For three decades, the Department of Environmental and Energy Systems Studies has been at the forefront of research and education in the closely interlinked spheres of energy, environment, technology, economy, security, and development.

A holistic and systems-analytic perspective characterises all our research, which includes systems-oriented and multi-disciplinary studies of issues of energy and the environment. Focal areas are:

• efficient use and transformation of energy, including the entire energy chain from natural resources to energy services,
• environmental effects of the use of different energy forms and renewable resources,
• analyses of factors that promote or obstruct changes in the energy systems, and
• analyses of different strategies for handling and preventing problems relating to the interaction of energy systems with other aspects of society and the environment.

Identification and analysis of long-term development alternatives are especially important, both from national and global perspectives.