A climate for change? The impacts of climate change on energy politics

Abstract

A climate for change? The impacts of climate change on energy politics Article (Accepted Version) http://sro.sussex.ac.uk Newell, Peter and Lane, Richard (2018) A climate for change? The impacts of climate change on energy politics. Cambridge Review of International Affairs.

Impacts of COVID-19 pandemic on the global energy system and the shift progress to renewable energy: Opportunities, challenges, and policy implications

“…In countries like Japan and China, major investments and government subsidies in coal production have provided the underlying support to prop up the increased power production from coal-fired plants over the other more sustainable energy resources (A and “ https://www.iea.org , 2020 ). Up till now, such common and long-standing investment practices have been a major obstacle in moving away from fossil fuel consumption ( Newell and Lane, 2020 ). Nevertheless, there has been a steady divestment trend from fossil fuels in recent years by prominent private and quasi-state actors in several OECD countries.…”

Covid-19 and the politics of sustainable energy transitions

“…In turn, energy systems, old and new, are understood as being made up not just of supply, but also demand and social infrastructures [10]. Energy systems and practices are, of course, already undergoing sustainable changes, in particular in electricity, whilst there is significant variety between countries, in terms of pace, scale and technologies [11], partly related to political approaches to sustainability.…”

“…Sustainable energy policy is, in turn, shaped by embedded power relations and institutions, but exists today because of the successful articulation of new ideas, particularly about climate change [10,12]. Within our definition, energy power relations also include institutionalised financial practices, and investment choices, that have long facilitated fossil fuel lock-in in energy systems [11], to which we return in Section 3.2 below.…”

“…Transnational, and national, oil and gas companies have kept up investments in long-term projects; coal investments, often by Japan and China, have continued in developing countries thereby underpinning the expansion of coal fired electricity; whilst state subsidies for fossil fuels continue to far outstrip support for sustainable energy [31]. Prior to this crisis, and the implications for fossil fuel companies listed above, these investment practices were partly responsible for locking-in difficulties associated with phasing out fossil fuels [11].…”

“…Clearly, how different social groups are affected by sustainable transitions differs markedly between and within countries. Those employed within fossil fuel industries may feel very differently from those living within regions at high risk from rising sea levelshence recent calls to adjust for such inequalities when governing for sustainable energy transitions [11].…”