The main objectives of this proposal are to foster international collaboration, provide sound information for decisions regarding the acceleration of the energy transition, specifically in residential heating, and explore a new interdisciplinary approach to supporting the households left behind in the energy transition.
We propose a mixed-methods methodology, combining two expertise: Swiss knowledge of calculating environmental impacts from energy systems using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Chile's socio-economic evaluations of sustainable heating in the context of high Energy Poverty. We monetize environmental impacts to create a “true cost of energy”, penalizing fuels with high climate impacts (e.g., gas) or health impacts (e.g., firewood). This insight aims to reshape energy policy and incentive design for residential heating.
The 12-month research plan includes workshops and knowledge exchanges for young researchers, the development of an LCA model, and data collection in Ancud, Chiloé Island, southern Chile, with the support of Minergie, the Swiss standard for sustainable construction, and a final presentation in Lausanne Switzerland to extend this methodology to this Swiss context in a subsequent stage.
The expected results are structured in three dimensions: a policy brief for local authorities outlining a framework to redesign the current subsidies for sustainable heating, an online repository to share our methods and findings with the broader community, and a research roadmap to guide future research efforts.
The purpose of this partnership is to seed a long-term research agenda on the energy transition in Chile and Switzerland. The findings will be used to prepare a second-phase proposal for a more extensive research instrument to continue the research on a sustainable heating transition.
