Karin Kruup

CoE ENER covers 53% of final energy use in Estonia as well as major energy saving measures with highest investment volumes. CoE aims to contribute to Estonian societal and economic challenge to transform 75% of existing building stock with poor energy performance to zero emission buildings (ZEB) with maximized co-benefits and improved life quality by 2050. The scientific aim is to extend the excellence in ZEB technologies to become the top research centre in equity-enhancing deep renovation, driving disruptive changes and initiating systemic reforms encompassing innovative technologies, novel governance models, novel participatory and collaborative approaches to engage citizens. Interdisciplinary CoE combines engineering, social, data sciences and economics with central focus on energy performance of buildings and districts, electrification and flexibility, renewable energy generation and storage, energy saving measures and business models with their socioeconomic and regional impacts.

Although there is a clear need in Estonia to make economic policy more responsible and smarter, the call for projects highlights the challenge of a lack of unified understanding of what sustainability entails across different sectors in the long term. Most of the described pain points are also noted in strategic documents guiding Estonia’s sustainable economic development. Hence, the key problems are more evident at the policy implementation level, where public sector interventions have sometimes yielded opposite results, had minimal impact, or progressed too slowly. The project aims to analyze and solve these problems through the following activities First, to analyze and synthesize what opportunities does the green transition offer for Estonia, and what prerequisites are needed to realize them? We will validate some of these opportunities, create cross-sectoral links, and obtain a realistic picture of what the green transition entails in sectors most crucial for sustainability transition. Second, clarifying the above and mapping the way forward will allow for a deeper investigation into necessary changes in policy measures: which public sector interventions should be increased, newly created, reduced, or discontinued. Third, to achieve real change in businesses, we will collaborate with the Client to design novel interventions for the next period's economic policy. We expect long-term results, as the project coincides with policy design for the 2027-2034 budget period, enabling the public sector to acquire skills that are more effective for solving today’s and future problems. The output will be policy recommendations (measure design and skills) implemented from 2027 onward.