The primary objective of the CANES project is to improve our understanding of how investment patterns in Nordic energy systems are and will be affected by political changes aimed at mitigation of and adaptation to climate change.

Empirically, the project focuses on how current and planned climate-induced policies at the EU and national levels affect energy demand, supply and infrastructure development in Norway and Sweden, recognising the strong interconnectedness of the national energy systems in these two countries.

In order to achieve its primary objective, the project seeks to improve our understanding of:

• Factors that promote and restrain the integration of climate concerns into EU policy areas with repercussions on investment patterns in the Nordic energy system.
• Domestic factors promoting and restraining integration of climate concerns in the Norwegian and Swedish energy systems with repercussions on national energy system investment patterns.
• How EU policies interact with domestic factors in Norway and Sweden to strengthen/weaken investment options.
• How domestic factors across the Nordic countries interact, through the interconnectedness of national energy systems, to affect investment patterns.

The project is carried out in close cooperation with key industrial players. For these, the project aims to:

• Enhance their readiness to respond to political developments at national, Nordic and EU levels.
• Improve their forecasting concerning future needs for production capacity and energy infrastructure, nationally and across borders.
• Contribute to the identification of politically feasible future balancing strategies for the Nordic energy system in a carbon-constrained world.

Project period: 2007-2011