Energy and water

Energy and water are closely linked to one another within the specifics of the regions to be examined in the context of climate change. Especially hydropower plays a major role in achieving climate policy objectives in the energy sector.1 Energy and water are therefore two interrelated policy sectors when it comes to effectively combatting climate change by avoiding the release of polluting emissions into the environment.2 In this regard, such interrelation embodies a case of climate change policy integration (cpi) in itself. Based on the relevance in the field of climate change mitigation, the emphasis of this chapter will be put on energy policies in the Italian Autonomous Provinces of Trento and Bolzano, and in the Austrian Länder of Tyrol and Vorarlberg, whereas the field of water will mainly be dealt with in the context of hydropower. This chapter will also highlight problems and flaws relating to the same sectors, drawing upon the results of the interviews conducted within the Eurac project “Climate change integration in the multilevel governance of Italy and Austria”.