The Political Economy of Deep Decarbonization

• In Event: The Politics of Green Industrial Policy: Lessons for a Green New Deal

Abstract

During the 1990s and 2000s, numerous environmental and industrial policies were adopted to stimulate the development of renewable energy technologies. Today, many states and countries are pursuing aggressive policies for deeper decarbonization, most notably mandates for 100% clean or renewable electricity. While these ambitious policies are enabled in part by the cost competitiveness of solar, wind, and batteries, this does not mean that politics are becoming less important. Large-scale renewables deployment simply raises a different set of political economic challenges, including greater opposition from incumbent industrial actors. In this paper, we use comparative case studies to examine how policymakers across multiple jurisdictions are addressing the political, regulatory, and infrastructural challenges of deep decarbonization. Our case studies comprise five US states (Colorado, California, Hawaii, New York, and New Mexico) and three countries (Spain, Australia, New Zealand). We explore the diverse tactics that policymakers and policy opponents have used to frustrate the pace and scale of clean energy reforms.

Authors

• Hanna Breetz, Arizona State University

• Matto Mildenberger, University of California Santa Barbara

• Leah Stokes, UCSB