Raffaele Piria
MSc (European Politics and Policy)
MA (Political Science)
Senior Fellow
- Team
- Topics
Raffaele Piria joined Ecologic Institute as a Senior Fellow in 2023, bringing more than 20 years of experience in European and international energy and climate policy. A political scientist with a strong interest in economic, geopolitical, legal and technical dimensions, he offers a comprehensive perspective on the strategic challenges of the global energy transition. He is an experienced project manager with a proven track record in leading international consortia. Raffaele is fluent in English, German and Italian and has a good working knowledge of French and Spanish.
At Ecologic Institute, Raffaele authored in 2026 a widely cited policy brief on the EU’s gas supply diversification efforts and its growing dependence on gas imports from the United States, in collaboration with Clingendael and the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs. In 2025, he co-authored a broader study with Agora Energiewende and Agora Industry on the relationship between decarbonisation and energy security during the mid-transition phase.
In a related workstream, Raffaele is a leading expert on the EU Methane Emissions Regulation. He is currently co-leading a project financed by the European Climate Initiative that supports its implementation in Czechia and Romania, in collaboration with the Bucharest University of Economic Studies, the Centre for Transport and Energy in Prague and Environmental Defense Fund Europe. He also provides expertise on the Member States penalty regime for infringements of the methane regulation as part of a team including Climate Action Network Europe and Deutsche Umwelthilfe, supported by the Global Methane Hub. In 2023, Raffaele led a project on GHG accounting methodologies, standards and certification for green hydrogen on behalf of the International PtX Hub, authoring a detailed analysis of the EU requirements for renewable hydrogen and its derivatives and presenting the findings in stakeholder workshops with experts from Algeria, Chile, Colombia, India, Jordan, Kenya, Namibia, South Africa, Uruguay and Vietnam.
Before joining Ecologic Institute, Raffaele spent six years at adelphi, among others leading a consortium implementing Germany's energy partnerships with the USA, Canada and Australia on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action. He worked 8 years in Brussels, among others as Secretary General of the organisation now called Solar Heat Europe, and in the European Parliament, supporting MEP Claude Turmes.
Raffaele's extensive list of publications covers many other climate and energy issues, including hydrogen import security, offshore wind deployment, comparative analysis of power systems in Germany and the USA, a contribution to the World Nuclear Industry Status Report.
Raffaele holds an MSc in European Politics and Policy from the London School of Economics and an MA (Diplom) in political science from the Freie Universität Berlin. He grew up in Milan, where he attended Liceo Classico Cesare Beccaria, majoring in Philosophy, Ancient Greek and Latin.
Contact Raffaele Piria by Email
Selected projects by Raffaele Piria
EU Policies to Reduce CH4 and H2 Emissions from the Energy Sector
- Duration
-
-
- Funding
-
Stichting Environmental Defense Fund Europe (EDF Europe), Netherlands
Germany's Partnerships for Energy, Climate, Resources and Development
- Duration
-
-
- Funding
-
Climate Neutrality Foundation, Germany
Selected publications by Raffaele Piria
Raffaele Piria, Kacper Szulecki, Hannah Lentschig and Louise van Schaik: Europe’s Selective Blindness on Gas: US LNG and the Limits of Supply Diversification. Clingendael, Ecologic Institute, Norwegian Institute of International Affairs, The Hague/Berlin/Oslo, 2026.
Agora Energiewende and Ecologic Institute (2025): Europe’s energy security on the path to climate neutrality: Devising a resilience strategy for the mid-transition
Piria, Raffaele: Penalty regimes for violations of the EU Methane Regulation across EU Member States. Ecologic Institute, 2025, Berlin.
Piria, Raffaele, Ramiro de la Vega – reviewed by Corina Murafa: Romania's Draft Penalty Rules for Violations of the EU Methane Regulation. Ecologic Institute, 2025, Berlin.
Piria, Raffaele, Ramiro de la Vega, Aleš Jeník: Czechia's Draft Penalty Rules for Violations of the EU Methane Regulation. Ecologic Institute, 2025, Berlin.
Piria, Raffaele, Ramiro de la Vega, Corina Murafa (2025): Implementing the EU Methane Regulation in Romania. Ecologic Institute, Berlin.
Piria, Raffaele, Ramiro de la Vega, Aleš Jeník (2025): Implementing the EU Methane Regulation in Czechia. Ecologic Institute, Berlin.
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH (ed.) 2023: EU Requirements for Renewable Hydrogen and its Derivatives.
Piria, Raffaele and Leon Martini (2023): Developing Germany’s Partnerships for Transformation. How can Germany’s Energy, Climate, Development and Raw Materials Partnerships become more transformative for a resilient transition to climate neutrality. Ecologic Institute, Berlin
Insights into the acceptance and perceptions of particularly burdened groups
Dütschke, Elisabeth et al. 2023: Using the revenues from carbon pricing – Insights into the acceptance and perceptions of particularly burdened groups, Energy Policy, Volume 175.
Piria, Raffaele et al. 2022: Securing hydrogen imports for Germany: Import needs, risks and strategies on the way to climate neutrality. Ariadne-Analysis.
Piria, Raffaele 2021: Heute beim Wasserstoff die Energiesicherheit von morgen vorbereiten. In: Tagesspiegel Background Energie & Klima. Verlag Der Tagesspiegel. Berlin.
Piria, Raffaele 2021 : Critical Review of the IPHE Working Paper "Methodology for Determining the GHG Emissions Associated with the Production of Hydrogen". adelphi, Oeko-Institut, Berlin, October 2021.
Teichmann, Franziska et al. 2021: Wasserstoff in Kanada. Status Quo, Debatten und Potenziale. adelphi consult. Berlin.
Raffaele Piria, Franziska Teichmann, Jens Honnen, Jakob Eckardt 2021: Wasserstoff in den USA: Potenziale, Diskurs, Politik und transatlantische Kooperation. Berlin: adelphi.
Piria, Raffaele; Magdalena Magosch and Jakob Eckardt 2020: Offshore Wind Deployment in Germany. Facts and Policy Lessons. Berlin: adelphi.
Jensterle, Miha et al. 2020: Grüner Wasserstoff: Internationale Kooperationspotenziale für Deutschland. Kurzanalyse zu ausgewählten Aspekten potenzieller Nicht-EU-Partnerländer. adelphi, dena, GIZ, Navigant, Berlin.
Teichmann, Franziska und Raffaele Piria 2019: Die Wasserstoffdebatte in Australien. Berlin: adelphi consult GmbH.
Magosch, Magdalena, Raffaele Piria, Jakob Eckardt (2019): Überblick über die australische Energiepolitik. Berlin: adelphi/RAP.
Teichmann, Franziska et al. 2019: Energiepolitik in der Region New England. Berlin: adelphi consult GmbH.
Hogan, Michael; Frederick Weston and Raffaele Piria 2018: Power systems in the 2020s: What can Germany and the PJM region learn from each other? Briefing note for the Germany – PJM States Energy Trends Forum. The Regulatory Assistance Project, Montpellier Vermont, USA.
Piria, Raffaele et al. 2018: Community Choice Aggregation. Kommunen in Kalifornien und anderen US-Bundesstaaten werden als CCA zum Stromver-sorger. Berlin: adelphi/RAP.
Piria, Raffaele et al. 2018: Die Debatte zur Grid Resiliency Pricing Rule – Strommarktpolitik unter Präsident Trump. Berlin: adelphi consult GmbH/RAP.
Piria, Raffaele et al. 2017: Überblick über die Energieeffizienzpolitik in den USA. Berlin: adelphi/RAP.
Piria, Raffaele (2014): Paying to Produce: The Nuclear Fleet Facing the Erosion of Baseload. In: Brunnergräber A. & Di Nucci M.R (eds): Im Hürdenlauf zur Energiewende. Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden. 413-427. Aug 1, 2014.
Schneider, Michael et al. 2014: The World Nuclear Industry Status Report 2014. Mycle Schneider Consulting, Paris, London, Washington.
Piria, Raffaele et al. 2014: Greening the Heartlands of Coal in Europe. Insights from a Czech-German-Polish Dialogue on Energy Issues. Heinrich Böll Stiftung.
Binda Zane, Edoardo; R. Brückmann, D. Bauknecht, F. Jirouš, R. Piria, N. Trennepohl, J. Bracker, R, Frank and J. Herling (2012): Integration of electricity from renewables to the electricity grid and to the electricity market – RES-INTEGRATION. Öko-Institut & eclareon, Freiburg/Berlin.
Piria, Raffaele (2009): Bufera sulle scorie tedesche, in: Qualenergia, 2 marzo 2009. https://www.qualenergia.it/articoli/20090302-bufera-sulle-scorie-tedesche-1/
Piria, Raffaele (2008): Nucleare, una Fata Morgana in Finlandia, in: Qualenergia, 27 Ottobre 2008. https://www.qualenergia.it/articoli/20081027-nucleare-una-fata-morgana-finlandia-1/
.jpg){kind=link}
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH (ed.) 2023: Explaining the new EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM): Implications for PtX imports to the EU.
Selected presentations by Raffaele Piria
Speech:Background and Context for the EU Hydrogen Certification Rules and Procedures
- Date
-
-
- Location
- Colombia, Uruguay, Chile, Namibia, South Africa, Kenya, Algeria, India, Vietnam, Jordan
Recent content by Raffaele Piria
Romania's Draft Penalty Rules for Violations of the EU Methane Regulation
Assessment of the draft law of 11 November
Year
Read moreCzechia's Draft Penalty Rules for Violations of the EU Methane Regulation
Assessment of the draft law of 11 November
Year
Read more