A functional approach to decentralization in the electricity sector: learning from community choice aggregation in California
Decentralization of the electricity sector has mainly been studied in relation to its infrastructural aspect, particularly location and size of the generation units, and only recently more attention has been paid to the governance aspects. This article examines power sector (de)centralization operationalized along three functional dimensions: political, administrative and economic. We apply this framework to empirically assess the changes in California’s electricity market, which saw the emergence of institutional innovation in the form of community choice aggregation (CCA). Unpacking the Californian case illustrates how decision-making has moved from central state government and regulators to the municipal level in uneven ways and without decentralized generation keeping pace. We also explore the impacts this multidimensional and diversified decentralization has on the ultimate goals of energy transition: decarbonization and energy security. Our framework and empirical findings challenge the conventional view on decentralization and problematize the widespread assumptions of its positive influence on climate mitigation and grid stability.
How the process of transitions shapes the politics of decarbonization: Tracing policy feedback effects across phases of the energy transition
Policy feedback has been applied as a theoretical concept in exploring the political dynamics of domestic energy transitions. However, theory-oriented work is needed to apply the concept to studies of technological change processes. This article explores two technology feedback effects – technology maturity and socio-technical fit – that add external pressure for policy adaption. These are theorized as enabling a correction mechanism through learning that can partly counter positive policy feedback effects. Thus, the co-evolution process between renewable energy policy instruments and technologies is conceptualized as involving increasing return processes leading to sticky policies, balanced by correction mechanisms that support a more plastic view on policies. This argument is explored through a longitudinal case study of the co-evolution of policy instruments and solar photovoltaics in California.
Ban or Regulate? A Critical Juncture in New York’s Fossil Fuel Regulation
In this chapter I examine the political process leading up to the ban on hydraulic fracturing in New York State. I identify the early phase ending with the governor’s decision to update the state’s environmental review guidelines for permitting in 2008 as a critical juncture. In retrospect this was a near miss for the oil and gas industry. The decision changed the rules of the game to one where the opposition to hydraulic fracturing defended status quo and gave grassroot organisations time to mobilize. The case illustrates that political feasibility of restrictive supply-side climate policies, such as banning fossil fuel production, is not something we can defined with a predefined set of variables. Instead political feasibility is created through the political process. Furthermore, I note an increasing use of supply-side policy measures since the ban. This suggests that the decision to ban hydraulic fracturing also marks an acceleration of the state’s transition towards a low-carbon energy economy.
Energy Transition and Social Movements: The Rise of a Community Choice Movement in California
This chapter examines the rise of a community choice movement in California. Here local governments launch community choice aggregation programs, one after the other, that promise higher renewable energy content than the existing investor-owned utilities. I view the movement as an expression of local climate interests fused with anti-utility resentment, and use the three lenses from social movement theory—political opportunities, mobilizing structures and framing processes—to analyze the emergence and development of the movement. This bottom-up process unfolds in a state that has some of the most ambitious climate policies and renewable energy goals in the US. The effectiveness of the community choice model as a climate policy tool is contested. However, the movement’s aim is not only to decarbonize the electricity system but to build an electricity system that utilizes more local renewable energy resources.
Interpreting cyber-energy-security events: experts, social imaginaries, and policy discourses around the 2016 Ukraine blackout
We analyse the expert debate around a cyber attack in 2016 that caused an electric power blackout in Ukraine. Two expert reports were crucial for interpreting this event, and there are several competing narratives of cybersecurity where the event plays different roles. We show that the most securitized narratives became more prominent and point to the power wielded by private companies and experts in this field.
The European Union's CBAM as a de facto Climate Club: The Governance Challenges
The European Commission has announced far-reaching reforms to accelerate the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Among the proposals constituting the European Green Deal is the adoption of a Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) to prevent carbon leakage. In practice, however, CBAM will not only act as a shield for the European Emissions Trading System (ETS) but also incentivize other countries to implement compatible carbon pricing schemes. We argue that the EU's CBAM thus de facto has the features of a climate club, but the current proposals and debate do not address how the club would be governed, addressing them involves a trade-off between maintaining control over the direction and ambition of climate policy and CBAM's legitimacy.
Norges oljedilemma etter Glasgow: Et umoralsk argument for et raskt grønt skifte
(This article is only in Norwegian) Etter å ha gått seirende ut av «klimavalget 2021», står den rødgrønne regjeringen overfor oppgaven med å sikre Norges grønne omstilling. I den offentlige debatten står gjerne argumenter om global solidaritet og miljøhensyn fremst i begrunnelsene for nødvendigheten av en grønn omstilling, mens motstandere av et raskt skifte fokuserer på de negative økonomiske konsekvensene de mener et raskt skifte vil få for Norge. Denne artikkelen søker å nyansere dette bildet, og argumenterer for et bredere kost-nytte-perspektiv som også tar høyde for diplomatiske kostnader ved å fortsette med oljeleting, samt de økonomiske konsekvensene av en treg omstilling. Selv om man holder konsekvensene av klimaendringene helt utenfor vurderingen, argumenterer vi for at usikkerheten rundt fremtidig oljepris og omdømmerisikoen Norge løper ved å fortsette å basere økonomien på ikke-fornybare energikilder, burde være gode argumenter for å revurdere Norges oljepolitikk.
Climate, Peace and Security in Ethiopia
Climate, Peace and Security Fact Sheet Ethiopia
Ethiopia is currently experiencing one of its most severe droughts in decades following four consecutive failed rain seasons. The country has a high dependency on rainfed agriculture, and recent reductions in economic growth rates, rapid population growth, weak institutional capacity and high levels of conflict make it particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. While climatic conditions differ substantially across Ethiopia, the average temperature is projected to increase, and rainfall is expected to become more erratic. Ethiopia´s long history of drought, famine and locust outbreaks all further the need for increased capacity and resilience to cope with the projected impacts of climate change. Political instability and conflict have compounded the humanitarian situation in the country, hampering the ability of the Ethiopian Government to implement its climate adaptation and mitigation policies.
International Organisations and the Caspian Sea Ecosystem