an optimal mix is probably an unreachable grail but a proper balance of environment protection economics and reliability of energy supply would help make sustainable choices these impacts are not limited to headline figures of gdp but include longranging effects and consequences on public budgets the labour market wider social indicators health environment and the competitiveness of the private sector models are needed to integrate all these effects as a way to internalise them and to provide an insight into tradeoffs and complementarities that exist between policy objectives in different domains