The political economy of supply-side climate policy in the UK
Peter Newell, Freddie Daley
Abstract
The UK represents a fascinating case of supply-side climate policies that seek to restrict the production of fossil fuels. Drawing on original interview-based research, we contextualise current moves towards supply-side climate policy by analysing the historical legacy of the coal transition, the successful ban on export finance for overseas fossil fuel projects and the current policy of ending new oil and gas licenses in the North Sea. To explain this policy landscape, we develop a political economy analysis that centres the role of the state in mediating the competing claims of capital, labour and civil society: bridging a macro account of the financialised model of capitalism that predominates in the UK and an energy regime where fossil fuel incumbents dominate, with a micro account of the strategies of alliance-building and counter-pressure that resulted in the implementation of supply-side policies in the UK.