Energy and climate change in India, Germany and Australia: a comparison in the social legitimacy of renewable energy

• In Event: Climate Technology and Climate Justice

Abstract

A key outcome of the Paris Agreement is that ‘intended nationally-determined contributions’ for decarbonisation are to be implemented across the globe, with ‘successive’ and intensifying commitments post-2020. However, the conditions for decarbonisation vary dramatically both within and across high-income ‘post-industrial’ and low-income industrialising countries. This paper compares the social relations of electricity generation in India, Germany and Australia to better understand and theorise the different preconditions for decarbonisation and adoption of renewable energy. It draws on recent climate and energy policy documents in the three countries to help understand the emerging relationship between climate technologies and social justice. It explores the dominant socio-ecological relations of energy production, distribution and consumption in India, Germany and Australia. How are these relations being changing with the increasing reliance on renewable energy? What are the implications and prospects for strengthened social legitimacy of renewable energy in the three countries?

Authors

• Devleena Ghosh, School of Communication, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, University of Technology Sydney

• James Goodman, University of Technology Sydney