An Ecosystemic Approach for Energy Transition in the Mediterranean Region

Abstract

Energy transition will mark the political agenda for the next years in the UE Members States, not only by the commitments achieved, but also by the urgency of Climate Change hazards. The Mediterranean Region acquires a relevant role for its vulnerability to rise of temperatures, sea level rise and scarcity of water and resources. Energy supply is one of the priorities for Europe, and most of the efforts should be oriented on renew abIes as the principal energy source option to support. Despite the fact that urban areas are the most densely populated, rural areas represent more extension of European territory than urban areas. In the case of the MED area, this is not the exception, an important part of the territory of Portugal, Spain, France, Italy or Greece is considered as rural typology of regions (Eurostat 2017). Currently, Rural Areas are becoming more vulnerable due to an increasing process of depopulation and aging. In most of the cases, rural areas lose attractiveness for new generations, and most of the people migrate to cities. At the same time, climate change is expected to worsen the existing vulnerability of rural areas. Accordingly to the 5th IPCC report55“ … rural areas are expected to experience major impacts on water availability and supply, food security, infrastructure and agricultural incomes, including shifts in the production areas of food and non-food crops around the world. These impacts will disproportionately affect the welfare of the poor in rural areas, such as female-headed households and those with limited access to land, modern agricultural inputs, infrastructure and education”., such pressure is expected to generate conflicts in resource-dependent livelihoods. EU Projects represent an opportunity to bring new ideas and initiatives not only at scientific field but also for economy and social development. Interreg Med Programme66https://interreg-med.eu/ organizes its architecture into eight Thematic Communities grouped as well in three axes: 1) Innovation; 2) Low Carbon Economy; and 3) Natural and cultural resources. The Renewable Energy Community77https://renewable-energies.interreg-med.eu/ forms part of the Low Carbon Economy axe and it is constituted by six Modular Projects: Compose; Forbioenergy; Local4green; Pegasus; Prismi and Stores. Then also counts with one Horizontal Project: Greencap, which has the role of capitalization and main dissemination of the community. All projects jointly promote an energy model based on local renewable sources and sharing management through microgrids in the Mediterranean Region developing several planning, management and governance tools. Even that most of the strategies can be replicated and adapted to urban areas; RES Community focuses on rural and islands areas as a main focus. Most of the current issues around energy transition claim for a holistic vision that founds solutions that can be able to face the complexity of implementation processes. For that reason, RES Community finds its common approach through an ecosystemic base thinking; merging the essential technical outcomes from each one of Modular Projects in an integral strategy addressed to four policy pillars: Climate Change, Energy Transition, Land use Planning and Circular Economy. For that purpose, Greencap Horizontal Project, proposes to exemplify this integral strategy through Ecosystemic Transition Units (E TU), as a planning and management tool to boost and ensure energy transition at regional and local level authorities. The aim of this paper is to present the methodological and conceptual framework of this strategy as a basis for a new policy recommendation at Mediterranean Region.