Jointly organized by FSR Transport and the Florence Competition Programme in Law and Economics

Following the usual approach of the Florence School of Regulation, this Executive Seminar will bring together stakeholders and academics to discuss competition in the passenger railway market in Europe.

With the adoption of the 4^th Railway Package Europe is moving closer to a more competitive railway system.

The European Commission has been driving the change towards a Single European Railway Area in which European railway companies should be able to compete on largely interoperable infrastructure. But liberalization and market opening are means to an end: the competitive pressure should make the system more efficient and thereby improve the railway business and modal share overall. However, the merits of competition can only play out in the sector if undesired effects are prevented by competent regulatory authorities. In the railway sector, more competitive pressure can improve efficiency, but there is also need for cooperation and coordination in areas such as investment, research, innovation and capacity planning. After all, in spite of underdeveloped competition within the railway sector, significant competition for the railways comes from other transport modes, namely road.

Tendering subsidised lines will become mandatory by 2024. Open access operators will be able to offer competing commercial services on domestic long-distance routes throughout the EU beginning December 2020. Both railway companies and competent authorities need to prepare for this. Open access competition is currently limited to a few lines and a small set of competitors.  Competitive tendering for Public Service Obligation (PSO) lines has brought down costs for some lines but the necessary institutions are not yet in place everywhere. There is currently a patchwork of different national approaches and past experiences. Yet, given the national character of the railway system, regulation needs to account for different national situations avoiding the downsides of a one-size-fits-all approach.  Against this background, the European Commission is determined to set a level playing field and to improve enforcement of antitrust, State aid and regulatory rules in the sector.

This Executive Seminar will bring together sector representatives, railway regulators, competition regulators, and academics to discuss the state of play and future of competition in the passenger railway market.

Discussions will be structured along three questions and a concluding session:

• Challenges ahead in a competitive market – how to ensure the necessary coordination?

• Which way forward for open access competition and competitive PSO tendering? How to implement the new EU legal framework?

• How can competition policy (antitrust, State aid) contribute to a better functioning of railway markets? 

• Concluding Session: Which way forward for competition in Passenger Railways in Europe?

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Final Programme

Summary of Presentations

European Transport Regulation Observer

RELATED PRESENTATIONS

Introduction to Competition in Passenger Railways in Europe – MATTHIAS FINGER, Part-time Professor & Director of the Transport Area, Florence School of Regulation/EUI; and Professor, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne

Introduction to Competition in Passenger Railways in Europe – HENRIK MØRCH, DG COMP, European Commission

Challenges Ahead in a Competitive Market: How to Ensure Necessary Coordination – ERIC STAEBE, Deutsche Bahn AG

The Success Factors for Market Opening of Rail Services in France – PATRICIA PERENNES, FATMA RAHIL, SNCF

More Competition, More Coordination? – AIMÉE VERHULSDONCK, Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment Netherlands

UK Rail Passenger Services: Creating a Framework for Greater Competition – JOE QUILL, Office of Rail and Road UK

Competition in Passenger Railways in Europe – ALBERTO MAZZOLA, Ferrovie dello Stato

Introducing Competition in the Passenger Railway Sector: Open Access and Competitive PSO Tendering – CHRISTIAN JAAG, Swiss Economics

Competition in Passenger Railways in Europe – BARBORA MIČKOVÁ, LEO Express

Which Way Forward for Open Access Competition and Competitive PSO Tendering? – OLIVIER SALESSE, Rail and Road Regulatory Authority France

Good Theory and Practical Implementation – FRANCESCO LO PASSO, Brattle Group

Challenges in Opening Spanish Passenger Railways to Competition – PEDRO HINOJO, National Commission on Markets and Competition Spain

Competition Law in Railway Markets? A Swiss Perspective – MICHAEL SCHMIDT, SBB

Which way forward for competition in Passenger Railways in Europe? – GUNNAR ALEXANDERSSON, Stockholm School of Economics

Open Access Passenger Rail Competition in the Czech Republic – TOMÁŠ PALETA, Masaryk University

A big thank you to everyone discussing Railway Competition with us!@EU_Competition @Transport_EU #railways https://t.co/gQ1ummHmgz pic.twitter.com/5w3Z7y2Vso

— FSR Transport (@FSR_Transport) 19 giugno 2017

PICTURES OF THE DAY

Chaired by: Simone Borghesi, Director FSR Climate 

Download the programme. 

Papers and presentations
Videos

The 2017 Annual Conference on the Economic Assessment of European Climate Policies took place at the European University institute in Florence on 30 November- 1 December 2017.

The conference covered the main climate-related existing policies, at EU, national and subnational levels and included four plenary sessions on Energy efficiency, Renewable policies, Environmental taxation and EU ETS. 

Each session featured an invited speaker:

Energy efficiency: Andreas Löschel (University of Münster)

Renewable policies: Carolyn Fisher (Resources for the Future, USA)

Environmental taxation: Cameron Hepburn (University of Oxford and London School of Economics, UK)

EU ETS: Antoine Dechezleprêtre (London School of Economics, UK).

The conference keynote speech was delivered by Lucas Bretschger (ETH Zürich, Switzerland). 

Videos

Keynote and plenary speakers highlights

Papers/Presentations

30 NOVEMBER

Plenary presentation: EU ETS

The impact of the European Union emissions trading system on carbon emissions and economic performance
Antoine Dechezleprêtre,  OECD and London School of Economics

Session 1: Emissions trading

Trust, compliance and International regulation
Ara Jo, London School of Economics

A theory of gains from trade in multilaterally linked ETSs  (PAPER)
Baran Doda, London School of Economics, Simon Quemin, Luca Taschini

Impacts of the UK carbon price floor: a machine learning approach
Jan Abrell, Mirjam Kosch, ETH Zürich

Session 2: Renewables 

Putting renewable energy auctions into action – An agent-based model of onshore wind power auctions in Germany
Vasilios Anatolitis, Fraunhofer ISI, Marijke Welisch

Can the US keep the PACE? A natural experiment in accelerating the growth of solar electricity (PAPER)
Nadia Ameli, University College London, Mauro Pisu, Daniel M. Kammen

Does the stick make the carrot more attractive? State mandates and uptake of renewable heating technologies
Martin Achtnicht, Robert Germeshausen, Kathrine von Graevenitz, Centre for  European Economic Research

Keynote speech

Basic climate model: theory and policy
Lucas Bretschger,  ETH Zürich

Plenary presentation: Environmental taxation

Making carbon pricing work
Cameron Hepburn, University of Oxford and London School of Economics

Session 3: Energy and carbon taxation

Compensating households from carbon tax regressivity and fuel poverty: a microsimulation study (PAPER)
Audrey Berry, Centre International de la Recherche sur l’Environnement et le Développement

Time-consistent carbon pricing
Olga Chiappinelli, DIW Berlin, Karsten Neuhoff

North-South transfers of climate-mitigation technologies: the crowding-out effect on relocation
Julie Ing, Jean-Philippe Nicolaï,| ETH Zürich

Session 4: Energy efficiency

Relations between preferences over risk, time, and losses and household adoption of energy efficient technologies in Europe (PAPER)
Joachim Schleich, Grenoble École de management, Xavier Gassmann, Thomas Meissner, Corinne Faure

Efficiency gap and optimal energy conservation incentives
Franz Wirl, University of Vienna

Heterogeneous treatment effects in energy efficiency upgrades: an econometric analysis of UK policies
Daire McCoy, London School of Economics, Francois Cohen, Antoine Dechezleprêtre, Raphaela Kotsch

Plenary presentation: Renewable policies

The case for a reserve price in the EU ETS
Carolyn Fischer, Resources for the Future

Session 5: Multiple instruments in climate policy

On the dynamic efficiency of trade-related climate policy instruments – competitive pressure and emission-reducing innovation
Claudio Baccianti, Oliver Schenker, Frankfurt School of Finance & Management

Carbon contracts: a way to finance innovative low carbon investments
Jörn C. Richstein, DIW Berlin

As bad as it gets: how climate damage functions affect growth and the social cost of carbon (PAPER)
Lucas Bretschger, Aimilia Pattakou, ETH Zürich

Session 6: Climate and energy policy issues

Let’s talk about the weather: the impact of climate change on central banks (PAPER)
Sandra Batten, Bank of England, Rhiannon Sowerbutts and Misa Tanaka

EU climate change policies from an EP perspective
Georgios Amanatidis, European Parliament

Environmentally counterproductive support measures in Austria – empirical analysis for energy and transport (PAPER)
Daniela Kletzan-Slamanig, Austrian Institute of Economic Research, Angela Köppl

Why renewable policy must fully account for renewable gas
Tim Cayford, Eurogas, Eva Hennig, Thüga AG
Paper (by Tim Cayford)

1 DECEMBER

 
Session 7: Emissions trading

Flexibility in the market for International carbon credits and price dynamics difference with European allowances  (PAPER)
Claire Gavard, Centre for European Economic Research, Djamel Kirat

Carbon pricing, coastal proximity and plant survival: evidence from the European cement sector
Tobias Udsholt, OECD, Misato Sato

Strategic delegation and centralised climate policy (PAPER)
Maria Arvaniti, Umeå University, Wolfgang Habla

Session 8: Renewables

Local labor impact of wind energy investment: an analysis of Portuguese municipalities
Hélia Costa, Toulouse School of Economics, Linda Veiga

The economics of renewable energy support and implications for policy design
Jan Abrell, ETH Zürich, Clemens Streitberger, Sebastian Rausch

The effect of intermittency on the integration of wind, natural gas and coal
Aryestis Vlahakis, ETH Zürich

Plenary presentation: Energy efficiency

Energy efficiency and energy demand flexibility
Andreas Löschel, University of Münster

Session 9: Energy and carbon taxation

Waste is money: behavioral changes in waste generation behavior when households pay-as-they throw
Marica Valente, Humboldt University Berlin and DIW Berlin

The impacts of energy prices on industrial foreign investment location: evidence from global firm level data
Aurélien Saussay, OFCE, SciencesPo, Misato Sato

The impact of energy prices on employment and environmental performance: evidence from French manufacturing establishments
Francesco Vona, OFCE, SciencePo

 
Session 10: Renewables

On the economics of recycling and small open circular economies
Juan F. García, KU Leuven, Sandra Rousseau, Johan Eyckmans

Energy transition, technology spillovers and policies (PAPER)
Chiara Colesanti Senni, ETH Zürich, Adriana Marcucci

How much does policy stability matter for policy effectiveness? An econometric study of feed-in tariff policies and solar PV deployment in 15 countries from 2000-2012
Mook Bangalore, London School of Economics

*******

Speakers bios 

Lucas Bretschger is Full Professor of Economics/Resource Economics at ETH Zurich and President of the European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists (EAERE). His main research interests are the theory and policy of natural resources and the environment as well as growth, trade, climate, and public economics. He is a Research Associate at the University of Oxford and holds the title of Professor at the University of Zurich. He has been a consultant to the Swiss government on climate issues, a member of the Swiss delegation at international climate negotiations, and the founder of the SURED Conference on Monte Verità, which brings together leading experts on sustainable resource use and economic dynamics.

Antoine Dechezleprêtre is a Senior Economist at the OECD where he heads the joint Green Growth work stream of the Economics Department and the Environment Directorate. He is currently on leave from the London School of Economics, where he is an Associate Professorial Research Fellow at the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment. His work deals principally with the impact of environmental policies on businesses, in particular on the development and adoption of cleaner technologies. His research has been published in international scientific journals in the field of applied microeconomics, environmental economics and energy economics. He holds a PhD in economics from Ecole des Mines de Paris (France).

Carolyn Fischer is a Senior Fellow at Resources for the Future and the Marks Visiting Professor of Gothenburg University for 2017-2018. She is a Fellow of the CESifo Research Network, a recent Marie Skłodowska–Curie Fellow of the European Commission, and now a Council Member for the European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists. She is co-editor of Environmental and Resource Economics and serves on the editorial board of the Review of Environmental Economics and Policy and the International Review of Environmental and Resource Economics. She earned her Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Michigan—Ann Arbor in 1997.

Her research focuses on policy instrument design applied to a variety of environmental and resource management issues, including climate and renewable energy policies, carbon leakage, technological innovation, eco-certification, and wildlife conservation.

Cameron Hepburn is the Director of the Economics of Sustainability Programme, based at the Institute for New Economic Thinking at the Oxford Martin School. He is also Professor of Environmental Economics at the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment, a Fellow at New College, Oxford, and a Professorial Research Fellow at the Grantham Research Institute at the LSE. He has published widely on energy, resources and environmental challenges across disciplines including engineering, biology, philosophy, economics, public policy and law, drawing on degrees in law, engineering and doctorate in economics.  He provides advice on energy and climate policy to government ministers (e.g. China, India, UK and Australia) and international institutions (e.g. OECD, UN) around the world.

Professor Andreas Löschel holds a chair for Energy and Resource Economics at the University of Münster and is Director of the Centre of Applied Economic Research Münster (CAWM) since 2014. He chairs the Energy Expert Commission of the German Government to monitor the energy transformation and was a Lead Author in the Working Group III contribution to the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report. The Handelsblatt ranking of German economists lists him among the Top-100 in 2017. In the Ranking of Economists of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (F.A.Z.), he was several times among the 50 most influential economists in Germany. He is a member of the German National Academy of Science and Technology (acatech).

Past annual conferences  

FSR Climate Annual Conference 2016

FSR Climate Annual Conference 2015

To conclude its 2017 activities, FSR Transport is hosting its Policy Advisory Council. The Advisory Council gathers representatives of all donors, and provides suggestions to the Area Director concerning the Area’s working programme and financial plan. Continue reading “FSR Transport Policy Advisory Council”

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Final programme

Summary of Presentations

The Observer: Private Financing of Railway Infrastructure

Following the usual format of the Florence School of Regulation, the 15^th Florence Rail Forum aims at offering a platform for senior stakeholders from regulators, railway undertakings, infrastructure managers, rail suppliers, authorities, associations and academics to take stock of topics relevant to mobility regulation and policies. Discussing with us on this occasion will be, among others, Mr Karel Vinck, European ERTMS Coordinator and Mr Keir Fitch Head of Unit at DG MOVE, European Commission.

Continue reading “15th Florence Rail Forum: Private Financing of Railway Infrastructures”

FSR online debate in collaboration with the SmartNet Project

Ancillary services from distribution: how to manage the revolution?

Moderated by:

• Nicolo Rossetto (FSR)

 Speakers:

• Marco Rossi (SmartNet, RSE)
• Daan Six  (SmartNet Project, Vito/Energy Ville)
• Carlos Madina (SmartNet Project, Tecnalia)

An open Q&A will follow.

In the very near future, distribution and transmission systems will have to cope with an increasing amount of intermittent renewable generation.

Who should manage the ancillary services distributed energy resources (DERs) are potentially able to provide?

The deployment of DG, ICT and more active consumers are changing the way distribution grids are planned and operated. It is a revolution that represents both a challenge and an opportunity. New technological and regulatory solutions must be developed. We will discuss and compare the different possibilities with the team of the SmartNet Project.

SmartNet is a 3-years research project funded by the Horizon 2020 programme dedicated to the analysis of the TSO-DSO interaction to enable ancillary services provision from distributed energy resources.

FSR & SmartNet join #EUSEW2017!

This online event has been conceived as an Energy Day event and organised in the context of the Sustainable Energy Week.

Learn more about the Energy Days.

FSR Webinar:

‘The Baltic Sea Pipelines and EU Law’ │ 23 May 10.30 – 11.30 (CEST)

Join Professor Kim Talus (University of Eastern Finland and University of Helsinki) for an Open Access Online Lecture and Open Discussion on the Baltic Sea pipelines and EU law organised by the FSR Energy Law & Policy Area

At present, Russia accounts for one third of the EU’s gas imports, a persistently troubling dependency for the EU. Since the announcement in 2015 of the Russian state-controlled energy group Gazprom’s $11 billion Nord Stream 2 project, intended to pipe natural gas from Russia across the Baltic Sea into Germany, it has been a contentious and deeply divisive issue among Member States.

Watch the Webinar Recording

Download the Presentation (PDF)

The EU has struggled to reach a consensus on the economic merits of the development versus the risks of strengthening Russia’s dominance in the European gas market and, in turn, being held captive to geopolitical manoeuvres. Multiple vying perspectives have drawn on EU law and EU internal energy market rules in arguments and counter arguments over the development of the pipeline.

• With both Russia and Germany having eschewed an intergovernmental agreement, what lies ahead for Nord Stream 2?
• Is Nord Stream 2 compatible with the principles of the Energy Union? With diversification and security of supply arguments against the project having already been rejected, to what extent, if at all, can EU law be applied to the project?

EU electricity network codes, looking back and forward:

The development and amendment process.

FSR Online debate | 21 June 11am-12noon CEST

The third liberalization package introduced network codes to be developed by the European Commission, ACER, the ENTSOs, and stakeholders in order to implement the EU target model for the internal electricity market.

In this interactive live event, we will look

• back at the development process of the network codes ‘Made in Europe’
• forward to the winter package proposals to change the development process for new codes, and the amendment process for the existing codes ‘New Deal or Bad Deal for stakeholders?’

Moderator:

• Leonardo Meeus, FSR

Speakers:

• Marta Mendoza-Villamayor, Entso-e
• Martin Povh, ACER
• Hélène Robaye, Eurelectric
• Maria-Eugenia Leoz-Martin-Casallo, European Commission

Download the slides

Ports play an important role in maritime, road and rail transportation. The regulation of port activities, therefore, affects all the transport modes. This Forum aims at exploring the current challenges in ports’ regulation and their implications for transport in general and on intermodal transport in particular.

Ports were historically thought of as locations where vessels could load and discharge cargo; they were not considered as a transportation provider but as an interface. Today’s port is no longer an isolated node but instead is an integral part of the global logistics system or, as it is more commonly known, the global supply chain. The global supply chain is actually a network of individual supply chains that follow specific trade routes. Each component of the supply chain, including the ocean carriers, ports, terminals, and intermodal service providers, are equally responsible for the success of the transportation product being delivered. That transportation product must please the shipper or they will shift their business to another logistics system, i.e., route, and thus another port.

Ports have always been competitive with one another but now it is supply chains that compete for cargo and the economic development that accompanies port enterprises. Today’s competitive pressures come from not only business interests but also from shifting world trading patterns, maritime security threats, environmental regulations, and public and community demands and concerns including health and congestion. This requires the efficient, secure, and cost-effective transport of the goods from the seller to the buyer. With all these issues and the risk of disruptions to supply chain flows from natural and human-related incidents, how are governments to help promote maritime practices at these logistic interfaces and maintain the competitive-driven efficiencies that private businesses bring to the transportation enterprise?

The Forum will give the opportunity to senior stakeholders to address these issues by discussing, inter alia, the following questions:

• Who are currently the important actors in port regulation? And who should it be ideally?
• How do port regulations affect maritime and intermodal transport?
• How does the regulation of connecting transport modes (e.g. rail, road) affect the port activities?
• What actions can regulators take to ease the connectivity between maritime and land transport? How should governments help to promote maritime practices?
• Which are the challenges laying ahead?

For more information or early registration, please contact FSR.Transport@eui.eu

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Final Programme

Summary of the Presentations

The Florence School of Regulation is partnering with ENTSO-E and EDSO for Smart Grids in the organisation of the InnoGrid2020+ Conference, that will be held on 26-27 June in Brussels.

• Which hard and soft technologies can enable a smart and sustainable energy system?
• Which regulation is needed? Will the active customer paradigm and active system management become a reality?
• What would that mean for networks integration and the TSOs-DSOs interface?
• What is the role of data hubs and what are the European rules related to cybersecurity and privacy?

The Conference will focus its sixth edition on the arising Network of Networks, where power grids and transport, telecom and IT, digital and physical link up in an unprecedented manner. Special attention will be dedicated to the rapidly evolving transmission-distribution interface.

Maroš Šefčovič (Vice President for the Energy Union at the European Commission), Kaja Kallas (MEP), Kamila Kloc (Digital Single Market Deputy Head of Cabinet at the European Commission) and Alberto Pototschnig (Director of ACER) are only a few among the distinguished speakers that will contribute to the discussion.

Venue: The Square, Glass Entrance, Mont des Arts, 1000 Brussels

For further info visit InnoGrid 2020+’s page

Register here

The Florence School of Regulation is hosting the 7^th edition of its Executive Seminar on Thursday 22^nd June 2017.

This exclusive event brings together high level representatives from TSOs, NRAs and the European Commission, as well as academics and industry experts in order to debate some of the most critical issues in the operation of the EU power system and the management of solidarity during power emergencies.

The Seminar is divided into two sessions as follows:

Session 1 – Regional Operation of EU Power System: Issues and Practice

What has to be operated at the regional level and why? What is already done at the regional level and how? What has to be done in terms of system safety and adequacy? What are the main regulatory obstacles to coordination? What is necessary beyond the implementation of network codes?

Session 2 – Solidarity in Power Emergency Management: Issues and Practice

The week 15-21 January 2017 has been tough for the EU power system. What did happen to the system? What was the portfolio of coordination and solidarity tools existing at the beginning of the week?  What has been done during that week by the involved TSOs? What are the lessons to be learned for the next emergency event?

Please note that this is a closed-door event and participation is by invitation only.

Presentation of the FSR Report | 11 May 2017, 11.00-12.30

CEER Secretariat (Cours Saint-Michel, 30a – Brussels)

FSR check-up of the existing EU frame for Power Transmission System Regulation: missing pillars and roadblocks

Speakers:

• Jean-Michel Glachant(Director, FSR)
• Jorge Vasconcelos(Chairman, Newes)
• Ben Voorhorst(Chief Operating Officer, TenneT)
• Florian Ermacora (Head of Unit, DG ENER)
• Nicolò Rossetto (Researcher, FSR)

During the event, FSR will present its last research report “Moving the electricity transmission system towards a decarbonised and integrated Europe: missing pillars and roadblocks” and discuss the findings with relevant stakeholders.

Download the Research Report

For a preview of the Research Report, a Policy Brief is now available!

Draft agenda:

• 11.00 – 11.10: Welcome by J.M. Glachant
• 11.10 – 11.40: Presentation of the research report by J.M. Glachant and J. Vasconcelos
• 11.40 – 12.30: Panel debate on the identified missing pillars and blocking stones: are the most relevant ones? what is the position of the stakeholders? what are the ways forward? 
• 12.30 – 13.30: Light lunch

Download the draft programme

Register here

SEMINAR

Speaker: Christian de Perthuis, Professor of Economics, Paris-Dauphine University; Head of the Climate Economics Chair

Discussant: Xavier Labandeira, Director, FSR Climate 

Video recording of the seminar

Abstract by the author

At a conference on the EU-ETS in Florence in September 2012, I recommended rebuilding the market governance, with the creation of an independent market authority in order to provide flexibility and CO2 price predictability. Five years later, the process of reforming the EU-ETS has led to more complexity, lower CO2 prices and increasing difficulties to coordinate the joint management of the EU-ETS with other climate-energy policy instruments. In particular, the market stability reserve design, due to enter into force in two years, already appears to be unsuited to correct these imbalances. Drawing lessons from this experience, my new recommendations would be to introduce a hybrid scheme with a price corridor, transforming the EU-ETS in a “quasi tax” scheme for several years. This would make the functioning of the EU-ETS more similar to operating schemes in North-America and would give new perspectives to extend carbon pricing to others sectors (e.g. road transportation and building management). The main lesson from the EU-ETS experience seems that it is quite impossible, in the current context, to coordinate a European carbon market with other policy instruments.

Christian De Perthuis is Professor of Economics at Paris-Dauphine University and Head of the Climate Economics Chair. He started his career in the agricultural sector, went on to work in leading French research and forecasting institutes and headed the ”Mission Climat” of Caisse des Dépots between 2004 and 2008. He created the Climate Economics Chair of Paris Dauphine University in 2010. His research focuses on the economics of climate change and ecological transition. Author of several articles and books, he is co-author of Green Capital (Odile Jacob, 2013, Columbia University Press, 2015) and of Le Climat, à quel prix? La négociation climatique (Odile Jacob, 2015) He chaired the «Green Tax Commission », which helped the French Government to set up a domestic carbon tax in 2014.