Who shapes the energy transition? National regulatory styles and societal involvement in renewable energy policy

Abstract

This paper contributes a comparative perspective on societal involvement in the energy transition that considers (i) both the policymaking and the policy implementation stage as well as (ii) contribution opportunities for different types of actors (corporate actors vs. the public). Contrasting the concept of persistent national regulatory styles with the concept of a shift towards new modes of governance and/or participation, I examine societal involvement in national renewable energy policy following the formulation of the European 20-20-20 targets in Spring of 2007. My main research question is whether the condition of high reform pressure lead to a change in sector-specific regulatory traditions. In a comparative case study, I highlight (1) a corporatist setting with new players (Germany), (2) a large-scale public consultation in the shadow of established interests (France), (3) a liberal approach building on agreements (Netherlands) as well as (4) repeated consultations with paternalistic decision-making (United Kingdom). My results indicate both a persistence of overall regulatory styles as well as limited additions to involved actors and/or utilised formats. Societal involvement in policymaking proved rather inconsequential in most cases under study. Regarding societal contributions to policy implementation, convergence tendencies towards a two-pronged approach, addressing both corporate actors and the public, were observable despite the persistence of differential regulatory styles.