IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/wireae/v13y2024i2ne512.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Designing biomass policy: The political economy of renewable energy for net zero

Author

Listed:
  • Daniel Taylor
  • Katie Chong
  • Mirjam Röder

Abstract

The climate, ecological, and energy crises require change in our political, economic, and societal systems to ensure we decouple humanity from a reliance on fossil fuels, prevent rising carbon dioxide emissions, and develop sustainable solutions for people and the planet. As well as technical processes, renewable energy transitions are processes of social, environmental, and economic change which have the potential to challenge the status quo. This status quo determines who benefits from energy, where wealth is created, and the level of inequality between stakeholders within our energy systems. The politicization of energy transitions motivates stakeholders to engage in the policymaking process to ensure any trade‐offs associated with policy changes benefit them. Bioenergy is unique amongst renewable energy sources as it is inherently linked to biomass extraction from our natural environment and because biomass is the only source of renewable carbon. However, this further politicizes its use and is a source of controversy in public debate. Polarized perspectives in the public debate on biomass policy allow stakeholders to assert themselves as experts on the topic and to make authoritative claims that further their interests to influence policy development. Therefore, political and economic drivers shape and influence the sustainability and success of proposed policies. Despite this, there is little research into the nontechnical factors influencing the design of sustainable biomass policy for net zero. This research highlights how political economy impacts the success of renewable energy technologies in replacing fossil fuels and the implications for using bioenergy. This article is categorized under: Sustainable Energy > Bioenergy Policy and Economics > Energy Transitions Climate and Environment > Net Zero Planning and Decarbonization

Suggested Citation

  • Daniel Taylor & Katie Chong & Mirjam Röder, 2024. "Designing biomass policy: The political economy of renewable energy for net zero," Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Energy and Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 13(2), March.
  • Handle: RePEc:bla:wireae:v:13:y:2024:i:2:n:e512
    DOI: 10.1002/wene.512
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/wene.512
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/wene.512?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Sovacool, Benjamin K., 2018. "Success and failure in the political economy of solar electrification: Lessons from World Bank Solar Home System (SHS) projects in Sri Lanka and Indonesia," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 482-493.
    2. Stefan Ćetković & Aron Buzogány, 2016. "Varieties of capitalism and clean energy transitions in the European Union: When renewable energy hits different economic logics," Climate Policy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 16(5), pages 642-657, July.
    3. Loes Willemijn Van Rooijen, 2014. "Pioneering in Marginal Fields: Jatropha for Carbon Credits and Restoring Degraded Land in Eastern Indonesia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 6(4), pages 1-25, April.
    4. Hudson Spivey, 2020. "Governing the Fix: Energy Regimes, Accumulation Dynamics, and Land Use Changes in Japan’s Solar Photovoltaic Boom," Annals of the American Association of Geographers, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 110(6), pages 1690-1708, November.
    5. Isa Ferrall & Georg Heinemann & Christian von Hirschhausen & Daniel M. Kammen, 2021. "The Role of Political Economy in Energy Access: Public and Private Off-Grid Electrification in Tanzania," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(11), pages 1-23, May.
    6. William Hongsong Wang & Vicente Moreno-Casas & Jesús Huerta de Soto, 2021. "A Free-Market Environmentalist Transition toward Renewable Energy: The Cases of Germany, Denmark, and the United Kingdom," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(15), pages 1-27, July.
    7. Singh, Pritam & Singh, Nadia, 2019. "Political economy of bioenergy transitions in developing countries: A case study of Punjab, India," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 124(C), pages 1-1.
    8. Emilio L. La Rovere, 2020. "The potential contribution of emerging economies to stop dangerous climate change. The case of Brazil," Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 11(1), January.
    9. Palit, Debajit & Sovacool, Benjamin K. & Cooper, Christopher & Zoppo, David & Eidsness, Jay & Crafton, Meredith & Johnson, Katie & Clarke, Shannon, 2013. "The trials and tribulations of the Village Energy Security Programme (VESP) in India," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 407-417.
    10. Sarah Pilgrim & Mark Harvey, 2010. "Battles over Biofuels in Europe: NGOs and the Politics of Markets," Sociological Research Online, , vol. 15(3), pages 45-60, August.
    11. Gregor Schwerhoff & Mouhamadou Sy, 2019. "Developing Africa’s energy mix," Climate Policy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 19(1), pages 108-124, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Rentier, Gerrit & Lelieveldt, Herman & Kramer, Gert Jan, 2019. "Varieties of coal-fired power phase-out across Europe," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 620-632.
    2. Gavin Bridge & Ludger Gailing, 2020. "New energy spaces: Towards a geographical political economy of energy transition," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 52(6), pages 1037-1050, September.
    3. Aparna Katre & Arianna Tozzi, 2018. "Assessing the Sustainability of Decentralized Renewable Energy Systems: A Comprehensive Framework with Analytical Methods," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-18, April.
    4. Nuru, Jude T. & Rhoades, Jason L. & Gruber, James S., 2021. "The socio-technical barriers and strategies for overcoming the barriers to deploying solar mini-grids in rural islands: Evidence from Ghana," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    5. Ikejemba, Eugene C.X. & Schuur, Peter C., 2020. "The empirical failures of attaining the societal benefits of renewable energy development projects in Sub-Saharan Africa," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 162(C), pages 1490-1498.
    6. Stefan Ćetković & Aron Buzogány & Miranda Schreurs, 2016. "Varieties of clean energy transitions in Europe: Political-economic foundations of onshore and offshore wind development," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2016-18, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    7. Ćetković, Stefan & Buzogány, Aron, 2020. "Between markets, politics and path-dependence: Explaining the growth of solar and wind power in six Central and Eastern European countries," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 139(C).
    8. Upham, Paul & Tomei, Julia & Dendler, Leonie, 2011. "Governance and legitimacy aspects of the UK biofuel carbon and sustainability reporting system," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(5), pages 2669-2678, May.
    9. Kacper Szulecki & Dag Herald Claes, 2019. "Towards Decarbonization: Understanding EU Energy Governance," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 7(1), pages 1-5.
    10. Elena Shadrina, 2020. "Non-Hydropower Renewable Energy in Central Asia: Assessment of Deployment Status and Analysis of Underlying Factors," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-29, June.
    11. Miguel Ángel Echarte Fernández & Sergio Luis Náñez Alonso & Ricardo Reier Forradellas & Javier Jorge-Vázquez, 2022. "From the Great Recession to the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Risk of Expansionary Monetary Policies," Risks, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-17, January.
    12. Benevolenski Vladimir & Ivanova Natalya & Jakobson Lev, 2023. "Social Origins Theory: Untapped Potential and the Test by the Pandemic Crisis," Nonprofit Policy Forum, De Gruyter, vol. 14(4), pages 317-344, October.
    13. Angélique Palle & Yann Richard, 2022. "Multilevel Governance or Scalar Clashes: Finding the Right Scale for EU Energy Policy," Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie, Royal Dutch Geographical Society KNAG, vol. 113(1), pages 1-18, February.
    14. Paola Sakai & Stavros Afionis & Nicola Favretto & Lindsay C. Stringer & Caroline Ward & Marco Sakai & Pedro Henrique Weirich Neto & Carlos Hugo Rocha & Jaime Alberti Gomes & Nátali Maidl de Souza & No, 2020. "Understanding the Implications of Alternative Bioenergy Crops to Support Smallholder Farmers in Brazil," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-22, March.
    15. Bauwens, Thomas & Devine-Wright, Patrick, 2018. "Positive energies? An empirical study of community energy participation and attitudes to renewable energy," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 612-625.
    16. Jonathan Doh & Pawan Budhwar & Geoffrey Wood, 2021. "Long-term energy transitions and international business: Concepts, theory, methods, and a research agenda," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 52(5), pages 951-970, July.
    17. Vallecha, Harshit & Bhattacharjee, Debraj & Osiri, John Kalu & Bhola, Prabha, 2021. "Evaluation of barriers and enablers through integrative multicriteria decision mapping: Developing sustainable community energy in Indian context," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 138(C).
    18. Butera, Federico Maria & Caputo, Paola & Adhikari, Rajendra Singh & Mele, Renata, 2019. "Energy access in informal settlements. Results of a wide on site survey in Rio De Janeiro," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 134(C).
    19. Thomas, P.J.M. & Sandwell, P. & Williamson, S.J. & Harper, P.W., 2021. "A PESTLE analysis of solar home systems in refugee camps in Rwanda," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 143(C).
    20. Chaofeng Lyu & Shuxin Deng & Zewei Dai, 2023. "Emissions Trading Systems, Structure Adjustment and Air Pollution Reduction: Evidence from Enterprises in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-20, April.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:wireae:v:13:y:2024:i:2:n:e512. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=2041-8396 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.