17 research outputs found
Policy making and energy infrastructure change: A Nigerian case study of energy governance in the electricity sector
This paper focusses on investigating the underlying mechanisms and influences of the policy decision making
process and how it affects and impacts the governance of the Nigerian energy industry, and energy
infrastructure provisions. In-depth semi-structured interviews were used; all interviewees had been involved,
directly or indirectly, in energy infrastructure policy decisions in Nigeria. Five key themes subsequently emerged
as salient intra-country induced influences that were affecting the governance and performance of the Nigerian
energy sector: (1) competencies – i.e. practical knowledge of energy policy making; (2) expectations – i.e. past,
present, and forecasted future expectations from the energy industry; (3) legislation – i.e. institutionalized (and
unwritten) rules/procedures; (4) future visions – i.e. future vision of the energy industry/energy market; (5)
recruiting experts – i.e. recruiting new energy and public policy makers. In addition, three major inter-country
induced influences were also identified: (1) the changing dynamics of international and foreign aid; (2) the
United Nations Sustainable Development Goals; and (3) the Paris Agreements on Climate Change. The paper
concludes by highlighting the policy implications of these influences, and the consequences for policy makers in
the governance of the energy industry in ensuring a secured energy future
Squaring the circle: Balancing the economic benefits of unconventional hydrocarbon extraction with the inimitable cultural significance of environments
Hydrocarbon extraction will continue for the foreseeable future, and undoubtedly impact upon regions and environments which this industry or indeed modern infrastructure had not done so previously. In light of this the paper considers how decisions with regard to the permitting or licensing of such projects might include the cultural significance of such environments more effectively. Focusing on the extraction of oil sands in Alberta, Canada as a model, the paper will establish the failings of established methods of assessing such values and whether human rights law, more accomplished in dealing with such subjective considerations, offers an alternative. Finally the paper will suggest a framework which, whilst incapable of solving all of the inherent issues in the inclusion of such subjective considerations in an industry so focused on quantification, might better balance them with the overbearing economic arguments for extraction