A Cross-National Comparative Study of Renewable Energy Policy Implementation: Applying Lester’s Model of Commitment and Capacity

• In Event: Evidence-based Govenrance and Policy for Health, Energy, and Environment in South Korea

Abstract

Despite sustained policy efforts and substantial public investment to align with international norms and policy trends, South Korea has consistently fallen short of its renewable energy targets. This study seeks to understand the underlying causes of such stagnation not merely as a result of limited policy tools or weak political will, but through the dynamic interaction between institutional contexts and structural environments in which policy implementation unfolds. Specifically, it examines how the interplay of multiple internal and external factors shapes policy outcomes across countries.

To this end, the study establishes an analytical framework grounded in the core concepts of commitment and capacity from Lester (1990, 1994), distinguishing among structural, institutional, and actor-level factors to examine how their interactions influence renewable energy policy implementation. Quantitatively, the study employs data from the OECD, World Bank, and Enerdata to construct a 2×2 matrix that compares the level of policy instrument utilization and policy effectiveness among 37 OECD countries, identifying distinct national response types.

Building on these results, qualitative comparative analyses were conducted for South Korea, Germany, and Japan using official policy documents, government and research reports, credible media sources, public data, and expert interviews. This analysis provides a deeper understanding of how historical, institutional, and actor-level conditions combine to strengthen or weaken each country’s policy commitment and capacity over time.

Findings indicate that variations in renewable energy policy performance are determined less by the scale of fiscal investment or specific policy tools than by how institutional conditions and implementation capacities interact with broader structural factors. In particular, South Korea’s relatively weak performance stems from a mismatch between commitment and capacity within its institutional context. Strengthening future renewable energy policy thus requires both the institutionalization of commitment and the structural enhancement of capacity. The study concludes that achieving meaningful energy transition outcomes depends not on adopting new technologies or instruments, but on securing institutional alignment across policy, market, infrastructure, and administrative systems to ensure the continuity and effectiveness of implementation.

Authors

• Eunju SEO, Korea Environment Institute
  Presenting Author

• T. J. Lah
  Non-Presenting Co-Author

• Jongho KIM
  Non-Presenting Co-Author