This chapter examines the critical role of renewable energy and energy efficiency in circular economy liveable cities. As cities account for the majority of global energy use, transitioning to renewable energy and improving energy efficiency are essential for achieving climate goals and sustainable urban development. The chapter emphasises how circular economy principles can enhance energy systems by promoting the use of renewable energy, reducing resource consumption, and minimising waste. Areas of focus include the integration of renewable energy sources, such as solar, wind, and waste-to-energy systems, into urban infrastructure. The chapter discusses innovative technologies like smart grids, energy storage solutions, and shared mobility systems that can optimise energy use and reduce environmental impacts. It explores energy-efficient practices in the built environment, such as green building design, retrofitting, and modular construction, which help minimise cities’ energy footprint. The chapter highlights case studies from European cities that have successfully implemented circular energy systems, demonstrating the effectiveness of combining renewable energy with circular economy practices. It concludes by addressing the challenges and opportunities for cities to foster sustainable energy transitions, emphasising the importance of policy support, public–private partnerships, and community engagement in achieving long-term energy efficiency and renewable energy goals.

Does decarbonization depend on policy stability that makes climate policies and institutional development irreversible, or does it depend on mastering a messy political conflict with uneven progress that might be inherent in large political economy transitions? This chapter draws on case studies of two large emerging powers, Brazil and South Africa, to argue that politicization of climate action seems inevitable in decarbonizing energy transitions. Fossil fuel coalitions are too powerful and the threat to them too existential to avoid politicization as they defend their interests. At the same time, Brazil shows that policy stability was a critical step in a large expansion of wind power there – not a full energy transition itself but providing an important alternative to fossil fuels. Both countries show that allies in the struggle against fossil fuels can be won and lost in non-climate political economies of energy transition. The potential for new industry and job creation, enhanced energy security, and impacts on communities that host infrastructure are all important to energy transition, with each following a political economy logic that may or may not focus on climate change.

How can the state make durable policies and control resistance of incumbent fossil fuel interests for rapid decarbonization? Through the lens of policy feedback and coalitions, we argue that in certain contexts the state can manage political conflicts to ensure durable policies for decarbonization. We use the case of China – the world’s largest carbon emitter with a political economy system where the state has large influence on the market – to illustrate the possibility of conflict management for energy transition. We show how the central government has used regulatory power to induce big power companies to shift away from fossil fuels toward renewable energies. Reflecting upon the Chinese case, we identify some conditions under which the state can redirect the interest of incumbent actors toward net zero transition. Our study suggests that while political conflicts are inevitable to combat climate change, policymakers can strategically manage them to deepen and accelerate transition.

This chapter centres on comparative analysis, drawing together evidence-based insights into how renewable energy has been developed in the three regions. The three-part framework outlined in the opening chapter is used to analyse problems of legitimacy in renewable energy development in the three contexts. The three dimensions of appropriation, accumulation, and regulation shape the comparative analysis and underpin a suggested schema for interpreting legitimacy issues in renewable energy transitions. We discuss how renewables have been progressed, both locally and in terms of the intersecting dynamics of global policy, finance, and advocacy in constituting region-level transitions.

This chapter explores the challenges and options of designing an efficient long-term global climate policy for Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. The authors start by reviewing the exposure of GCC countries to climate risks and the mitigation and adaptation options at their disposal. It then explores the macroeconomic cost of realising the emissions abatement implied by the Paris Agreement and evaluates the possibility of balancing the burden through an allocation of emissions permits in an international emissions trading system. Focusing on Qatar, the authors then conduct a bottom-up analysis to see how this country could drastically reduce its greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions. The authors show how GCC energy policies must be modified to support a global transition towards net zero emissions. In this context, the chapter assesses the comparative advantage of GCC countries in harnessing negative emissions technologies that are necessary to reach the Paris Agreement target.

Chapter 4 examines the ongoing rush for Africa, epitomised by the global competition for the critical minerals of the ‘energy transition’. It argues that the ongoing Scramble is embedded in previous imperial imprints. The 1980s debt crisis positioned international financial institutions as the vehicles of the neoliberal turn on the continent. But this did not displace gatekeeping politics. Rather, the concurrent onshoring of offshore capitalism fostered the power of global traders like Glencore as the prime interface between resource-rich African states and global markets and as the core engineers of the transformation of the geography of extraction, based on technological and infrastructural innovations and financial deregulation. The onshoring of swashbuckler capitalism is deeply connected to a codification of capital (Pistor 2019) based on Common Law and the law of New York which is enabled by the globalisation of the Wall Street model of the corporate law firm.

In this chapter, we first explain what energy economics is and what energy and climate policy mean. We then describe the advantages of energy for society, and the current energy systems and their environmental and economic problems. At the end of the chapter, we discuss the energy transition and the characteristics of the energy systems once the transition has taken place. In the discussions in this chapter, we make note of developing countries.

While energy production (the energy sector) has undergone huge efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, transportation and heating are next to be tackle. Hydrogen could be a solution for one of them, the heating sector. This chapter focuses on the Netherlands as a case study to investigate the (absent) legal framework and the regulatory challenges that the development and deployment of hydrogen in the heating markets face. After an overview of the EU regulatory framework, it delves into the specificities of Dutch legislation. The Netherlands is a suitable object of study because it has instituted concrete initiatives from which the energy supervisor, the Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM), has created a temporary framework. The analysis reveals significant gaps and inconsistencies in the regulatory landscape and offers concrete suggestions for sector-specific regulation. In addition, the chapter discusses the implications of the regulatory framework for market participants and their behaviour, as well as the role of competition law and potential sector-specific rules in ensuring a level playing field for all market actors. The Dutch experience could potentially generate a model that other EU Member States could follow.

This chapter analyzes the interconnections between energy policy and security and defense policies in Estonia with respect to energy transition. After explaining the key characteristics of energy and security regimes, it examines administrative interaction and policy coherence. The interconnections pertaining to energy transitions and security are visible via three cases: the oil shale phaseout and stability of Ida-Viru County, wind power expansion and the defense radar operation, and the desynchronization of the electricity network from Russia. Russia has formed the prevalent landscape pressure on the energy regime, although other landscape pressures have been noted, for example, climate change. Administrative coordination between energy and security has often relied on informal means, which are employed for agility but lack transparency. The security implications of the expanding energy “niches,” such as solar and wind power, have been little covered, although this has clearly increased via newly emerging attention on critical materials.

This chapter analyzes the interconnections between energy policy and security and defense policies in the UK, zooming in on Scotland. It explains the energy and security regimes and analyzes policy interplay. The links between hydrocarbon energy, energy transition, and security are complex, with relatively fragmented governance in place. While some instances of policy integration were found, broader policy coherence regarding security and the zero-carbon energy transition was lacking. Before 2022, coordination efforts were focused on external, global energy questions instead of domestic energy. Domestic energy security was driven by market-based values. Post-2022, security and energy transition links pertaining to domestic energy production and use became more important in political and policy agendas. Scotland has had a differing worldview on security in relation to energy transition than the rest of the UK, with more focus on the environmental and health security effects of energy policy choices and just transitions, evident, for instance, in its opposition to nuclear power.

This chapter analyzes the interconnections between energy policy and security and defense policies in Norway. It explains the background of energy and security regimes and analyzes policy interplay. Prior to 2022, Norway had barely considered the energy–security nexus due to substantial domestic energy supplies. Some interconnections were, however, visible via three cases: the economic security provided by oil and gas exports, security of hydropower infrastructure, and internal tensions around wind power. Repoliticization of the Norwegian energy policy took place in 2022, and questions of energy sovereignty and energy security also became a part of Norway’s energy policy vocabulary. In 2022, strong degree of securitization was not evident, but, lightly framed, there have been breaks from previous energy political practices – evidenced by new support for offshore wind power and visible military protection of critical energy infrastructure.

This chapter analyzes the interconnections between energy, security, and defense policies from a transition perspective in Finland. It explains the key characteristics of Finland’s energy and security regimes, and then examines administrative interaction and policy interplay. The interconnections are visible via three cases: expansion of wind power and the operation of air surveillance radars, framing of peat as a security question, and how the Finnish government addressed the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. Policy coherence between energy and security was limited before 2022, mainly focusing on stockpiling fuels and mitigating direct risks to the electricity network, for example, collaboration via the “Power Pool.” Geopolitical discussion pertaining to Russia was avoided in energy policy discussions. Energy policy integration into security and defense policy has occurred on a general level, for example, energy is now seen as a critical infrastructure and the energy efficiency of defense premises has been improved. Recent events show the need for improved coherence and collaboration.

This chapter introduces the topic of the book, namely the interconnections between zero-carbon energy transitions and security, and why this topic is of importance. It creates a setting for the following chapters by explaining the status of the energy transition in Europe, and introducing the academic fields the book draws from: sustainability transition studies, security studies, and studies of policy coherence and integration. The chapter also describes the research methods used and a brief background to the country cases, followed by a summary of the contents of the book.