former case, whereas an industrial policy for renewables was very difficult to get
going, in contrast to Germany’s more managed, coordinated institutional system
and discourse.
Most of the analysis in this chaper focuses on two sets of comparisons, one
between Germany and the UK, and the other between China and India. However,
it is also worth briefly considering what can be learned from comparing Asia with
Europe. The first region has fast-growing rising powers with young populations,
whereas the second is now economically sclerotic and fiscally constrained. This
implies that, for a number of reasons, we might expect renewable energy policy
to have a greater degree of political sustainability in the Asian countries, especially
China. The Chinese state has deep pockets, which enables it to limit the negative
feedback arising from costs to consumers. Both India and China can expect to create
exporting industries in renewable energy on a greater scale, certainly than the UK.
Both are at a much earlier stage of mass deployment. However, they could still
learn from the different experiences of Germany and the UK, and be aware of
both the political opportunities and potential traps that arise from policy design.
What are the lessons from this approach, if any, for accelerating green
transformations? One is simply that climate policy-making, which is dominated
by economics, should include more consideration of the political implications of
policy. To some extent, policy-makers already do this in a self-censoring way,
avoiding policies they think will be too controversial with some groups, but they
rarely think about deliberate strategies for positive feedback. In this sense, we should
learn from the German experience. The creation of positive feedback effects in
renewable energy policy in Germany was not an initially explicit aim; rather, this
aspect emerged as an unintended consequence of policy design. However, this does
not mean that feedback aspects of policy should not be thought about from the
start; indeed, there is precisely an opportunity to do so. As the political dynamics
of policy unfold over time, a strategy of adaptive management may also be important, responding to opportunities for positive feedback or the threats of negative
feedback as they arise. To some extent, the German case again provides a fairly
successful example of this.
A second implication is that countries with institutions that are less supportive
of positive feedback effects should seek to change their institutions or develop new
ones. This is a controversial area, with some arguing that institutional systems cannot
be changed and others that they can. The key thing seems to be that what matters
for learning from others is institutional function rather than form.
Finally, the approach taken here also throws some light on the relationships
between social justice and green transformations. Policies which spread the benefits
of transformations more widely – for example, Germany’s employment in renew -
able supply chains in the deprived north and east of the country, are likely to produce
valuable positive feedback effects and be more sustainable. A different perspective
on the issue is to pose the question the other way round – i.e. does greater social
justice make green transformation easier? Again, the experience of Germany and
100 Matthew Lockwood
going, in contrast to Germany’s more managed, coordinated institutional system
and discourse.
Most of the analysis in this chaper focuses on two sets of comparisons, one
between Germany and the UK, and the other between China and India. However,
it is also worth briefly considering what can be learned from comparing Asia with
Europe. The first region has fast-growing rising powers with young populations,
whereas the second is now economically sclerotic and fiscally constrained. This
implies that, for a number of reasons, we might expect renewable energy policy
to have a greater degree of political sustainability in the Asian countries, especially
China. The Chinese state has deep pockets, which enables it to limit the negative
feedback arising from costs to consumers. Both India and China can expect to create
exporting industries in renewable energy on a greater scale, certainly than the UK.
Both are at a much earlier stage of mass deployment. However, they could still
learn from the different experiences of Germany and the UK, and be aware of
both the political opportunities and potential traps that arise from policy design.
What are the lessons from this approach, if any, for accelerating green
transformations? One is simply that climate policy-making, which is dominated
by economics, should include more consideration of the political implications of
policy. To some extent, policy-makers already do this in a self-censoring way,
avoiding policies they think will be too controversial with some groups, but they
rarely think about deliberate strategies for positive feedback. In this sense, we should
learn from the German experience. The creation of positive feedback effects in
renewable energy policy in Germany was not an initially explicit aim; rather, this
aspect emerged as an unintended consequence of policy design. However, this does
not mean that feedback aspects of policy should not be thought about from the
start; indeed, there is precisely an opportunity to do so. As the political dynamics
of policy unfold over time, a strategy of adaptive management may also be important, responding to opportunities for positive feedback or the threats of negative
feedback as they arise. To some extent, the German case again provides a fairly
successful example of this.
A second implication is that countries with institutions that are less supportive
of positive feedback effects should seek to change their institutions or develop new
ones. This is a controversial area, with some arguing that institutional systems cannot
be changed and others that they can. The key thing seems to be that what matters
for learning from others is institutional function rather than form.
Finally, the approach taken here also throws some light on the relationships
between social justice and green transformations. Policies which spread the benefits
of transformations more widely – for example, Germany’s employment in renew -
able supply chains in the deprived north and east of the country, are likely to produce
valuable positive feedback effects and be more sustainable. A different perspective
on the issue is to pose the question the other way round – i.e. does greater social
justice make green transformation easier? Again, the experience of Germany and
100 Matthew Lockwood