Public Servants and Regulator Capture in Energy and Environmental Governance

Abstract

The rapid pace of change, uncertainty and social contest associated with emerging regulatory spaces create challenges for public servants. In particular, their capacity to act in the public interest may be constrained as contesting interests vie for influence in nascent regulatory environs. This chapter explores these issues and the potential for regulatory capture in the context of unconventional gas and its regulation. The rapid expansion of unconventional gas, such as shale and coal seam gas (CSG), has responded to growing global energy needs, but has brought with it debates on how it should be regulated. These debates include the environmental laws may not be aligned to practice. The chapter draws on its findings to reflect on the specific regulatory practices that are needed to ensure the accountability and legitimacy of the public sector in such contested spaces, including reforming state regulatory systems and pursuing alternative governance pathways in which relationships between industry, government and society might be reconfigured.