FONDAZIONE ENI ENRICO MATTEI

Their core work

FEEM is a Milan-based research foundation specializing in the economics of climate change, energy transitions, and environmental policy. They build integrated assessment models that quantify the costs of climate impacts and evaluate decarbonization strategies, bridging economic theory with climate science. Their work informs policy by analyzing financial barriers to energy efficiency, pricing mechanisms for water scarcity, and investment pathways for low-carbon power systems. More recently, they have expanded into citizen engagement and behavioural modelling for climate mitigation.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In their early H2020 period (2015-2018), FEEM focused on classical resource economics — water markets, agricultural insurance, energy efficiency barriers, and CO2 mitigation costs. From 2017 onward, their work shifted toward forward-looking climate pathway modelling, integrated assessment of climate change costs, and co-design approaches involving citizens and communities. The most recent projects (2020-2024) show a clear move into behavioural modelling, citizen science, and lifestyle transformation — suggesting FEEM is evolving from pure economic modelling toward understanding human behaviour as a driver of climate action.

FEEM is moving from traditional economic modelling toward integrating human behaviour and citizen engagement into climate transition models — a valuable direction for projects combining social science with climate action.

How they like to work

FEEM balances leadership and partnership almost equally, coordinating 6 of 13 projects while participating in 7. Their coordinated projects are typically smaller MSCA fellowships (individual researcher grants around EUR 168K), while they join larger consortia as a specialist contributor for economic and modelling expertise. With 158 unique partners across 49 countries, they operate as a well-connected hub rather than a closed network, making them easy to approach for new collaborations.

FEEM has collaborated with 158 distinct partners across 49 countries, giving them one of the broader networks for an organization of their size. Their partnerships span Europe and Africa (via LEAP-RE), with strong ties to climate research and energy policy communities.

What sets them apart

FEEM sits at the intersection of economics and climate science — a space where few research centres operate with equal depth in both domains. Their Eni Foundation backing gives them institutional stability and access to energy industry perspectives that purely academic institutes lack. For consortium builders, they bring rigorous economic modelling capabilities combined with growing expertise in citizen engagement, making them a strong partner for projects that need to connect climate models with real-world policy and behaviour change.

Highlights from their portfolio

• PENNY
  Largest single grant (EUR 612K) and coordinator role — addressed the practical question of why people don't adopt energy-efficient behaviour despite economic incentives.
• COACCH
  Co-designed climate change cost assessments with decision-makers, representing FEEM's shift toward participatory approaches in integrated assessment modelling.
• CAMPAIGNers
  Most recent and forward-looking project — combines behavioural modelling with citizen science and smartphone apps to drive lifestyle transformation for climate mitigation.