The Group of Energy, Economy and Systems Dynamics (GEEDS) of the University of Valladolid is formed by a group of professors and researchers with previous experience in the field of environmental issues and personal involvement in ecology and development cooperation. Therefore, we want to bring our concerns as citizens of the world to academic research at the University.

With funding from the EU’s Horizon 2020 programme, the ‘Low-carbon society: an enhanced modelling tool for the transition to sustainability’ (LOCOMOTION) aims to design a new set of IAMs (Integrated Assessment Models) to provide policymakers and relevant stakeholders with a reliable and practical modelling system to assess the feasibility, effectiveness, costs and ramifications of different sustainability policy options. By doing so, LOCOMOTION will help them to identify the most effective transition pathways towards a low-carbon society.

The transition to a low carbon economy needs to achieve multiple aims: competitiveness, protection of the environment, creation of quality jobs, and social welfare. Thus policy-makers and other key stakeholders require tools that need to focus beyond the energy sector by including these other domains of economy, society and the environment. Currently, most available tools lack integration of these important areas despite being tightly connected to the energy sector. Moreover, current energy modelling tools often lack documentation, transparency and have been developed for a specialized insider audience, which makes validation and comparison of results as well as independent review impossible. Our project aims to solve the current needs of integration and transparency by developing a leading-edge policy modelling tool based on WoLiM, TIMES and LEAP models and incorporating Input-Output Analysis, that allows for accounting of environmental, social and economic impacts. The modular design of the tool will take into account the necessary flexibility to deal with different levels and interests of stakeholders at great sectorial and spatial detail. Finally, transparency will be achieved through an open access freeware distribution of the model based on the open access programming language (Python), providing a detailed user manual, addressed to a wider non-specialist audience, and including free internet courses and learning materials