Greening energy governance through agencification in the Global South: Drivers and implications

Abstract

AbstractThis article offers the first comprehensive analysis of the emergent modes for greening electricity governance through agencification in the Global South by examining the drivers and role of renewable energy agencies (REAs) in various countries in the Middle East and North Africa region. Furthermore, the article illustrates the impact of this form of agencification on the deployment of renewables and the “democratization” of energy governance. We found that the diffusion of REAs is facilitated by the intermediation of international and transnational actors, whereas their role in national energy governance is constrained by the fossil fuels rentier political economy. As an institutional strategy for greening energy governance, agencification has the potential to foster the deployment of renewables: agencies can catalyze external funding overcoming regulatory and policy barriers. However, this strategy can reproduce top‐down approaches to policymaking, hindering the “democratic” potentials of the energy transition.