Climate Neutrality Decision Models in Action

The project aims to establish a unified national decision support tool for achieving Latvia’s climate neutrality goal. The focus is on modelling the impact of policy decisions across various sectors—energy (including transport), industrial processes, agriculture, LULUCF, and waste management. Tasks include analysing climate policy commitments, assessing climate tools, identifying innovative technologies, and addressing data needs. The plan involves scrutinizing EU and Latvia’s adherence to climate obligations, evaluating climate change mitigation and adaptation tools, and identifying advanced technologies in all economic sectors. The project aims to develop novel solutions for reducing climate change impacts and assesses data needs and quality, emphasizing regulatory compliance. The project will prototype an online data system for the energy sector, ensuring accurate climate neutrality forecasting. The project also entails creating an integrated decision-making support system using a system dynamics modelling approach covering economic, social, technological, environmental, and climate aspects. Additionally, an interactive platform for climate mitigation measure validation will be developed, considering cost-optimal pathways for Latvia. The aim is to enhance education quality and supplement the existing scientific knowledge base, promoting a wider impact on decision-making bodies and fostering a sustainable approach to climate policy.

Within the project, RSU is responsible for WP3: Climate Policy Analysis & Integration into Decision Support Models. RSU team analyses the climate policy commitments and necessary actions contained in the EU and global development planning documents and regulatory acts in five sectors: energy (including transport), industrial processes, agriculture, LULUCF, and waste management. In addition, the team studies the best practices in the EU and/or EEA countries on effective implementation of climate policies. In cooperation with Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences, whose responsibility is to scrutinize development planning documents and regulatory acts on national level, RSU contributes to quantification of obtained results and incorporating of them into decision support system model.

Deliverables

• A unified national decision support tool will be developed linking different sectors of the economy for policy impact simulation.
• Optimal pathways will be identified toward climate neutrality taking into account technological, economic, social and environmental dimensions.
• Policy recommendations will be elaborated for policy development, ensuring Latvia's contribution to achievement of strategic climate goals.
• The research results will be summarized in 10 scientific publications in scientific journals indexed in Scopus and/or ISI Web of Science databases.