Exploring the role of phase-out policies for low-carbon energy transitions: The case of the German Energiewende

Rogge, Karoline S.; Johnstone, Phil

doi:10.1016/j.erss.2017.10.004

Cited by 145 publications

(63 citation statements)

References 69 publications

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“…First, directing innovation towards sustainability requires greater analytical attention to credible long-term policy strategies with stable and ambitious targets (Weber and Rohracher 2012;Rogge et al, 2011;Schmidt et al, 2012), such as the recent Paris Agreement (Kern and Rogge, 2016). Second, it has been argued that policy mixes aiming at structural change may need to pursue simultaneously the 'creation' of green innovation as well as the 'destruction' of incumbent systems (Kivimaa and Kern 2016;Rogge and Johnstone 2017). Third, there is a critical appreciation that real-world policy mixes may never be completely consistent and coherent, particularly in the context of sustainability transitions where green niches compete with established regimes and respective policies (Quitzow 2015;Rogge and Reichardt 2016;Flanagan et al, 2011).…”

Section: The Neglect Of the Analysis Of Policy Mixesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Harnessing theories of the policy process for analysing the politics of sustainability transitions: A critical survey

Kern

Rogge

2018

Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions

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144

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This paper provides a survey of policy process theories and their usefulness in transitions research. Some research has already used such theories, but often in an ad hoc and relatively cursory way and with little attention to potential alternatives. However, it has been argued that transition scholars need to pay more attention to the politics of policy processes. We argue that a critical stocktaking of policy process theories is a prerequisite for future transition studies that more systematically respond to these challenges. Therefore, we review five prominent policy process theories and their applicability in transition studies. We point to two weaknesses of empirical applications of these approaches that are of particular relevance for transitions research: their focus on single instruments or policy packages, and their neglect of policy outcomes. We conclude by suggesting avenues for research on the linkages between policy processes, policy mixes, and socio-technical change

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Section: The Neglect Of the Analysis Of Policy Mixesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Harnessing theories of the policy process for analysing the politics of sustainability transitions: A critical survey

Kern

Rogge

2018

Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions

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144

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“…For example, the primary goal of Germany's sustainable energy policy is to limit the negative impact of energy on the environment and the climate by supporting projects that lead to the use of energy from RES [68][69][70][71]. Denmark, which has been developing technologies for obtaining energy from RES since the 1970s [72], on September 15th, 2019 covered all daily demand for energy from RES (mainly from wind energy) [73].…”

Section: Eu Policy In Terms Of Resmentioning

confidence: 99%

Analyzing Similarities between the European Union Countries in Terms of the Structure and Volume of Energy Production from Renewable Energy Sources

2020

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The European Union (EU) countries, as one of the most economically developed regions in the world, are taking increasingly decisive actions to reduce the emission of harmful substances into the natural environment. This can be exemplified by a new climate strategy referred to as “The European Green Deal”. Its basic assumption is that the EU countries will have achieved climate neutrality by 2050. To do so, it is necessary to make an energy transition involving the widest possible use of renewable energy sources (RES) for energy production. However, activities in this area should be preceded by analyses due to the large diversity of the EU countries in terms of economic development, the number of inhabitants and their wealth as well as geographical location and area. The results of such analyses should support the implementation of adopted strategies. In order to assess the current state of the energy sector in the EU and indicate future directions of activities, research was carried out to analyze the structure and volume of energy production from RES in the EU countries. The aim of the study was to divide the EU countries into similar groups by the structure and volume of energy production from RES. This production was compared with the number of inhabitants of each EU country, its area and the value of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). This approach allows a new and broader view of the structure of energy production from RES and creates an opportunity to take into account additional factors when developing and implementing new climate strategies. The k-means algorithm was used for the analysis. The presented analyses and obtained results constitute a new approach to studying the diversified energy market in the EU. The results should be used for the development of a common energy and climate policy and economic integration of the EU countries.

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“…However, the starting point of restructuring the German energy system towards a low-carbon one was set in the years before by implementing the "German Energy Concept" (see, e.g., [64]). Additionally, the disaster changed the attitude of the German government with respect to the use of nuclear energy [31,80]. The energy package which was released in 2011 includes new laws like the Nuclear Energy Act with a warm-down of German nuclear power plants until 2022; the Act to Restructure the Legal Framework for the Promotion of Electricity Generation from Renewable Energy and the Act on Measures to Accelerate the Expansion of the Electricity Grid (NABEG).…”

Section: Destabilization Of the Role Of Coal-fired Plants In The Regimementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Among these aspects are changes in R&D activities, in actor constellations (including coming up of pressure groups and changes in the mix of actors in power plant industries), feedbacks of public attitudes on the policies framework and vice versa, as well as disruptive impacts from global and European level. Hence, the landing process of a technology when being phased out of the regime, as well as non-technological aspects framing the phase-out process are not considered [30,31]. As an example of a soft landing process, which is strongly governed by factors, which are not considered in bottom-up models, the German nuclear phase-out can be used.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Transformation pathways of phasing out coal-fired power plants in Germany

et al. 2018

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Background: While there are plenty of studies investigating the market penetration of new technologies, phaseout processes of a predominant technology are rarely analyzed. The present study explores the case of a declining technology, employing the example of coal-fired power plants in Germany. These plants were promoted by governmental decision-makers as well as by the industry for a long time, but meanwhile, the phase-out or at least a cutback of coal-fired power plants is--not only in Germany--considered to be a key strategy for the transformation towards a sustainable society. Methods:We investigate potential pathways of the future development of the coal-fired power plant sector in an extended multi-level perspective (MLP) framework that integrates economic, social, political, and technical aspects.Results: Taking into account the fact that coal is losing its support from several important stakeholders (e.g., governmental decision-makers, utilities) due to, e.g., changes in the prioritization of political goals, changes in the economic framework, in actor constellations, and in public attitudes, coal-fired power plants tend to be pushed into niches or to disappear completely. Conclusions: A reasonable management of the niche technology "coal-fired power plants" could include a protection of space for ensuring a smooth removal of the links between the regime and the technology with respect to, e.g., social and environmental aspects. The phase-out pathways for the coal-fired power plants elaborated on in this paper help to better inform policy-makers to design transformation processes not only for coal-fired power but also for other declining technologies.

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Exploring the role of phase-out policies for low-carbon energy transitions: The case of the German Energiewende

Cited by 145 publications

References 69 publications

Harnessing theories of the policy process for analysing the politics of sustainability transitions: A critical survey

Harnessing theories of the policy process for analysing the politics of sustainability transitions: A critical survey

Analyzing Similarities between the European Union Countries in Terms of the Structure and Volume of Energy Production from Renewable Energy Sources

Transformation pathways of phasing out coal-fired power plants in Germany

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