IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/envirc/v35y2017i7p1139-1155.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Sub-national government and pathways to sustainable energy

Author

Listed:
  • Richard Cowell
  • Geraint Ellis
  • Fionnguala Sherry-Brennan
  • Peter A Strachan
  • David Toke

Abstract

In an effort to understand how to promote more sustainable forms of energy provision, researchers have begun addressing the scale of political and governance processes, yet the effects of sub-national government remain neglected. At the same time, analysts of political devolution, decentralisation and independence have rarely given attention to the energy sector. Papers in this special issue seek to better understand the relationship between sub-national government and pathways to sustainable energy: examining how city-regional and devolved governments have shaped agendas for building retrofit; elucidating the importance of decentralised governance in knitting together electricity, heat and transport energy markets; mapping the complex, fuzzy spatial organisation of legal powers to direct energy policy across multi-level polities; and analysing conflicts over the allocation of energy infrastructure consenting powers between national and devolved governments. The papers highlight the interdependencies of action in different governmental arenas, and reinforce arguments for greater central-to-local reflexivity in governance styles. Analysing the interface between sub-national government and energy transition also raises new questions about the meaning of ‘sovereignty’, the fragmentary nature of democratic control over energy systems, and the effects of boundaries.

Suggested Citation

  • Richard Cowell & Geraint Ellis & Fionnguala Sherry-Brennan & Peter A Strachan & David Toke, 2017. "Sub-national government and pathways to sustainable energy," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 35(7), pages 1139-1155, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:envirc:v:35:y:2017:i:7:p:1139-1155
    DOI: 10.1177/2399654417730359
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/2399654417730359
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/2399654417730359?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Bernhard Truffer & Lars Coenen, 2012. "Environmental Innovation and Sustainability Transitions in Regional Studies," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 46(1), pages 1-21, November.
    2. Andy Stirling, 2014. "Transforming Power: social science and the politics of energy choices," SPRU Working Paper Series 2014-03, SPRU - Science Policy Research Unit, University of Sussex Business School.
    3. Kitschelt, Herbert P., 1986. "Political Opportunity Structures and Political Protest: Anti-Nuclear Movements in Four Democracies," British Journal of Political Science, Cambridge University Press, vol. 16(1), pages 57-85, January.
    4. Bomberg, Elizabeth & McEwen, Nicola, 2012. "Mobilizing community energy," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 435-444.
    5. Elizabeth Shove & Gordon Walker, 2007. "Caution! Transitions Ahead: Politics, Practice, and Sustainable Transition Management," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 39(4), pages 763-770, April.
    6. Adrian Smith, 2007. "Emerging in between: the multi-level governance of renewable energy in the English regions," SPRU Working Paper Series 159, SPRU - Science Policy Research Unit, University of Sussex Business School.
    7. Foxon, Timothy J., 2013. "Transition pathways for a UK low carbon electricity future," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 10-24.
    8. Sperling, Karl & Hvelplund, Frede & Mathiesen, Brian Vad, 2011. "Centralisation and decentralisation in strategic municipal energy planning in Denmark," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(3), pages 1338-1351, March.
    9. David Gibbs & Gerd Lintz, 2016. "Editorial: Environmental Governance of Urban and Regional Development - Scales and Sectors, Conflict and Cooperation," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 50(6), pages 925-928, June.
    10. Kern, Florian & Smith, Adrian, 2008. "Restructuring energy systems for sustainability? Energy transition policy in the Netherlands," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(11), pages 4093-4103, November.
    11. James Meadowcroft, 2009. "What about the politics? Sustainable development, transition management, and long term energy transitions," Policy Sciences, Springer;Society of Policy Sciences, vol. 42(4), pages 323-340, November.
    12. Helm, Dieter, 2003. "Energy, the State, and the Market: British Energy Policy since 1979," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199262038, Decembrie.
    13. Bridge, Gavin & Bouzarovski, Stefan & Bradshaw, Michael & Eyre, Nick, 2013. "Geographies of energy transition: Space, place and the low-carbon economy," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 331-340.
    14. Smith, Adrian, 2007. "Emerging in between: The multi-level governance of renewable energy in the English regions," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(12), pages 6266-6280, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Díaz Serrano, Lluís & Meix Llop, Enric, 2018. "Decentralization and the Quality of Public Services: Cross-Country Evidence from Educational Data," Working Papers 2072/351581, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Department of Economics.
    2. Rydin, Yvonne & Turcu, Catalina, 2019. "Revisiting urban energy initiatives in the UK: Declining local capacity in a shifting policy context," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 129(C), pages 653-660.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Bradshaw, Amanda & de Martino Jannuzzi, Gilberto, 2019. "Governing energy transitions and regional economic development: Evidence from three Brazilian states," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 126(C), pages 1-11.
    2. Jenkins, Kirsten & Sovacool, Benjamin K. & McCauley, Darren, 2018. "Humanizing sociotechnical transitions through energy justice: An ethical framework for global transformative change," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 66-74.
    3. Hansen , Teis & Coenen , Lars, 2013. "The Geography of Sustainability Transitions: A Literature Review," Papers in Innovation Studies 2013/39, Lund University, CIRCLE - Centre for Innovation Research.
    4. Thomas L Muinzer & Geraint Ellis, 2017. "Subnational governance for the low carbon energy transition: Mapping the UK’s ‘Energy Constitution’," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 35(7), pages 1176-1197, November.
    5. Carla De Laurentis & Malcolm Eames & Miriam Hunt, 2017. "Retrofitting the built environment ‘to save’ energy: Arbed, the emergence of a distinctive sustainability transition pathway in Wales," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 35(7), pages 1156-1175, November.
    6. Harald Rohracher & Philipp Späth, 2014. "The Interplay of Urban Energy Policy and Socio-technical Transitions: The Eco-cities of Graz and Freiburg in Retrospect," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 51(7), pages 1415-1431, May.
    7. Mattes, Jannika & Huber, Andreas & Koehrsen, Jens, 2015. "Energy transitions in small-scale regions – What we can learn from a regional innovation systems perspective," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 255-264.
    8. Markard, Jochen & Raven, Rob & Truffer, Bernhard, 2012. "Sustainability transitions: An emerging field of research and its prospects," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 41(6), pages 955-967.
    9. Frank, Alejandro Germán & Gerstlberger, Wolfgang & Paslauski, Carolline Amaral & Lerman, Laura Visintainer & Ayala, Néstor Fabián, 2018. "The contribution of innovation policy criteria to the development of local renewable energy systems," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 115(C), pages 353-365.
    10. Drago, Carlo & Gatto, Andrea, 2022. "Policy, regulation effectiveness, and sustainability in the energy sector: A worldwide interval-based composite indicator," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    11. Gavin Bridge & Ludger Gailing, 2020. "New energy spaces: Towards a geographical political economy of energy transition," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 52(6), pages 1037-1050, September.
    12. Jens Koehrsen, 2017. "Boundary Bridging Arrangements: A Boundary Work Approach to Local Energy Transitions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(3), pages 1-23, March.
    13. Barton, John & Davies, Lloyd & Dooley, Ben & Foxon, Timothy J. & Galloway, Stuart & Hammond, Geoffrey P. & O’Grady, Áine & Robertson, Elizabeth & Thomson, Murray, 2018. "Transition pathways for a UK low-carbon electricity system: Comparing scenarios and technology implications," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 82(P3), pages 2779-2790.
    14. Griet Juwet & Michael Ryckewaert, 2018. "Energy Transition in the Nebular City: Connecting Transition Thinking, Metabolism Studies, and Urban Design," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-20, March.
    15. Pohlmann, Angela, 2019. "Dismantling the relationship between energy innovations and power," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    16. Uyarra, Elvira & Shapira, Philip & Harding, Alan, 2016. "Low carbon innovation and enterprise growth in the UK: Challenges of a place-blind policy mix," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 103(C), pages 264-272.
    17. Jonathan Rutherford & Olivier Coutard, 2014. "Urban Energy Transitions: Places, Processes and Politics of Socio-technical Change," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 51(7), pages 1353-1377, May.
    18. Rogge, Karoline S. & Pfluger, Benjamin & Geels, Frank, 2017. "Transformative policy mixes in socio-technical scenarios: The case of the low-carbon transition of the German electricity system (2010-2050)," Working Papers "Sustainability and Innovation" S11/2017, Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research (ISI).
    19. Sergent, Arnaud, 2014. "Sector-based political analysis of energy transition: Green shift in the forest policy regime in France," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 491-500.
    20. Bogdan Klepacki & Barbara Kusto & Piotr Bórawski & Aneta Bełdycka-Bórawska & Konrad Michalski & Aleksandra Perkowska & Tomasz Rokicki, 2021. "Investments in Renewable Energy Sources in Basic Units of Local Government in Rural Areas," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(11), pages 1-17, May.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:envirc:v:35:y:2017:i:7:p:1139-1155. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.