Work Package 1: Foundations

Description

Work Package 1 consists of five tasks:

  1. Construction of a common household database
  2. Identification of representative household types
  3. Development of decarbonisation policy scenarios
  4. Development of scenarios for compensation measures
  5. Scenario validation and finalisation

Construction of a common household database

A common household database will be constructed, which is a matched dataset containing individual data of the EU-SILC dataset and the Austrian Household Budget Survey. This database will serve as the joint database for all models in the project framework and allows the identification of representative household types in the next task.

Identification of representative household types

Household types will be identified starting from the common household database set up in the previous task. The results of a data analysis will be combined with a literature survey and discussions with experts and stakeholders to define a final set of representative households that will be the focal point of the model analysis in Work Package 3.

Development of decarbonisation policy scenarios

Policy scenarios until 2040 will be developed that depict options for a full decarbonisation of passenger transport and residential buildings in Austria. The scenarios will include a broad range of policy instruments such as price-based instruments (energy or carbon taxes, road pricing, subsidies), command-and-control instruments (like building standards or bans of combustion engines) or public spending on infrastructure (e.g. for improving public transport). Moreover, exogenous factors (like net energy prices or population growth) will be considered. Starting point for the scenarios will i.a. be a comparison with countries with ambitious energy and climate policy (e.g. Norway, Sweden, Denmark), as well as the standard price forecasts used e.g. by the EU.

Development of scenarios for compensation measures

In addition to the decarbonisation policy scenarios, scenarios for policies mitigating negative distributional effects of climate policy measures for different household types in Austria (e.g. eco-bonus payments from additional tax revenues, subsidy programs targeted at low-income households) will be developed.

Scenario validation and finalisation

A workshop (Work Package 5) with researchers and stakeholders from administration, interest groups and NGOs will be organised to discuss both the decarbonisation and compensation policy scenarios and to validate the scenarios and the household typologies. Moreover, upon completion of first model simulations in WP4 and discussions of the findings with stakeholders and the Scientific Advisory Board (SAB), the scenarios will be refined and adjusted.


Last update: November 2021