Abstract:This paper introduces a method to analyse and explore consistency within policy mixes in order to support the policymaking cycle and applies it to energy and climate change policies in the United Kingdom (UK) biofuels policy context. The first part of the paper introduces a multi-level method to evaluate consistency within policy mixes implemented over a period of time. The first level explores consistency across policy design features in policy mixes. The second level evaluates how stakeholders, and their int… Show more
“…They also think that the financing activities, such as the sale of certificates and crowdfunding, and the test installation was successful for the PV project [7,14]. Their driver in the project was to produce renewable electricity in the village, and they agreed with the nuclear phase out [17,28]. These drivers are in line with the aims of the energy strategy.…”
“…For these reasons, we contend that aggregate PV goals are not met due to barriers that stop individual projects from going forward. Some of these barriers may stem from inconsistent implementation of support policies [17]. Understanding the decision process at a project level is therefore necessary to clarify the lack of success of energy policies to reach the planned goals [18], and it allows us to determine risks to implementation of individual renewables projects and aggregate goals.…”
Section: Introductionmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…The first step consists in the collection of information (intelligence), followed by the creation of agreement on what to do (promotion). This requires clarity on which groups benefit and which values are promoted by each alternative, in order to avoid unintended outcomes [17]. These two steps should be done before clarifying and setting down the goals, norms, and instruments to be used (codification).…”
Background: When renewable policies are in place, the mismatch between policy targets and lack of technology diffusion indicates a gap between codifying a policy and implementing it. In Switzerland, photovoltaic (PV) electricity is seen to play a major role in the future. Stakeholders' opinions in the implementation of photovoltaic projects may block or delay the achievement of renewable policy goals. This paper explores the question: which are the main drivers and risks perceived by stakeholders at different levels of the government in the implementation of a pilot PV project? Methods: We study a decision-making process of a pilot project in the Swiss Alps to figure out which determinants explain the public opposition to such implementation. We study five types of determinants of public acceptance: economy, technology, environment, social aspects, and the policy process. We use Q methodology, which is especially suited to determine the different interests of stakeholders' groups. Results: Our results show four different perspectives: "Mainstream proponents," "Ecologically wary," "Worried about implementation," and "Looking for cantonal and national backing." The results indicate that the photovoltaics' acceptance was highly driven by the potential contribution of the project to the regional economy. However, economy and technology determinants elicited both the highest and the lowest statistical consensus among perspectives (z-score). Our results point out the important role of initiators to maintain trust during the decision-making process. Finally, stakeholders in the photovoltaic project wanted to have fluent access to concrete information about the project and its future plans. Conclusions: Most of the implementation risks observed are determinants of acceptance related to economic aspects and the policy process. Characteristics of the decision-making process, such as trust during the process, affect the perceived outcomes of the project. Aspects of the decision-making process may, therefore, turn into risks for the project's implementation. Results also suggest that techno-economic assessments are key drivers to fostering energy transitions, but they are not sufficient in themselves. Initiators have to consider enhancing communication since the early steps of the policy process, the intelligence and promotion phases to avoid implementation risks.
“…They also think that the financing activities, such as the sale of certificates and crowdfunding, and the test installation was successful for the PV project [7,14]. Their driver in the project was to produce renewable electricity in the village, and they agreed with the nuclear phase out [17,28]. These drivers are in line with the aims of the energy strategy.…”
“…For these reasons, we contend that aggregate PV goals are not met due to barriers that stop individual projects from going forward. Some of these barriers may stem from inconsistent implementation of support policies [17]. Understanding the decision process at a project level is therefore necessary to clarify the lack of success of energy policies to reach the planned goals [18], and it allows us to determine risks to implementation of individual renewables projects and aggregate goals.…”
Section: Introductionmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…The first step consists in the collection of information (intelligence), followed by the creation of agreement on what to do (promotion). This requires clarity on which groups benefit and which values are promoted by each alternative, in order to avoid unintended outcomes [17]. These two steps should be done before clarifying and setting down the goals, norms, and instruments to be used (codification).…”
Background: When renewable policies are in place, the mismatch between policy targets and lack of technology diffusion indicates a gap between codifying a policy and implementing it. In Switzerland, photovoltaic (PV) electricity is seen to play a major role in the future. Stakeholders' opinions in the implementation of photovoltaic projects may block or delay the achievement of renewable policy goals. This paper explores the question: which are the main drivers and risks perceived by stakeholders at different levels of the government in the implementation of a pilot PV project? Methods: We study a decision-making process of a pilot project in the Swiss Alps to figure out which determinants explain the public opposition to such implementation. We study five types of determinants of public acceptance: economy, technology, environment, social aspects, and the policy process. We use Q methodology, which is especially suited to determine the different interests of stakeholders' groups. Results: Our results show four different perspectives: "Mainstream proponents," "Ecologically wary," "Worried about implementation," and "Looking for cantonal and national backing." The results indicate that the photovoltaics' acceptance was highly driven by the potential contribution of the project to the regional economy. However, economy and technology determinants elicited both the highest and the lowest statistical consensus among perspectives (z-score). Our results point out the important role of initiators to maintain trust during the decision-making process. Finally, stakeholders in the photovoltaic project wanted to have fluent access to concrete information about the project and its future plans. Conclusions: Most of the implementation risks observed are determinants of acceptance related to economic aspects and the policy process. Characteristics of the decision-making process, such as trust during the process, affect the perceived outcomes of the project. Aspects of the decision-making process may, therefore, turn into risks for the project's implementation. Results also suggest that techno-economic assessments are key drivers to fostering energy transitions, but they are not sufficient in themselves. Initiators have to consider enhancing communication since the early steps of the policy process, the intelligence and promotion phases to avoid implementation risks.
“…The role of scholars and practitioners in the energy field is to find the most appropriate instrument to achieve the two competing values of boosting the economy and protecting the environment. The importance of selecting a policy instrument or mixing instruments will increase [45,86]. More debates and research should be conducted to arouse interest in the theme of sustainable energy policy instruments.…”
Section: Discussion and Concluding Remarksmentioning
The constant effectiveness of a policy instrument was a major lacuna in energy policy for a long time. However, selecting and mixing appropriate policy instruments has become crucial in the era of climate change. The aim of this paper is to investigate the renewable portfolio standard (RPS) system as a sustainable policy instrument for promoting new and renewable energy. To answer the research question, we utilized the latent growth model by applying the data on 27 types of new and renewable energy production from 2014, 2015, and 2016. Our empirical analysis concluded that the effectiveness of the RPS as a policy instrument decreased linearly each year, and its effectiveness is expected to decrease in the long term from 2017 to 2023. Profound debates and evidence from other RPS-adopting countries should be additionally conducted to bolster this theme of sustainable energy policy instruments
“…Recent studies have described how the embeddedness of policy designs causes their development to be susceptible to the influences of the political, administrative and legal institutional context (e.g. Howlett and Rayner 2004;Howlett 2014a;Rogge and Reichardt 2016;Bahn-Walkowiak and Wilts 2017;Falcone et al 2017;Rayner et al 2017;Lieu et al 2018). The institutional context influences the formulation process of design elements and their alignment (Flanagan et al 2011;Chindarkar et al 2017).…”
Section: External Influences On Policy Design Dynamicsmentioning
A policy design is a dynamic mix of goals and instruments that develop over time through processes of layering, drift, conversion, replacement and exhaustion. In the face of these dynamics, it is a key concern for policy designers to maintain fit between policy design elements by sustaining goal coherence, instrument consistency and the congruence of goals and instruments. Even though the temporal aspect is fundamental to new policy design thinking, few studies have dealt with the interrelation between policy dynamics and fit. With a longitudinal case study of Dutch transport planning, this research aims to provide insight into this interrelation and to highlight practical implications. This study reveals an intricate and ongoing fitting process between goals and instruments, in which any moment of coherence, consistency and congruence is temporary. During this fitting process, goals and instruments developed in different and largely separate trajectories. In this case, layering successfully improved congruence, but at the same time created inconsistencies between old and new instruments. To resolve some of these inconsistencies, conversion was used. These findings show that policy design is an ongoing process. The main practical implications of this study are that integrating the design of goals and instruments is an essential first practical step, that the ongoing monitoring and evaluation of policy design performance should be a central component in the ongoing process of policy design, and that a combination of layering and conversion can be a successful design approach to adjust instrument mixes to changing goals.
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