Integrating global energy and climate governance: The changing role of the International Energy Agency

Abstract

Despite the long-recognized interlinkages between global energy consumption and climate change, there has historically been only limited policy interaction, let alone integration, between the two fields. This compartmentalization is mirrored in scholarship, where much research has focused on the fragmentation of, respectively, global energy and global climate governance, but only little has been said about how these fields might be integrated. Our analysis of the International Energy Agency's (IEA) changing activities in recent years shows that governance integration -both within global energy governance and between global energy and climate governance -is now happening. The IEA has broadened its portfolio to embrace the full spectrum of energy issues, including renewable energy and climate change; it has built and is expanding key partnerships with both the UN climate convention and the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA); and it has become an authoritative advocate for the inter-related goals of a low-carbon transition and climate change mitigation.We show that these developments are not the result of a top-down plan, but have rather emerged through the Agency's various efforts to pursue its energy-centric mandate in a fastchanging global policy environment.

Global energy governance: a review and research agenda

“…A second set of questions relates to the interplay between energy governance and related areas, in particular climate change (Fouquet, 2013;Heubaum and Biermann, 2015), water (Hussey and Pittock, 2012) and food security (Hendrix and Salehyan, 2012). The notion of a "resource nexus" captures the idea that these areas are all closely interconnected.…”

“…It is generally regarded as the "world's foremost multilateral energy organization" (Van de Graaf, 2015) and "the closest we have to a World Energy Organization" (Van de Graaf, 2013a). It should thus not come as a surprise that the IEA's evolving role and governance functions has received ample attention, both in the 1970s and 1980s and in recent years Colgan, 2009;Leverett, 2010;Kohl, 2010;Van de Graaf, 2012Lesage and Van de Graaf, 2013;Heubaum and Biermann, 2015;Colgan and Van de Graaf, 2015).…”

Renewable and distributed resources in a post-Paris low carbon future: The key role and political economy of sustainable electricity

“…This observation has crossed over to the popular press: Leonhardt [94,95], Avent [4]. 27 Kobos et al [86], Horbach [70], Ahlborg [2], Boschma Capone [15], Heubaum and Biermann [69]. 28 Bosetti et al [16], Ek et al [49], Kahouli [81], Kalkuhl, Edenhofer and Lessmann [82,83], Lindman and Soderholm [98], Rubin [129], Lindahl et al [97].…”

“…Principles for dealing with such a situation have been developed across a number of fields as diverse as financial portfolio analysis, 68 project management, 69 technology risk assessment, 70 Black Swan Theory, 71 military strategy 72 and space exploration. 73 Recommendations for building portfolios of assets are similar across these fields.…”

Worlds apart, worlds together: converging and diverging frames in climate and energy governance

“…However, despite clear linkages, many have observed that in terms of global policy and governance, energy and climate change are separate fields (e.g. Gunningham, 2012;Heubaum & Biermann, 2015). For example, there is no single explicit mention of energy in the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change (UNFCCC, 2015).…”