The International Political Economy of Energy Transitions

Abstract

This panel elaborates on the Section theme of energy transitions and the current state of scholarly debate on this issue by seeking to investigate key political and economic drivers of current attempts to achieve a transition away from fossil fuels towards a low-carbon economy. It examines how various approaches to International Political Economy account for the difficulty in understanding the role played by different types of actors in shaping such a transition, depending on whether emphasis is placed on governments, corporations or civil society in driving or impeding transition. Key factors to be considered include the framing and promotion of competing, and at times complementary, energy transition narratives by governments, energy companies and civil society respectively in adapting to a changing energy environment, which in turn highlights the incentives and impediments that shape the strategies and actions of different sets of actors. Papers will address these issues from perspective of theories of IPE, broadly defined.