Vetoing the future: political constraints and renewable energy

ABSTRACT

Despite the increased importance of and attention to renewable energy, its share in the overall energy mix has varied significantly across countries and over time. There are many determinants of clean energy transitions; this study focuses on political constraints. Here it is argued that political systems that have fewer political constraints have fewer access points through which powerful status quo veto players can slow the progress of clean energy reforms. To test the theory, a hierarchical model is applied on a dataset of 125 countries over four decades. The results provide significant support for the theory. Furthermore, the effects for political constraints hold even when we distinguish between hydro and non-hydro renewable sources and control for regime type. This study builds on research that recognizes the importance of politics in understanding the challenges and opportunities of clean energy reform.

KEYWORDS:

• Renewable energy
• sustainable energy transitions
• electricity production
• political institutions
• political constraints
• veto players

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. According to IEA (2015) Key World Energy Statistics, the share of renewables in total primary energy supply had only increased to 13.8% in 2013 from 12.4% in 1973.

2. Electricity production from renewable sources, excluding hydroelectric, includes geothermal, solar, tides, wind, biomass, and biofuels.

3. Ilisu Dam in Turkey, Belo Monte Dam in Brazil, and China’s Three Gorges Dam are good examples of the destruction caused by large dams to many indigenous communities and prominent historical sites. For more detail, see http://damocracy.org

4. Hydropower constitutes 83% of all renewables electricity production according to REN21 (2015).