Energy Policy, Politics and Governance

The ongoing merger of climate and energy policies has broadened the energy agenda, disrupted institutional balance within jurisdictions, and pushed the decision-makers towards greater interaction with the public: be it in the form of addressing climate skepticism or through steering the processes of decentralization and democratization of energy supply. Taking this development as a point of departure, the section addresses general issues such as: the interplay between integration and fragmentation in energy politics, trade-offs and synergies between energy policy goals, or legitimacy and acceptance of disruptive policy and technological innovations. Currently, 8 panels are planned for the section (see below). All of them have vacant slots and seek papers. If interested in contributing to one of the panels, please contact the chairs directly. Panel proposals are welcomed too. (1) The Rise of Hydrogen Politics: Strategies, Conflicts, Cooperation (Jörg Kemmerzell, kemmerzell@pg.tu-darmstadt.de, Michèle Knodt, knodt@pg.tu-darmstadt.de) Due to its increasing significance, hydrogen becomes a political element, whose usage no longer remains uncontested. Political debates occur e.g. around issues like reasonable fields of application, unintended consequences of production, domestic production vs. import, or about proper governance instruments (regulation and incentives) of hydrogen. The panel welcomes papers that analyze hydrogen strategies, examine political conflicts over the shape of hydrogen industry, or illustrate the structures of the emerging international hydrogen economy. (2) Tales of the unjust energy transition: Is a just coal transition a fallacy? (Michael LaBelle, Labellem@ceu.edu, Lukas Lehotsky, llehotsky@mail.muni.cz) The global coal phase-out will require new industrial networks to be established in coal-intensive regions to maintain economic and social stability. Experience shows that government support mechanisms often miss the most affected communities in coal regions. The panel invites contributions that highlight the (in)equity in policy measures affecting coal communities. (3) Contracting for Climate Mitigation? Achieving the Paris Goals (Mirella Johler, Mirella.Johler@uibk.ac.at) The panel will discuss political and legal obstacles in achieving the Paris goals. Examples include, but are not limited to, clashes of interests between protecting climate and preserving nature or legal values such as "legal certainty", "pacta sunt servanda" which can be at odds with ambitious climate policies. (4) Analyzing state capacity for emission neutrality (Christian Flachsland, Sebastian Levi, Levi@hertie-school.org) Achieving the fast and thorough cuts in greenhouse gas emissions envisioned by the EU Green Deal requires effective political measures to be implemented quickly and sustained over a longer period of time. Political institutions and bureaucracies must therefore coordinate policy processes across all relevant sectors, anticipate intended and unintended consequences of policy instruments, and implement measures that ensure both long-term policy continuity and flexible adjustment of policy mixes to changing political and technological circumstances. This panel invites papers that analyze these state capacities necessary for climate policy, including studies related to strategic policy planning, horizontal and institutional coordination, vertical coordination, policy sequencing and policy continuity, policy mix coherence, and effective bureaucracy. (5) Energy governance and political-regulatory challenges (Tor Håkon Jackson Inderberg, thinderberg@fni.no, Marie Byskov Lindberg, mblindberg@fni.no, Per Ove Eikeland, poeikeland@fni.no) We invite papers on the challenges of governing the electricity sector and beyond. This includes conflicts, drivers, barriers, as well as responses relating to current transition trends and challenges. Examples include electrification, decentralization, sector coupling, energy justice and political feasibility issues. Relevant papers can have empirical basis in national, EU or other jurisdictions. (6) Engendering the global energy transition: the search for a social-just energy policy (Mariëlle Feenstra, m.h.feenstra@utwente.nl, Rachel Guyet, rachel.guyet@cife.eu) Social inequalities and energy justice are two key emerging streams in the energy policy literature, with yet little attention to gender equality. This panel session is searching how a social-just energy policy can be designed in order to provide access to energy services to all. Lessons learned from including gender-approaches in energy project in the Global South, could provide valuable comparison with the European attempts to mitigate energy poverty in a just way. Especially since many of the programs enhancing energy access for all are funded by European grants and European development assistance. Especially contributions are invited that explore just energy transitions, discuss the right to energy translated in policy, present empirical data on gender dimensions in energy access, or identify governance concerns of just energy transitions. (7) Empowering the European Commission? The European Green Deal and the EU’s Climate and Energy Frameworks for 2030 and 2050 (Marco Siddi, siddi.marco@googlemail.com) This panel seeks to analyze the impact of the European Green Deal on EU climate and energy governance, with a focus on the 2030 and 2050 frameworks. It investigates both the framing of a trajectory to achieve greenhouse gas emission reduction and the role of EU institutions in the process. Particular attention is devoted to the draft climate law proposed by the European Commission in March 2020 and to the negotiations that should lead to more ambitious targets for 2030. (8) Into the unknown: Governing decarbonization with uncertainties and controversial technologies (Kacper Szulecki, kacper.szulecki@stv.uio.no) A large portion of the envisaged emissions reductions we need will come from technologies that are not yet mature. Hydrogen, CCUS, BECCS, large-scale storage, new types of RES, new nuclear capacity, possibly also new kinds of nuclear and, finally, geoengineering. How does such uncertainty affect decision making? How do we decide about technological landscape 30 years on?