Policy Making in Energy Transition with Agent-based Modelling

This paper discusses the increasing trend of the use of ABM in energy transi-tion research. I specifically focus on how and within what limitations ABM studies inform policy makers about planning and policy development in en-ergy transition processes. Two recurring discussion points in the literature of policy making with ABM are generalizability of results and the participation of stakeholders in model development. The lack of a consensus on theoreti-cal foundations and empirical validity of ABM models prevent further adop-tion of this methodology in policy realms, which is counter balanced by in-creasing computing power and the use of big data in calibration and valida-tion of models as exemplified in Covid-19 crisis. How does the inclusion of social and behavioral factors in models help with more productive policy making? Is there a trade-off between the scale and robustness of a model for policy recommendation? What is the role of interdisciplinary collaboration within ABM in effective policy design? These are the questions to be tackled in this paper.