Governance Of Energy Transitions Research Articles

Oil exporters and the challenges ahead: the role of NOCs in energy transitions

Abstract While constructing pathways to achieving energy transitions is challenging to all global community members, this challenge is even greater for oil-exporting countries. Oil-exporting countries and their national oil companies (NOCs) are key players in the energy transitions. These actors’ existing capacities (financial, technical, human) must be leveraged to accelerate decarbonization processes that are scaled and globally deployed. Energy transition roadmaps must embrace all relevant actors, including oil companies, as stakeholders that can significantly contribute to the acceleration of energy transitions across the globe. This situation must be reflected in outlooks and assessments of energy transitions. This article studies the regulatory conditions and interventions that have made the evolution of several NOCs possible as relevant actors in the 21st-century landscape, considering their activities in traditional energy sources, decarbonization solutions, and new energy sources. These NOCs vary with some having greater flexibility in shaping policies while others needing to comply with regulatory standards. All NOCs in this study, ADNOC, ARAMCO, and the NNPCL were entrusted with a degree of autonomy in addressing climate change, yet the larger margin of discretion ADNOC and ARAMCO corporations enjoyed has allowed them to excel in shaping and implementing these policies. The focus of this paper is on the role of soft law in this change, particularly ESG standards, as leading energy transition governance tools, which introduce accountability and environmental principles that guide the activity of these corporate actors beyond bear minimum requirements in laws and regulations.

Regional energy transition governance for the co-transformation of sustainable energy infrastructure as a public service in rural areas

Die dringende Transformation unseres Energiesystems hin zu einer nachhaltigen Infrastruktur der Daseinsvorsorge scheitert in der regionalen Umsetzung regelmäßig an raumbezogenen und gesellschaftlichen Anforderungen des ländlichen Raums. In diesem Beitrag werden am Beispiel eines transdisziplinären Projektes Dilemmata in der partizipativen Umsetzung der regionalen Energiewende identifiziert und Gelingensbedingungen einer raumsensiblen Energiewende-Governance formuliert. Wie mit dem entwickelten Governance-Ansatz zur „Co-Transformation“ gezeigt wird, können kontextsensitive Partizipationsformen der Co-Regulierung, Co-Allokation und Co-Visionierung zur Verfahrens‑, Verteilungs- sowie Zukunftsgerechtigkeit und damit zur Akzeptabilität der regionalen Energiewende als Daseinsvorsorgeinfrastruktur im ländlichen Raum beitragen. Zentrale Maßnahmenfelder sind dabei ergebnisoffene und regional angepasste Formen der Mitwirkung durch die Co-Regulierung im Planungsprozess, Ansätze zur räumlichen Co-Allokation energiewendebezogener Belastungen und lokaler Mehrwerte sowie die Co-Visionierung regionaler Energiezukünfte und daraus abzuleitender regionaler Energievisionen.

Stakeholders’ perceptions of hydrogen and reflections on energy transition governance

BackgroundThere is a race to innovate, develop or create hydrogen production technologies to accelerate energy transition and create a hydrogen economy. Acceptance has been used in social science literature as a lens through which to anticipate possible challenges surrounding hydrogen technologies. However, very few studies problematize perceptions and focus on the production of hydrogen. Hence, this study aims to bridge these theoretical and empirical gaps using a mixed-method approach based on semi-structured interviews (n = 7) and a questionnaire survey (n = 73) to understand stakeholders’ perceptions of hydrogen production sources through a social construction of technology lens.ResultsThe findings suggest a tendency to favor hydrogen produced from renewable sources and to reject hydrogen produced from non-renewable sources. All the examined groups conform to this pattern. Their perceptions are based on prior knowledge of hydrogen technologies, with participants seeking information from specialized sources or from activities promoted by their organizations. Participants anticipate that hydrogen will be generated primarily through renewable energy sources and utilized where direct electrification is unfeasible. In addition, they envisage that the hydrogen economy will enhance energy democracy through representative participation in decision-making. Nevertheless, it is acknowledged that the topic is limited to certain social groups and kept away from the public eye. Furthermore, unlike the benefits, the perception of risk appears to have no impact on perceptions’ construction. High confidence in science appears to minimize the recognition of potential risks and bolster the recognition of potential benefits. There is, however, a lot of uncertainty about the possible real impacts of the hydrogen economy.ConclusionsThere appears to be a collective perspective on hydrogen production sources, indicating the existence of social representations. Nevertheless, group attitudes and backing towards hydrogen vary. The participants identify hydrogen as a matter that remained unnoticed for over a decade, despite its prominent position in the policies and economic approaches of numerous countries. The topic has been relegated to third parties. This exclusion of civil society from decision-making may justify the NGO group's critical stance towards hydrogen. Moreover, it suggests that energy democracy, which is based on information dissemination and participation, is not being achieved.

Where is ‘the local’ in localization? Exploring socio-technical and spatial visions of energy system decarbonization in South Wales

Energy system transition is essential to support global decarbonization, and will involve the increasing use of renewable energy and the socio-technical transformation of centralized, fossil fuel systems alongside changes to how supply and demand is met. Localization represents an emerging vision of how this transformation might occur, but any system transformation will be complex, thanks to the multi-level, polycentric modes of governance that are part of most dominant energy regimes globally and which may create collective action problems. Drawing on narrative policy analysis and using a novel anticipatory mapping method, we analyze date from expert interviews conducted in Wales, UK, to explore how emerging visions of localization are being used to make sense of these complexities and to help shape strategy in the present. We show how imagery of ‘clusters’ plays a key role in these visions as ways of constructing ‘the local’ to help coordinate action among key actors. At the same time, such ways of understanding locality raise additional challenges in the shape of collective action problems that require regionalization strategies to solve, alongside concrete national visions to coordinate priories at local and regional level. This overflowing between spatial scales poses challenges of legitimacy for energy transition governance, not only in Wales and the UK but across national jurisdictions that have undertaken energy system privatization and liberalization.

Fossil fuels, stranded assets, and the energy transition in the Global South: A systematic literature review

AbstractComplying with the Paris Agreement on Climate Change requires leaving fossil fuels underground (LFFU), which raises justice issues regarding the Global South and its energy transition. The literature is scattered with no review papers on the challenges of LFFU in the Global South, hence we ask: What can be learnt from reviewing the scholarship on the Global South's energy transition, focusing on LFFU and the issue of stranded resources and assets? Our review reveals: (a) renewable investments in the Global South are relatively low for the scale of change needed, and such renewable deployment is more additive than substitutive. Nonetheless, there is potential for the Global South to leapfrog; (b) literature on LFFU in the Global South is limited, and much of it focuses on subsidies. However, developing countries might include stranded assets in their accounting, making LFFU appealing; (c) the Right to Development influences the energy transition's governance and justice issues: limited governance hampers LFFU, while understudied power dynamics shape transition's political economies. However, a global and multilevel just transition may have the potential to achieve LFFU. Thus, the literature overlooks (i) the dilemmas of stranded resources and assets from a developing country perspective and the implications in terms of equity, development, and climate change impacts; and (ii) the underlying power dynamics. Future research should investigate energy leapfrogging viability, critically assess renewables' additive rather than substitutive character in the Global South, and better identify the constraints to an inclusive energy transition, posed by North–South power dynamics and FF incumbents.This article is categorized under: Climate and Development > Social Justice and the Politics of Development

What is state capacity and how does it matter for energy transition?

The existing concepts of energy democracy and energy justice leaves little or no room for a comprehensive discussion on state capacity that is vital for a successful energy transition policy making. The paper addresses this knowledge gap by conducting the review of the highly relevant literature on state capacity to identify conceptual variations, components and factors shaping the state capacity for effective policy making. I further devise a novel conceptual framework by linking the concept of state capacity with the energy transition policy and highlight vital factors affecting state capacity that in turn enables states for an effective energy transition policy making. The integrated framework of state capacity and energy transition governance will inform the ongoing efforts on localizing energy transition.

Multilevel governance of energy transitions in Europe: Addressing wicked problems of coordination, justice, and power in energy policy

AbstractConcerns about energy transition and policies to achieve a clean energy Europe are omnipresent in all European discourses. A transformation dynamic has captured all European states, whereby the extent, scope, and direction of this transition vary between different (EU member‑) states and political levels (European, national, federal, local). Likewise, governance dynamics and policies vary between the different European governance and regulatory systems. This Special Issue aims to take stock and discuss approaches in governance and policy research to assess, analyse and evaluate this variance from a theoretical, methodological, and empirical perspective. Of particular interest are recourses to investigate concepts describing and analysing the formation of new policy fields. Within the framework of the Special Issue, the role of specific architectures in which the energy transformation in Europe is embedded (e.g., federalism and multi-level structures, institutional constellations of actors, multi-sector networks, etc.) are analysed to explain the energy transition policies and their transformative properties. Linking the empirical results back to basic research concepts and relating the results to the existing approaches in policy and governance research facilitates a better understanding of the energy transition as a classic and/or new transformation policy.

Just transition governance to avoid socio-economic impacts of lignite phase-out: The case of Western Macedonia, Greece

The energy transition may become a factor that suspends economic growth for the areas still heavily dependant on the extraction of fossil fuels. Therefore, the implementation of ’green’ technologies must be coupled with measures aiming at sustainable regional development. In this context, the aim of the present study is to highlight specific aspects of the energy transition governance in the region of Western Macedonia, Greece, which are considered critical to ensure the fair treatment of all social groups affected by the ongoing changes. According to the conducted analysis of historical data and official statistics, the region faces socioeconomic problems, which are recorded as a decrease in population, GDP, and the number of jobs in mining, energy idustry, construction, and agriculture. Although the Just Transition Development Plan 2021–27 of Western Macedonia was the first officially adopted by the EU, its footprint has not yet been visible to the local communities. The conclusion is that effective transition governance relies on participatory procedures and partnerships, without exclusions, and on actions that utilize the region's inherent strengths. Furthermore, since the energy transition has been promoted by political decisions at the highest level, mitigating its adverse socio-economic impacts can be achieved in the same way.

A Contribution to Social Acceptance of PV in an Oil-Rich Country: Reflections on Governmental Organisations in Iran

To examine the social acceptance of renewable energy infrastructures regarding their position in the success of energy transition, attitudes towards these technologies have been increasingly recognised to play an important role. Notably, most of empirical literature has focused on the global northern countries, with bottom-up transition governance structure. In this paper, we study attitudes towards photovoltaics in Iran, as a fossil fuel-rich country of the global south, with a top-down energy transition structure and committed to UNFCCC. We focused on governmental organisations as a key stakeholder group regarding their role in winning public acceptance. Aiming at finding determinants of attitudes towards PV, we conducted 15 qualitative interviews in 10 governmental organisations in Golestan, Guilan and Tehran. Taking an inductive approach to the data, we considered the acceptance and attitude theories as sensitising concepts to investigate common and specific issues in terms of social acceptance in Iran. We find accessing electricity and diversifying electricity resources via PV as the key technical drivers, and the upstream policies as the key political drivers towards PV adoption. Though the weak policies (design and implementation), privileging economic and technical obstacles, do hinder the PV adoption and shape negative attitudes toward it. We realise that the previous literature overlooked the fossil fuel-rich countries and their energy transition governance structure. Our findings imply that better-designed upstream policies with a more enabling policy framework are needed to motivate actions on the governmental organisation level.

The Rise and Fall of Energy Democracy: 5 Cases of Collaborative Governance in Energy Systems

A wide range of actors are seeking to democratize energy systems. In the collaborative governance process of energy system transitions to net zero, however, many energy democracy concepts are watered down or abandoned entirely. Using five renewable energy case studies, we first explore the diversity of energy democratizing system challengers and bottom-up actors. Secondly, we analyze the role of conflict and challenges arising from the subsequent collaborative governance process and identify what appear to be blind spots in the CG literature. Our case studies on Berlin (GER), Jena (GER), Kalmar (SWE), Minneapolis (US) and Southeast England (UK) include different types of policy processes and actors. They suggest that actors championing energy democracy principles play an important role in opening participation in the early stages of collaborative energy transition governance. As collaborative governance progresses, participation tends to be increasingly restricted. We conclude that collaborative processes by themselves are insufficient in maintaining energy democracy principles in the energy transition. These require institutional embedding of participative facilitation and consensus building. The Kalmar case study as our only successful example of energy democracy suggests that a more intermediated and service-oriented approach to energy provision can create a business case for democratizing energy provision through collaborative governance.

National goals or sense of community? Exploring the social-psychological influence of household solar energy adoption in rural China

China has established a solar photovoltaics poverty alleviation program to help reduce rural poverty and environmental inequality. However, little is known about how the conflicts between governmental goals and social-psychological factors influence the rural villagers' decision to adopt solar photovoltaics. Using integrated agency and structural theories, a survey was conducted of 1247 low-income households in rural China to determine the locals' solar adoption intention. Our results suggest that economic motivations, environmental concerns, and the desire to improve China's national image are the strongest predictors of adoption, followed by descriptive norms, motivations, expected lifestyle change, knowledge, and frequency of communication. Conflicts between “national vs. community concerns” can make villagers less willing to embrace solar technology. Among the negative predictors, feeling pressured by the government is the strongest, followed by a sense of community, energy behavioral control, and social sanctions. As villagers' sense of community increased, solar adoption intention first increased and then decreased. Overall, the locals have a strong desire for independence and are unwilling to follow the government's policies blindly, while responding positively to solar energy promotion from respected local community leaders. These findings have key policy implications for minimizing the conflicts between national and local authorities in promoting renewable energy, especially by softening the energy transition governance process through stressing social psychology and inclusive policy-making.

Local Governance in Just Energy Transition: Towards a Community-Centric Framework

Knowledge of energy transition (ET) is evolving in developing countries. Yet, it is unclear how the transition should be managed in a way that ensures justice for local stakeholders. We synthesise the extant theoretical ideas and practices of the local governance (LG) related to ET, which are vital in ensuring justice in energy policy at the local level. The paper advances this development by a systematic integrative literature review (N = 569) from the Web of Science (WoS) and highly cited grey literature linked to participation, LG, and ET. The bibliometric analysis indicates that, while the literature on energy justice is growing, limited attention has been paid to LG in just energy transition (N = 36). The analysis further indicates that more than half of the scientific literature is produced by five countries from the global North alone. In-depth scrutiny of highly cited studies and grey literature in LG and ET underlines the lack of a generalised framework of local ET governance, especially in the global South. We address this gap and propose a framework that exhibits a community-centric LG, which is essential for just energy transition.

Reply to Futures regarding Diesendorf response to Floyd et al., “Energy descent as a post-carbon transition scenario: How ‘knowledge humility’ reshapes energy futures for post-normal times”, 2020

Floyd et al. (2020), ‘Energy descent as a post-carbon transition scenario: How ‘knowledge humility’ reshapes energy futures for post-normal times’, addresses anticipatory challenges associated with the envisaged transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy. We make the case that the epistemic nature of analytical techniques based on quantitative modelling is such that they cannot establish in any definitive sense the feasibility of providing present and future projected global energy services via renewable sources, and that as such energy transition governance and management approaches should be adopted that recognise and respond to this situation, including the plausibility of futures characterised by energy descent that it implies. A response from Mark Diesendorf mischaracterises our case in multiple ways, including to suggest that it is an argument against renewable energy. Further, the response fails to engage with the substance of our arguments for the plausibility of energy descent, and in multiple instances presents our arguments erroneously. We identify the specific failings of the response and show why its claim to have refuted our case is not supported. We discuss the broader implications of the epistemic stance on which the response is based for energy-society futures inquiry.

The dynamics of multilevel administration. Coordination processes between national, supra- and international administrations in energy policy

AbstractMultilevel governance of energy transitions depends on the coordination between national, supra- and international administrative actors. Coordination takes place in systems of multilevel administration, which constitute highly dynamic arenas dominated by legally non-binding instruments and reciprocal interactions and relationships. This article seeks to gain insights into the underlying coordination processes by asking which conditions account for the change over time of coordination between administrative actors in multilevel administration systems. First, research on multilevel administration is summarized. Second and starting from historic and discursive institutionalist theory, a conceptual framework is outlined to assess the conditions and modes that account for the dynamics of coordination in general, and the change of coordination instruments in particular. A trend towards persuasive coordination in a process of institutional layering driven by endogenous conditions is expected. Empirically, an in-depth comparative analysis is conducted based on exploratory interviews with 90 experts mainly from the European Commission, the International Energy Agency, and national administrators from Canada and Europe. The results unveil that administrative coordination evolves according to at least three types of layering that go beyond the initial hypothesis: first, through layering of coordination instruments; second, as an increase in formal and non-formal interactions through a growing number of channels and complexity of interactions over time; third, as layering of inter-administrative relationships through a growing importance of personal networks and the creation of new contacts. By analysing the dynamics of multilevel administrative coordination, the article contributes to an important but underdeveloped aspect of the governance of supra- and international energy transitions.

To See, or Not to See, That Is the Question: Studying Dutch Experimentalist Energy Transition Governance through an Evolutionary Lens

Experimentalist forms of governance have burgeoned across policy areas and institutional contexts in recent years. Recognizing that experimentalist forms of governance can evolve along a plethora of distinct pathways, this paper inquires how the evolutionary nature of experimentalism can be explored in greater depth. Linking the framework of experimentalist governance to that of Evolutionary Governance Theory (EGT), the paper identifies three driving mechanisms of contingency in experimentalism: governance being (1) self-referential, (2) rooted in observation, and (3) steered by dependencies. The paper then refers to recent efforts in the realm of energy transition governance in the Netherlands to illustrate how these contingency mechanisms can help to interrogate the variegated evolutionary pathways that experimentalist governance may have in practice. Building on this Dutch empirical context, the paper puts forward evolutionary path- and context-mapping as a fruitful tool for identifying and disentangling the myriad of pathways along which experimentalism may manifest itself.

The governance of energy transition: lessons from the Nigerian electricity sector

BackgroundThe rising need for transition towards more sustainable energy sources requires a rethink in the governance of energy systems. Arguably, policy makers have very important roles in governing transitions in any given society through established institutional frameworks. It has also been argued that energy infrastructure choices are determined by institutional dynamics and structures. However, what are the underlying influences required to change energy systems and what lessons can we draw from them for the governance of energy transition? This study focuses on understanding the dynamics of energy transition governance in the Nigerian electricity sector with the aim of drawing lessons that impact on energy transition and energy systems change.MethodsUsing explorative research tools, this study investigates the dynamics of energy transition governance in the Nigerian electricity sector with the aim of drawing lessons that impact on energy transition and energy systems change. Data from primary and secondary sources in documentary archives as well as other published sources that are linked with the provision of the Nigerian historical energy infrastructure were used for the analysis in order to draw lessons on energy transition dynamics in Nigeria.ResultsThe study revealed that there were three important factors that had a direct impact on energy transition and energy systems change in Nigeria’s electricity sector. These are: (1) Changing perceptions and goals (during the period leading up to Nigeria’s independence, 1890–1960s); (2) Direct government interventions in energy infrastructure provisions (1940s–1970s); and (3) Major changes in market rules (from 2005 and beyond).ConclusionsThe study concludes by highlighting that: (1) there is a need for government institutions to tackle energy access issues that address the needs of the poor; (2) it is imperative to explore technological options that are more sustainable; and (3) there is a need to address energy consumption patterns that are more energy intensive. Indeed, available energy resources, technological changes in electricity supply systems, and the ‘geographies of energy’ are major factors that influence energy production and consumption dynamics. All of them needs should be considered, as energy decisions are primarily political choices.

Dirty to clean energy: Exploring ‘oil and gas majors transitioning'

This paper provides a conceptual context for exploring how oil and gas majors can shift from dirty fuels to clean energy forms. This energy evolution has become critical as climate change concerns challenge oil and gas corporations' future existence. In these socio-technical milieus, the Danish Oil and Natural Gas Company (DONG Energy) has evolved from a fossil-dominated undertaking to a green energy company, Ørsted. Thus, the paper introduces the concept of 'oil and gas majors transitioning' (OGMT), situates it within the 'energy transition' and 'energy transition governance' normative frameworks, applies it to the evolutionary journey of Ørsted as a case study, and provides insights on how other fossil fuel undertakings can also govern a possible transition to a green energy economy. The study suggests that mainstream oil and gas companies have great potential to transition to clean energy portfolios by optimising organizational steering, technical leverage, and intra- and inter-industry synergies. However, policy support from petroleum-producing host states remains pivotal to the success of OGMT.

Questioning Low-Carbon Transition Governance: A Comparative Analysis of European Case Studies

To achieve the international emission reduction targets, current researches underline the need to overcome the dominant techno-centric approaches to energy transition, in favor of analyses that explore in more detail those practices and organizational assets that play a role in favoring a transition towards a low-carbon society. In this light, the article focuses on governance practices and, in particular, on the different tools and actors involved across variable scales and temporalities. Drawing on the activities of the ERASMUS+ Strategic Partnership for Higher Education LOTUS (Locally Organized Transition of Urban Sustainable Spaces), a selection of European case studies is explored and compared in light of (i) the implemented actions in terms of energy production and efficiency measures, (ii) the legal framework and the origin of the funding and (iii) the number and type of involved actors and their partnerships. On this basis, the analysis outlines, from both a theoretical and a practical stand, a number of critical issues that characterize these episodes of energy transition governance. In particular, the authors reflect upon the interaction between energy measures and urban contexts, the need for synergies among government level and the emergence of new forms of partnership among public, private and third parties’ actors.

Building capacity towards what? Proposing a framework for the analysis of energy transition governance in the context of urban informality in Sub-Saharan Africa

ABSTRACT There is an emerging scholarship that criticises the conceptualisation of urban informality from a deficit view and emphasises that informality constitutes a way of life, a practice in its own right. We argue that energy is part of the informal way of life and that energy transitions need to take into account the specificities of urban informality when used for policy. Acknowledging energy practices is necessary to improve the justice of energy transitions, including the urban poor in energy transitions without denying the legitimacy of slum dwellers’ ways of life. In this paper, we analyse energy governance in informal urban settlements as implemented by national governments, municipalities and non-governmental organisations, with case studies from Sub-Saharan Africa. We develop a policy analysis framework that assesses (1) the practices of problem definition; (2) the creation of policy options and strategy; (3) the mix of capacities mobilised; and (4) the type of instruments used. The framework is applied to three case studies of energy policies in informal settlements in Kenya, South Africa and Uganda. Results show a strong preference for regulation and technological fixes and do not create capacity to acknowledge and integrate the specific challenges of urban informality and informal ways of life in energy policy, hence falling short of addressing social justice in energy transitions.

A phase model for the low-carbon transformation of energy systems in the MENA region

Given large potentials of the MENA region for renewable energy production, transitions towards renewables-based energy systems seem a promising way for meeting growing energy demand while contributing to greenhouse gas emissions reductions according to the Paris Agreement at the same time. Supporting and steering transitions to a low-carbon energy system require a clear understanding of socio-technical interdependencies in the energy system as well as of the principle dynamics of system innovations. For facilitating such understanding, a phase model for renewables-based energy transitions in MENA countries, which structures the transition process over time through the differentiation of a set of sub-sequent distinct phases, is developed in this article. The phase model builds on a phase model depicting the German energy transition, which was complemented by insights about transition governance and adapted to reflect characteristics of the MENA region. The resulting model includes four phases (“Take-off renewables”, “System integration”, “Power to fuel/gases”, “Towards 100% renewables”), each of which is characterized by a different cluster of innovations. These innovations enter the system via three stages of development which describe different levels of maturity and market penetration, and which require appropriate governance. The phase model has the potential to support strategy development and governance of energy transitions in MENA countries in two complementary ways: it provides an overview of techno-economic developments as orienting guidelines for decision-makers, and it adds some guidance as to which governance approaches are suitable for supporting those developments.