Adapting to Alternative Energy: A Qualitative Comparative Analysis of Renewable Energy Regulatory Frameworks

• In Event: 2251 - Section on Environmental Sociology Roundtables (1 hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: 8. Environmental Change: Cross-National Comparisons and Theoretical Frameworks

Abstract

Global, anthropogenic climate change has resulted in worldwide responses to address the existing and potential impending dangers to society. As a result, the world sits at an historic crossroads as efforts to transform the energy sector globally continue to progress. This research is focused on the global rise in renewable energy and the complex factors underlying this international phenomenon. The IPCC (2014) identifies renewable energy as a viable alternative to fossil fuels with the potential of mitigating climate change. However, despite a steady increase in renewable energy generated worldwide, there remains immense variation amongst nations in the amount of electricity being generated by renewable sources. In this study, I focus on understanding the variation in the adoption of renewable energy regulatory frameworks. I investigate the causal configuration of country-level conditions that result in advanced renewable energy regulatory frameworks by employing a fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis. The results highlight variation among the mass adoption of renewable energy regulatory frameworks, by identifying the causal configuration of country-level conditions that lead to advanced regulatory frameworks for renewable energy. The findings contribute to the growing environmental sociology literature focused on environmental remediation and suggest that the implementation of advanced renewable energy regulatory frameworks is the result of a combination of a multiple country-level conditions. This study provides insight into the global efforts to address climate change by indicating that while renewable energy regulatory frameworks are proliferating worldwide, consideration of the multifaceted contexts contributing to the quality and advancement of these regulations and policies need to be considered.

Author

• Jolene Anne McCall, California State University - Long Beach