In a time of binding initiatives to take action for a more climate-friendly economy that relies on a more sustainable energy future, governments and policy makers are under pressure for a better decision making. In line with the objectives marked in the EU’s Roadmap 2050, the role of the European institutions is changing and so is the need for scientific support to policy makers. The extension of the EU’s role reflects a "system transformation" under which technological solutions alone are insufficient to address the "grand challenge" in energy research. Therefore it is necessary to consider the complex interaction of socio-technical elements, such as consumer behavior and acceptance, markets and technologies.

A consortium of partners from across Europe which are all participating in the Joint Programs of Research of the European Energy Research Alliance (EERA) was mobilized to share knowledge, tools, and methodologies to support the long-term goals of the European energy and climate policy, as laid out in the "Roadmap for moving to a low-carbon economy in 2050". The Joint Program on Economic, Environmental, and Social Impacts of Energy Policies and Technologies ("e3s") will provide tools and methodologies for combining the different needs and uses from a system perspective and for planning the energy transition more efficiently. The "e3s" program will address this methodological challenge by an interaction of five sub-programs (SPs) and their respective work packages.

Being part of Sub-Program 3 (SP3 – Life cycle approach for evaluating the sustainability performance of energy technologies) under the aegis of ITAS, representative indicators must be selected and/or defined in order to evaluate energy technologies regarding their impacts on the environment and the economy, but also on society with a multi-criteria approach.

Project website: www.eera-set.eu

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