Energy Policy in the Emerging Economies : Climate Change Mitigation under the Constraints of Path Dependence

The emerging economies are critical for future energy consumption and climate change mitigation. This book sheds light on material conditions, energy demand and expansion plans, politico-economic constellations, energy-related know-how and climate policy in Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, South Africa, and South Korea.

Energy has always been essential to economics and politics. While global energy consumption increases, fossil fuels are depleting. The countries that will be hit hardest by declining energy resources are the emerging economies of the Global South, where the relevance of the industrial sector is only slightly declining (or, indeed, still on the rise) and where governments have subsidized energy consumption for decades. Climate change – a direct outcome of the increasing consumption of fossil fuels – hits the emerging economies hard. Against this backdrop, Energy Policy in the Emerging Economies analyzes energy policy in Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, South Africa and South Korea with particular regard to these countries’ contribution to climate change mitigation. Advancing a new approach that expands on energy transition studies and the concept of path dependence, the authors sheds light on material conditions, energy demand and expansion plans, politico-economic constellations, energy-related know-how and climate policy.