The Political Economy Of The Renewable Energy Transition In Namibia Assessing Energy Policy Priorities And Political Constraints

Bachelor Thesis from the year 2023 in the subject Politics - Region: Africa, grade: 2,0, University of Erfurt, language: English, abstract: Reducing global reliance on fossil fuels (oil, natural gas, and coal) as sources of energy generation is a critical component of curtailing the negative impacts of climate change on societies and livelihoods. At the same time, the share of renewable energy sources (including wind, solar, hydro, and geothermal) must be increased, a process referred to as "energy transition". The already dire global warming situation also requires increasing renewable energy generation in regions with relatively small contributions to global greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). While much research has been conducted on the political economy of energy transitions in industrialized nations, political economy aspects of energy transitions in SSA have not received much analytical attention. This thesis thus seeks to examine how energy policy priorities are directed in Namibia. As an upper-middle income country with enormous potential for domestic renewable energy generation, Namibia’s energy transition still faces some considerable political and economic challenges. These challenges include a heavy reliance on energy imports and concerns around energy security. To demonstrate energy policy priorities by the Namibian government, I performed a Qualitative Content Analysis (QCA) of strategic energy policy documents and speeches issued by the Namibian government. The analysis shows that energy security and reaching universal energy access constitute the main concerns of the Namibian government. It also suggests that fossil fuel utilization and increased renewable energy generation as policy priorities are not viewed as conflicting.

Energy transition discussions have centered on the technical, economic, and policy aspects of energy transitions. Despite this, the political dynamics have received less attention. It is suggested that since energy policy change threaten incumbent industries and impose substantial costs, enacting and sustaining policies require considerable political support. Even though it is widely acknowledged that barriers to energy transition are primarily political than technical, there is a lack of cohesive literature on the politics that drive, constrain, and shape renewable energy regulation or policy. This gap motivates this study. Adopting a desk research methodology and arguing from the lens of Kingdon,Äôs multiple streams framework, the study found among others that the streams of problem, politics and policy shows enough prospects to be coupled for Africa to make a serious consideration on its renewable energy capacity. However, a number of obstacles were also identified to make this venture difficult but are surmountable.

Many countries in sub-Saharan Africa have set targets for non-hydro renewable energy but lag in implementation. The dominant approaches to analysing energy transitions have largely been developed based on European experience and provide a limited understanding of such developments in African countries. This paper combines a review of recent energy transition literature with a broader range of relevant energy-related literatures, each of which can contribute to a better understanding of the role of coalitions, politics and power in energy transitions in lower-income countries. The paper points to the decisive influence of a country's resource endowments on the potential for an energy transition. It further argues that resource endowments affect the type of finance that can be mobilised for energy sector development with implications for potential coalitions between international and domestic actors. Finally, the access agenda provides a window of opportunity for promoting non-hydro renewable energy, but there is no unambiguous relation between the two agendas. More empirical research is needed to further analyse these dynamics.

"The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic marks the most significant, singular global disruption since World War II, with health, economic, political, and security implications that will ripple for years to come." -Global Trends 2040 (2021) Global Trends 2040-A More Contested World (2021), released by the US National Intelligence Council, is the latest report in its series of reports starting in 1997 about megatrends and the world's future. This report, strongly influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic, paints a bleak picture of the future and describes a contested, fragmented and turbulent world. It specifically discusses the four main trends that will shape tomorrow's world: - Demographics-by 2040, 1.4 billion people will be added mostly in Africa and South Asia. - Economics-increased government debt and concentrated economic power will escalate problems for the poor and middleclass. - Climate-a hotter world will increase water, food, and health insecurity. - Technology-the emergence of new technologies could both solve and cause problems for human life. Students of trends, policymakers, entrepreneurs, academics, journalists and anyone eager for a glimpse into the next decades, will find this report, with colored graphs, essential reading.

Inclusive Green Growth: The Pathway to Sustainable Development makes the case that greening growth is necessary, efficient, and affordable. Yet spurring growth without ensuring equity will thwart efforts to reduce poverty and improve access to health, education, and infrastructure services.

Renewables are a game changer for interstate energy relations. Their abundance and intermittency, possibilities for decentral generation and use of rare earth materials, and generally electric nature of transportation make them very different from fossil fuels. What do these geographic and technical characteristics of renewable energy systems imply for infrastructure topology and operations, business models, and energy markets? What are the consequences for the strategic realities and policy considerations of producer, consumer, and transit countries and energy-related patterns of cooperation and conflict between them? Who are the winners and losers? The Geopolitics of Renewables is the first in-depth exploration of the implications for interstate energy relations of a transition towards renewable energy. Fifteen international scholars combine insights from several disciplines - international relations, geopolitics, energy security, renewable energy technology, economics, sustainability transitions, and energy policy - to establish a comprehensive overview and understanding of the emerging energy game. Focus is on contemporary developments and how they may shape the coming decades on three levels of analysis: · The emerging global energy game; winners and losers · Regional and bilateral energy relations of established and rising powers · Infrastructure developments and governance responses The book is recommended for academics and policy makers. It offers a novel analytical framework that moves from geography and technology to economics and politics to investigate the geopolitical implications of renewable energy and provides practical illustrations and policy recommendations related to specific countries and regions such as the US, EU, China, India, OPEC, and Russia

The idea that energy shapes and is shaped by geopolitics is firmly rooted in the popular imagination – and not without reason. Very few countries have the means to secure their energy needs through locally available supplies; instead, enduring dependencies upon other countries have developed. Given energy’s strategic significance, supply systems for fuels and electricity are now seamlessly interwoven with foreign policy and global politics. Energy and Geopolitics enables students to enhance their understanding and sharpen their analytical skills with respect to the complex relations between energy supply, energy markets and international politics. Per Högselius guides us through the complexities of world energy and international energy relations, examining a wide spectrum of fossil fuels, alongside nuclear and renewable energies. Uniquely, the book also shows how the geopolitics of energy is not merely a matter for the great powers and reveals how actors in the world’s smaller nations are as active in their quest for power and control. Encouraging students to apply a number of central concepts and theoretical ideas to different energy sources within a multitude of geographical, political and historical contexts, this book will be a vital resource to students and scholars of geopolitics, energy security and international environmental policy and politics.

Energy subsidies are aimed at protecting consumers, however, subsidies aggravate fiscal imbalances, crowd out priority public spending, and depress private investment, including in the energy sector. This book provides the most comprehensive estimates of energy subsidies currently available for 176 countries and an analysis of “how to do” energy subsidy reform, drawing on insights from 22 country case studies undertaken by the IMF staff and analyses carried out by other institutions.

In the last fifty years, the Earth has experienced rapid changes in climate, increasingly severe droughts, rising seawater levels, seawater acidification, increased depletion of groundwater reserves, and global rise of temperature. Green technologies for recycling waste, particularly electronic waste, which is increasing at an alarming rate, may be a potential solution to environmental pollution. Divided into three sections, this book presents comprehensive information on green technologies. Section 1 presents innovations in green electronic technologies, Section 2 discusses recycling and waste management, and Section 3 discusses innovation and economics in global green technologies.