Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) constitutes a global commitment that necessitates the development of innovative strategies to integrate research, policy, and practice effectively. In the European Union (EU), multi-stakeholder engagement has become a vital strategy for tackling complex climate and energy research challenges. This approach is crucial to establishing research priorities that effectively address SDGs 7 and 13. Despite its recognized importance, the existing literature offers no comprehensive overview and guidance on effective multi-stakeholder engagement in EU-funded climate and energy research. This study shows that a scoping review, combined with stakeholder co-design workshops, can reveal key gaps and inform guidelines for robust multi-stakeholder engagement. A systematic review of 23 published articles using criteria drawn from the broader stakeholder engagement literature found that engagement terminology is rarely defined and often used interchangeably, indicating a gap between the literature and its real-world application. This study also provides guidelines for conducting effective stakeholder engagement, drawing upon the broader stakeholder engagement literature, the outcomes of the scoping review, and lessons learned during the European Climate and Energy Modelling forum project. Three co-design workshops engaging 85 stakeholders conducted in 2021 and 2022 uncovered 83 research priorities centred on policy, regulation, and using energy and climate models to inform policymaking. These research priorities are provided as an open data set. The findings of the study underscore the need for standardized engagement practices to enhance the impact of EU-funded climate and energy research and guide future policy and research initiatives.

Located in Southern Europe, the Drina River Basin is shared between Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and Serbia. The power sectors of the three countries have an exceptionally high dependence on coal for power generation. In this paper, we analyse different development pathways for achieving climate neutrality in these countries and explore the potential of variable renewable energy (VRE) and its role in power sector decarbonization. Weinvestigate whether hydro and nonhydro renewables can enable a net-zero transition by 2050 and how VRE might affect the hydropower cascade shared by the three countries. The Open-Source Energy Modelling System (OSeMOSYS) was used to develop a model representation of the countries' power sectors. Findings show that the renewable potential of the countries is a significant 94.4 GW. This potential is 68% higher than previous assessments have shown. Under an Emission Limit scenario assuming net zero by 2050, 17% of this VRE potential is utilized to support the decarbonization of the power sectors. Additional findings show a limited impact of VRE technologies on total power generation output from the hydropower cascade. However, increased solar deployment shifts the operation of the cascade to increased short-term balancing, moving from baseload to more responsive power generation patterns. Prolonged use of thermal power plants is observed under scenarios assuming high wholesale electricity prices, leading to increased emissions. Results from scenarios with low cost of electricity trade suggest power sector developments that lead to decreased energy security.

The understanding of the transboundary impact of Climate Change on hydropower is not well-established in the literature, where few studies take a system perspective to understand the relative roles of different technological solutions for coordinated water and energy management. This study contributes to addressing this gap by introducing an open-source, long-term, technologically-detailed water and energy resources cost-minimisation model for the Drin River Basin, built in OSeMOSYS.The analysis shows that climate change results in a 15-52% annual decline in hydro generation from the basin by mid-century. Albania needs to triple its investments in solar and wind to mitigate the risk of climate change. Changing the operational rules of hydropower plants has a minor impact on the electricity supply. However, it can spare significant storage volume for flood control.

Worldwide, cities are implementing circular economy (CE) strategies to reduce the resources they consume and their environmental impact. However, the evidence of the intended and unintended social consequences of the transition to “circular cities” is scattered. The lack of a coherent overview of the evidence on the subject can hinder effective decision-making in policy and practice. This study examines the extent to which the current literature addresses the social impacts that a transition to a CE produces in cities. We used a methodological approach related to systematic mapping to collate the evidence published over the past decade globally. The study finds that social impacts have rarely been considered in studies of circular cities, and where they have been discussed, the scope has been quite limited, only covering employment (mostly of informal sector workers) and governance practices. This scoping review highlights the need to further analyse and integrate social impact considerations into decision-making connected to transitions towards circular cities.

The understanding of the transboundary impact of Climate Change on hydropower is not well-established in the literature, where few studies take a system perspective to understand the relative roles of different technological solutions for coordinated water and energy management. This study contributes to addressing this gap by introducing an open-source, long-term, technologically-detailed water and energy resources cost-minimisation model for the Drin River Basin, built in OSeMOSYS. 

The analysis shows that climate change results in a 15-52% annual decline in hydro generation from the basin by mid-century. Albania needs to triple its investments in solar and wind to mitigate the risk of climate change. Changing the operational rules of hydropower plants has a minor impact on the electricity supply. However, it can spare significant storage volume for flood control.