Trends in energy policy coordination research on supporting low-carbon energy development

Abstract

The transition of the world's energy system to a low-carbon system is instrumental in achieving global carbon neutrality. This transition of the energy system requires coordination and cooperation among different energy-focused agents as well as integrated development between the agents and the system. However, the low-carbon transition of the overall system cannot be achieved by the spontaneous evolution of the system itself, but requires policy guidance and the coordination of different directions and measures. Policy coordination can effectively integrate the goals and measures of energy policy, and can drive the development of agents within the energy system. In-depth survey and analysis on energy policy coordination show that more attention should be paid to these two research topics: dual carbon target and supply security of the energy system. Specifically, demand-side response, consumption-side reforms, and energy management innovation would become new research priorities. And future research methods of energy policy coordination should focus on quantitative analysis and machine learning. Further, econometric methods should be combined to explore the stack effect of multiple agents within the energy systems. Based on different logical approaches associated with energy policy choices, a multi-agent and multi-dimensional policy coordination framework should be constructed to provide implementation strategies for a coordinated evolutionary transition to low-carbon energy.