The territorial futures of Europe: ‘Trends’, ‘Competition’ or ‘Cohesion’

The ESPON 2006 scenario project generated three integrated roll-forward scenarios (A roll-forward scenario is a scenario in which the hypotheses define the parameters at the start of the covered time period and the scenario then explores the unfolding of events based on theses hypotheses. This is opposed to a roll-backward scenario in which the situation at the end of the time period is defined and the scenario then explores the path to reach this situation.). In the trend scenario renewed efforts are made for the Lisbon strategy, demanding extra investments in R&D and education. Regional policy will also be continued with vigour. In the Competition Scenario bold decisions are made regarding Europe's continued prosperity. The Lisbon strategy takes precedence over institutional reform and other sectoral policies. In the Cohesion Scenario Europe is confronted with the challenge of fully integrating the various regions in Europe. The budgets for Regional Policy and Rural Development Policy are enhanced and targeted to the most needy regions. The scenarios are described as stories about the future, supported by model calculations and visualised by various maps. They concentrate on urban and rural development and on territorial developments in different parts of Europe, like North-West Europe, the Alpine Space and Central and Eastern Europe. In addition, a proactive, roll-back scenario explores the possibilities to combine competitiveness, cohesion and sustainability. A message, derived from the scenarios, is that independent of the explored policy options the European territory will be confronted with large challenges like a (rapid) decline of fossil energy resources and increasing impacts of climate change. The scenarios appear particularly helpful in the context of the current paradigm shift in European regional policy from a policy for balance to a policy for aggregate growth.     

Making territorial scenarios for Europe

Three paradigmatic traditions of scenario-building can be seen to exist. The model approach with its roots in American military scenarios of the 1950s, the design approach in French urban and regional development of the 1960s, and the strategic conversation approach in scenarios made in the private sector since the 1970s. In theory, these traditions can be integrated by organising the scenario project in a cyclical way. The territorial scenarios for Europe were made by combining workshops, a literature review and modelling. Thematic scenarios were produced for various themes, like demography, the economy, energy, and climate change. These thematic scenarios were combined into four integrated scenarios. The robustness of the scenarios was tested by introducing several “wild cards” and by exploring their territorial impacts throughout Europe. This applied approach succeeded in combining important strengths from the different scenario traditions. Improvements, however, could still be made.     

Scenarios on European energy security: Outcomes of natural gas strategy in 2020

This paper adopts a futuristic methodology and analyzes the role of natural gas in European energy security in order to transform economic and policy uncertainties into meaningful scenarios. It implements “trend analysis” to forecast the volume of gas needed until 2020 by elaborating the estimates of the EU Commission and “scenario building” to come up with alternative futures forging different regional implications. The economic analysis stems from four scenarios as introduced by the EU Commission: (1) baseline scenario with average oil price of 61$/bbl; (2) baseline scenario with average oil price of 100$/bbl; (3) New Energy Policy scenario with average oil price of 61$/bbl; (4) New Energy Policy scenario with average oil price of 100$/bbl. The policy analysis is derived from the options, restraints, priorities and strategies of the concerned actors which include the EU Commission, selected EU members, suppliers and transit countries. The analysis on actors results in four policy scenarios: (1) Russia first; (2) Russia everywhere; (3) security first; (4) each for itself. The matrix, which excludes the possibility of unprecedented developments such as a drastic increase in European shale gas production or continuing global recession, clusters 16 contingencies. The paper, within this context, gives an idea on how alternative policy options of European energy security may lead to different futures based on oil prices, environmental commitments and strategic initiatives of the concerned actors.     

Scenarios on the spatial and economic development of Europe

Countless autonomous, self-reinforcing and countervailing forces impact the future competitiveness of Europe and its spatial structure. Poignant examples include globalization, ageing and climate change, but also policy decisions taken by nation-states or the European Union. Scenarios are an appropriate method by which to explore possible future developmental pathways in a dynamic context. This contribution describes and discusses four economic policy scenarios produced by the ESPON 3.2 project and link these to the Lisbon Strategy and the European Social Model. In each scenario, a policy package is assembled from existing EU policy areas according to a particular ideological context. Afterwards, its territorial consequences are discussed in terms of socioeconomic disparities, migration and the environment. In so doing, some observations will be made regarding possible spin-offs, trade-offs and side effects of European policy when placed in a spatial context. These scenarios should hold interest for policy discussions on territorial cohesion, a concept which seeks to integrate economic development and spatial planning, as well as on European competitiveness and cohesion.     

Freedom gas to Europe: Scenarios analyzed using the Global Gas Model

State-of-the-art, open access numerical modeling of imperfectly competitive energy markets offers a sound and transparent way to address topical research questions in energy and commodity markets. We use an open access equilibrium model, the Global Gas Model (GGM), and sector-specific, politically motivated scenarios to investigate the prospects for sales of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the U.S. into the European energy market. We discuss the risks and opportunities for U.S. LNG and derive implications for policy, business, and finance in the energy sector. We find that Europe is not an attractive market for US LNG in the base case and in scenarios of moderate support of U.S. LNG flows into Europe. In these scenarios, Asia offers higher prices for US LNG and draws substantially higher import volumes. Our modeling results show that the interconnectedness of global gas markets due to an abundance of LNG import capacity in Europe and other regions—particularly Asia—allows for adjustments to global trade patterns that mitigate the consequences of regional disturbances.     

The ageing of Europe: Demographic scenarios of Europe's futures

This paper explores the demographic futures of Europe by presenting two scenarios. The ‘silver century’ scenario is based on the continuation of current demographic trends and policies. In this scenario, Europe's population will continue to age and immigration will be limited. As a result younger people will increasingly tend to concentrate in urban areas while the retirees, who are able, will settle in suburban and rural spaces. In the ‘open borders’ scenario, the EU and most of the member states will introduce an open and actively promoted immigration policy. Most immigrants will concentrate in large metropolitan areas. At the same time there will also be some countries and regions with very limited immigration from abroad. At the local scale immigration will contribute to social and spatial segregation. Hence, without the regulation or at least management of types and destinations of immigration, demographic imbalances will not be addressed at the regional level. Furthermore while the freedom of movement may have some macro-economic benefits and address population imbalances in some (mainly metropolitan) areas, pre-existent trends undermining both socio-economic cohesion and sustainable patterns of development are unlikely to be resolved.     

The ‘Wild Cards’ of European futures: Planning for discontinuities?

The use of Wild Cards has been extensively developed in the corporate world, particularly by companies dealing with strategic commodities in global markets, i.e., the nexus between warfare, oil, and energy use. One of the purposes of Wild Cards is to test the ability of a system - usually a large organisation - to react to unforeseen but high-impact events. The work presented in this article was undertaken in the context of the project on ‘Spatial Scenarios’ for the European Spatial Planning Observation Network (ESPON) Programme. In this project, four Wild Cards were introduced: “an era of energy scarcity”, “the demise of Europe's social security system”, “the gulf stream stops”, and “the dollar goes down the drain”. These Wild Cards were introduced to investigate how external events may have asymmetric impacts across the European territory, to include some reflections on themes that were not included in the integrated scenarios, and to raise awareness of the fact that today's policy choices have to be evaluated not only in the light of current policy goals but also in the light of possible, sometimes dramatic, future events. In this way the Wild Cards helped to highlight the potential impact of external events on the territorial development of Europe and their particular impact on the internal disparities between the regions.     

Chemicals and energy: The next 25 years

The chemical industry can no longer rely on a rapid expansion or production based on a single feedstock. New sources of raw materials and energy will have to be used. The uncertainties include costs, social and political factors, new competitors, and the developing botanical and biochemical technologies. The author examines energy use in the OECD area and discusses the factors affecting energy efficiency. He concludes that the chemical industry is likely to maintain a petrochemical base much longer than might be expected. Although competition from Eastern Europe is imminent, OPEC products are unlikely to have a significant impact before 1987. For the next decade the growth rate of the chemical industry in Western Europe will probably be around 5%. Options after petrochemicals include a return to the pathways used 30 years ago, and the new possibilities promised by the use of shale oil, nuclear power, and natural products. At present oil prices, coal is not competitive above about $\text{\$10}\text{ton}$, and for the rest of the century the upper limit is around $\text{\$20}\text{ton}$.     

Timing and future consequences of the peak of oil production

Energy is fundamental for present societies. In particular, transportation systems depend on petroleum-based fuels whose production levels are unsustainable. The inevitability of a peak of oil production (“Peak Oil”) is a now an accepted concept, although its date is still not consensual. In this work we discuss the peak of oil production and analyze the problems it will create. As much as can be inferred at this moment, the impact of the Peak Oil will certainly be significant but can still range from relatively benign to almost catastrophic scenarios. As a direct effect of Peak Oil, the increase in energy prices will be concentrated on the liquid fuels and the transportation sector will be specially affected. We believe that the cheap, wide-scale air transport that our present societies take for granted will revert to a more expensive and restrictive model closer to the selective commercial air transport of the early jet age. In our opinion the present road transportation systems will suffer an important transition that includes a reduced incidence of long distance road cargo movements, partially replaced by increased railway transportation, and, in terms of people commuting, a significant increase of mass transit and electrical vehicles. During this phase of forced adaptation, some countries will face greater challenges than others. However, the future of overall mankind and of particular countries, regions, or any groupings of people, is not yet fixed: it depends on decisions that are being taken at the present moment and on decisions that will still be taken in the future. As such, predicting the impact of the Peak Oil is something that must be done through a continuously refined process of information collection and analysis.     

A new state in Europe? Scenarios for Catalan self-determination

Historically, the political structure of Spain has been a source of conflict: peripheral regions as Catalonia and the Basque country have questioned the centralized power of the state and have claimed a higher level of decentralization in view of their distinct history, cultural identity and language. Recently, political and social discontent has escalated in Catalonia, leading to the unilateral announcement of a Catalan self-determination referendum for November 2014. Regardless of political or ethical preferences, it will be necessary to foresee the consequences of this process for Catalonia, Spain and elsewhere. A scenario approach focuses on possible outcomes of the current debate rather than on the arguments put forward in the controversy. Those in favour of Catalan independence have depicted a future for their country with a booming economy that will situate it at currently unattainable levels of prosperity. Opponents of secession argue that Catalonia will become a failed state. These future visions of an independent Catalonia can be described as scenarios, the underlying assumptions and plausibility of which can be analysed. EU membership and the effect of borders on international trade are identified as key variables. The alternative scenarios will also be crucial to evaluate the broader impact of “a new state in Europe”.     

Developing Students' Technical Knowledge and Case‐Based Reasoning Skills: Three Short Cases in Financial Accounting

The following three cases require you to identify and evaluate alternative accounting methods that can be applied to independent case scenarios. In the first scenario, you will evaluate alternative accounting methods relating to revenue recognition for a theatrical production. In the second scenario, you will evaluate alternative accounting methods relating to capitalizing or expensing costs associated with renovations at a golf course. In the third scenario, you will evaluate alternative accounting methods relating to capitalizing or expensing the cost of a signing bonus paid to a professional athlete.     

Conditional sovereign CDS in market basket risk scenario: A dynamic vine-copula analysis

This study examines the sensitivity of sovereign CDS markets in G7 and BRICS, which is conditional on a joint market basket risk scenario consisting of crude oil, gold, stock indices, exchange rates, freight indices, and copper prices. By compare the conditional and unconditional sovereign CDS returns using dynamic Vine-Copula model, we find that: 1) The conditional sovereign CDS returns will be less than (greater than) the unconditional ones, when scenario settings is at upper (lower) quantile level. Extreme scenario risk level settings (e.g., 1% or 99%) do not always make a significant difference between conditional and unconditional sovereign CDS. 2) Major black swan evens have significant impact on the difference between the conditional and unconditional sovereign CDS, but such an impact is short-lived especially in G7 countries. 3) Taking into account of the covariate effects, the conditional risk scenarios of sovereign CDS are heterogeneous across countries, down- and up-ward tail as well risk factors associated with the market basket.     

Future of Turkey-EU relations: a civilisational discourse

Should or can Turkey join the European Union (EU)? This paper argues that there are three alternative scenarios of the EU decision to grant membership to Turkey: ‘privileged relationship offer,’ ‘wait and see attitude,’ and ‘start of full membership negotiations.’ It then gauges each alternative path, and argues that the most likely scenario is a decision to start the negotiations, followed by the scenario of ‘wait and see.’ The EU decision will be conditioned by its future vision of global governance and the role foreseen for Turkey inside, outside or at the margin of it. The paper concludes that the EU decision will have significant implications for the future of relations between Europe and Turkey on the one hand, and Europe and the Islamic world on the other.     

Nonlinear effects of climate policy uncertainty and financial speculation on the global prices of oil and gas

With the acceleration of global energy transition and financialization, intense climate policy uncertainty and financial speculation have significant impacts on the global energy market. This paper uses TVP-VAR-SV models to analyze the nonlinear effects of climate policy uncertainty (CPU), financial speculation, economic activity, and US dollar exchange rate on global prices of crude oil and natural gas respectively, and then compare the time-varying response of oil prices and gas prices to six representative CPU peaks. The results show that responses of energy prices to various shocks have significant nonlinear effects: the time-varying effect of CPU on energy prices from positive to negative over time is significant, and financial speculation has the opposite effects on oil and gas prices. The effect from economic activity is mainly positive, while the effects of US dollar exchange are negative and stable. These results provide important implications for policymakers and investors dealing with high levels of climate policy uncertainty, financial speculation, and global economic activity.     

“Every today was a tomorrow”: An integral method for indexing the social mediation of preferred futures

The visions we hold of the future, whether they are of utopias or dystopias, are not simply a matter of personal imagination. Our conceptions of the future are mediated to us as much as they are privately created by us. To this point, futures studies have not developed an integrative and broad-based framework for considering the social mediation of futures. Understanding how social mediation impacts on our futures visioning requires an interpretive framework that can cope with the multilayered nature of futures visions, the worldviews that are associated with them and a theory of mediation that can be applied within such a context of ‘depth’. Using theory-building methodology, the current paper attempts this task by describing a theory of social mediation that builds on the integral futures framework. An application of the framework explores the relationship between various scenarios of health care futures, their associated worldviews and the mediational factors that influence our visions of future health care systems.     

Understanding the Large Negative Impact of Oil Shocks

This paper offers a plausible explanation for the close link between oil prices and aggregate macroeconomic performance in the 1970s. Although this link has been well documented in the empirical literature, standard economic models are not able to replicate this link when actual oil prices are used to simulate the models. In particular, standard models cannot explain the depth of the recession in 1974–75 and the strong revival in 1976–78 based on the oil price movements in that period. This paper argues that a missing multiplier-accelerator mechanism from standard models may hold the key.     

Risk Transmission from Oil and Natural Gas Futures to Emerging Market Mutual Funds

This study evaluates the impacts of energy markets on emerging market mutual funds (EMMFs). In particular, we investigate the volatility transmission between these funds and the oil and natural gas prices. The findings suggest significant risk spillover from the energy markets to EMMFs. Furthermore, we find a large number of EMMFs’ risk transmitting to oil prices and almost all of the EMMFs’ risk transmitting to natural gas prices. By dividing the sample into two (before and after 2008), we find the EMMFs’ influence on the oil market decreasing after this turbulent period. Our results have important implications for mutual fund managers and investors.     

University of Texas Roundtable on Financing and Managing Energy Investments in a Low‐Price Environment

During the past 18 months, the U.S. oil industry has seen oil prices plunge from well over $100 a barrel to under $30. In a session that was part of a recent Private Equity Conference at the University of Texas in Austin, the CEO of a small independent producer and a representative of a large global oil and gas company discussed the challenges of financing and operating energy companies in today's low‐price environment with the director of energy research at a brokerage firm, the senior partner responsible for the natural resource investments of a well‐known private equity firm, and the head of the oil and gas restructuring practice of a national law firm. The panelists appeared to reach a consensus on at least the following three arguments:

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