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The political economy of coal: Lessons learnt from 15 country case studies

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  • Steckel, Jan C.
  • Jakob, Michael

Abstract

This article summarizes lessons learnt from 15 case studies on the political economy of coal following one integrated framework. It proposes four country categories that show comparable properties to analyze the political economy of coal, including countries that i) phase out coal, ii) phase in coal, iii) are established users and iv) depend on coal exports. Regarding the prevalence of coal investments in many countries, it highlights the role of conflicting societal objectives, e.g. affordable electricity prices being more important than environmental targets. Vested interests are mainly related to locally concentrated job losses, expectations regarding regional development, coal royalties, as well as lobbying by a politically well-connected coal industry. Those factors can be either strengthened or extenuated by structural factors, including multi-level governance issues and the structure of the energy market. Entry points for policy vary for different country categories. De-risking financing of alternatives to coal as well as reforms of energy markets are most important entry points in countries that still invest in coal or plan to phase in coal to their energy systems.

Suggested Citation

  • Steckel, Jan C. & Jakob, Michael, 2021. "The political economy of coal: Lessons learnt from 15 country case studies," World Development Perspectives, Elsevier, vol. 24(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:wodepe:v:24:y:2021:i:c:s2452292921000849
    DOI: 10.1016/j.wdp.2021.100368
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Matthias Kalkuhl & Jan Christoph Steckel & Lorenzo Montrone & Michael Jakob & Jörg Peters & Ottmar Edenhofer, 2019. "Successful coal phase-out requires new models of development," Nature Energy, Nature, vol. 4(11), pages 897-900, November.
    2. Alan Fernihough & Kevin Hjortshøj, 2021. "Coal and the European Industrial Revolution," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 131(635), pages 1135-1149.
    3. Dorband, Ira Irina & Jakob, Michael & Steckel, Jan Christoph, 2020. "Unraveling the political economy of coal: Insights from Vietnam," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 147(C).
    4. Dan Tong & Qiang Zhang & Yixuan Zheng & Ken Caldeira & Christine Shearer & Chaopeng Hong & Yue Qin & Steven J. Davis, 2019. "Committed emissions from existing energy infrastructure jeopardize 1.5 °C climate target," Nature, Nature, vol. 572(7769), pages 373-377, August.
    5. Tobias S. Schmidt, 2014. "Low-carbon investment risks and de-risking," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 4(4), pages 237-239, April.
    6. Jan Christoph Steckel & Michael Jakob, 2018. "The role of financing cost and de-risking strategies for clean energy investment," International Economics, CEPII research center, issue 155, pages 19-28.
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    Cited by:

    1. Do, Thang Nam & Burke, Paul J., 2023. "Phasing out coal power in a developing country context: Insights from Vietnam," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 176(C).
    2. Yan Li & Ruilian Zhang, 2023. "A Review of Water-Energy-Food Nexus Development in a Just Energy Transition," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(17), pages 1-16, August.

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