The European Union (EU) began a liberalization process during the past decades, in order to create an internal market for gas and electricity by breaking up vertically integrated national companies, allowing entry on the supply side and consumer switching on the demand side. The final aim of this process was to create a single market, open to competition for the benefit of all consumers. While the creation of a single internal energy market is without doubt one of the top priorities for the immediate future, decarbonization of energy systems has also become a mainstream topic in an attempt to achieve the Paris Agreement. This course addresses and integrates key economic, institutional, regulatory and developmental aspects of European energy markets, from the perspective of the 2015 Paris agreement. The course provides insights into the energy transition from fossil fuels towards low-carbon and renewable energy sources, and explains the challenges to be overcome. The objectives of this course are to:

" Communicate some facts about global energy industries and energy policy;

" Explain how emerging regulations may change industry decision-making;

" Describe how modern markets for energy commodities are structured;

" Describe how existing and emerging environmental concerns and policies will impact these markets;

Course syllabus:

" Fundamentals of the energy sector: Liberalization and regulation activities, the EU energy policy, pricing and contracting, changing business models, price regulation, regulation of networks, peak-load pricing, market power, antitrust regulation, vertical & horizontal integration

o Liberalization of network industries & Deregulation of energy markets - Natural monopoly & contestable markets - Essential facilities - Workable competition

o Optimal solution versus General Equilibrium - Externalities & Public goods

" Understanding energy markets: A major goal is to help participants understand how market design, market institutions and regulatory structures affect firm-level decision making in the energy industries, and ultimately how these decisions affect the functioning of energy markets and the prospects for alternative technologies

o Global energy market outlook - Economics of the electricity / oil & gas value chain

o Economics of the carbon market / Green markets

" The onset of the energy transition, from a global and EU perspective: The impact of the energy transition to date on the actors/stakeholders in the energy value chain & expected and predicted developments (renewables, storage, grid smartness, green gas (hydrogen, synthetic methane,...) on the energy sector and the integration with other sectors

o Towards full decarbonization - Neutral carbon economy

o Sector coupling & Sectoral integration

Learning objectives: Upon completion of this course the participants will be able to:

" Assess the geopolitical and regulatory frameworks of energy markets

" Illustrate the dynamics of the energy industry

" Anticipate the challenges and opportunities of building sustainable energy frameworks to achieve full decarbonization and see the energy transition through the lens of European objectives and policies

" Explain supply and demand in the different energy sectors (gas, heat and electricity markets)

" Examine the core processes and dynamics of the energy value chain, including the roles of various stakeholders in the industry

Assessment: essay, oral examination, timely submission of draft materials, peer-review