the power, industry and household sectors where possible
International carbon trading: a strategic lever to boost global decarbonisation
International carbon credits can support the EU’s 2040 target if buyers’ club rules and leverage ensure real mitigation gains abroad
ETS Tracker
This tracker maps the EU ETS through data on emissions, compliance, allowances, auction revenues, prices and installations
European clean tech tracker
This tracker provides an overview of the main innovation, manufacturing and deployment trends in clean tech in Europe
The EU emissions trading system works but most industrial decarbonisation is still to come
Survey evidence shows regulated manufacturers respond to the EU carbon price, but want reassurance on policy direction and stringency
To what extent can green infrastructure investment mitigate China’s clean-energy overcapacity?
China’s green industrial strategy has outpaced demand, leaving renewables firms under strain and grid expansion as the key test of market rebalancing
Researchers
Maximilian Fuchs
Bruegel Affiliate Fellow
Heather Grabbe
Bruegel Senior Fellow
Jonathan D. Ostry
Bruegel Non-resident Fellow
Roberto Rossini
Energy and Climate Data Scientist
Alexander Roth
Bruegel Affiliate Fellow
Simone Tagliapietra
Bruegel Deputy Director
Georg Zachmann
Bruegel Senior Fellow
Publications
Energy Security amid Geopolitical Instability: Lessons from the 2026 Strait of Hormuz Shock
Buyer beware: a taxonomy of the risks of international carbon credits
As the EU reintegrates international carbon credits into its climate framework, understanding the associated risks is essential
Framing the EU challenge to deal with 'China Shock 2.0' in clean tech
Planning for the rising fiscal costs of climate disasters
Low insurance coverage is turning EU governments into disaster insurers of last resort, strengthening the case for prevention and adaptation finance
Europe must prepare for a possible oil supply crunch
With falling commercial and emergency oil reserves, Europe’s oil price shock could soon become a volume crisis – a scenario for which it must prepare
Tracking the EU Clean Industrialisation Process: A Focus on Batteries and Electric Vehicles
First glances
Europe’s climate-resilience moment has arrived
As global warming impacts are increasingly felt, the EU should turn climate adaptation from a national responsibility into a genuine European policy
The Iran energy shock is a test of European discipline on state aid
The latest EU temporary state-aid framework is needed to shield industries and consumers from short-term costs, but should not become more permanent
The fiscal fault lines of Europe’s energy shock
European measures to address the latest energy crisis are ignoring past lessons and long-term goals
How to read the European Commission’s Iran crisis energy emergency plan
EU countries should coordinate measures to offset rising energy prices from the Iran conflict, while using the crisis to drive longer-term change
The European Union is exporting carbon pricing through trade
Early experience of the EU carbon border adjustment mechanism shows trade can spread carbon pricing, but lower-income partners need support
Carbon pricing beyond borders: assessing climate policy spillovers from the EU carbon border adjustment mechanism
EU CBAM is nudging trade-exposed partners towards carbon pricing, but spillovers are concentrated in high and upper middle-income countries
Energy
Explore Bruegel's work on the energy transition.
Read morePodcasts
Future-proofing and creative destruction
How EU sustainable finance can find a way forward
Europe’s electric vehicle conundrum
What to do about Chinese overcapacity, EU subsidies and the electric transition
Europe and the Iran war
What does the conflict mean for inflation, oil prices, the economy and Ukraine?
Nature as equity
How can public money and financial markets work together to protect the environment?