An Institutional Perspective on the Low Carbon Transition

Abstract

The transition to a low carbon economy requires a change of sociotechnical regime or, in other words, a change in the way that society and technology interact. This, in turn, entails changes in economic, political, and societal institutions, the term institutions referring to the formal and informal rules and the expectations that govern the behavior of actors in a society. Tangible factors such as the availability of technology and skills and the endowment of resources and infrastructure provide significant constraints to countries seeking to undertake the transition to a low carbon economy. However, institutions also play a strong role in constraining the rate and shaping the path to a low carbon economy. As each nation is characterized by different institutions, the nature of the low carbon transition will vary from country to country, and even within individual countries. This article explains the relevance of institutions to the low carbon transition and applies this understanding to China and the United Kingdom in order to examine how different types of institution shape the way in which energy is governed, with particular reference to the consequences for the deployment of renewable energy.

Beyond shared socioeconomic pathways (SSPs) and representative concentration pathways (RCPs): climate policy implementation scenarios for Europe, the US and China

“…In this study, the role of context can be seen in terms of constraints on the range of options available to policy makers as a result of the need to satisfy different constituents whose support had helped their re-election. Jacobsson and Lauber (2006) used an institutionalist approach (Andrews-Speed, 2015;Lockwood et al, 2017) to explain the rapid diffusion of RE in Germany after 1990 as a 'battle over institutions' fought by coalitions of advocacy groups in the German parliament. Nilsson et al (2011) also applied an institutionalist approach to investigate the policy pathways to a low-carbon transition in Sweden by 2050.…”