Towards Decarbonization: Understanding EU Energy Governance

This editorial introduces the thematic issue “EU Energy Policy: Towards a Clean Energy Transition?”, nesting it in broader discussion on European Union’s (EU) energy policy. For over a decade, the EU has displayed an interest and political motivation to integrate climate policy priorities into its energy governance. However, the history of European energy governance does not start there, though political science scholarship has tended to downplay the importance of energy sector regulation. Recent years have finally seen the merging of two distinct research programs on European energy politics, and the emergence of a more inclusive and historically accurate approach to energy governance in Europe. This thematic issue follows that new paradigm. It is divided into three sections. The first investigates the EU Energy Union, its governance and decarbonization ambitions. The second section looks at the increasing overlaps between energy and competition policies, particularly the role of State Aid Guidelines in influencing energy subsidies—for renewable as well as conventional energy. Finally, the third section analyses the energy and climate policy of “new” EU members and the relationship between the EU and non-members in the energy sector

New genetic loci link adipose and insulin biology to body fat distribution.

Body fat distribution is a heritable trait and a well-established predictor of adverse metabolic outcomes, independent of overall adiposity. To increase our understanding of the genetic basis of body fat distribution and its molecular links to cardiometabolic traits, here we conduct genome-wide association meta-analyses of traits related to waist and hip circumferences in up to 224,459 individuals. We identify 49 loci (33 new) associated with waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for body mass index (BMI), and an additional 19 loci newly associated with related waist and hip circumference measures (P < 5 × 10(-8)). In total, 20 of the 49 waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for BMI loci show significant sexual dimorphism, 19 of which display a stronger effect in women. The identified loci were enriched for genes expressed in adipose tissue and for putative regulatory elements in adipocytes. Pathway analyses implicated adipogenesis, angiogenesis, transcriptional regulation and insulin resistance as processes affecting fat distribution, providing insight into potential pathophysiological mechanisms

Global energy security: resource availability, economic conditions and political constraints

Paper presented at the panel: Contextualizing energy security and transition. Concepts, framing and empirical evidence, at the SGIR 7th Pan-European International Relations Conference: September 9-11, 2010

Mellom knapphet og overflod

Midtøsten er ofte i det internasjonale mediebildet knyttet til krig, terror og andre former for voldelig konflikt. Det er imidlertid på det oljeøkonomiske området landene i Midtøsten har størst internasjonal betydning

What Do Theories of International Regimes Contribute to the Explanation of Cooperation (and Failure of Cooperation) among Oil-Producing Countries?

international regimes; energy policy; institutionalism

Statoil – between Nationalisation, Globalisation and Europeanisation

In Norway Statoil has been a shining example of state regulation and participation in industrial and economic activities. The company was established as an operative and fully state owned company, and it soon entered into competition with the large international oil companies, the foremost symbol of international capitalism. From a pro-state perspective, Statoil’s role in the Norwegian petroleum sector was a success story during the seventies. As pointed out in the chapter the external (and internal) conditions were favourable during this decade. The paper then goes on to discuss why and how this state regulatory model was challenged from the early eighties and onwards. The challenges can all be related to different aspects of ‘globalisation’: spread of political ideology, volatility of commodity prices, the role of international organisation, and the changing structure of international industries and multinational companies. Although Statoil was partly privatised in 2001, the core elements of the model regulating the Norwegian oil sector are intact. The model has been reformed, but it still provides the state with a dominant role both in regulating and operating the Norwegian oil sector. The narrative provided is thus in need of explaining stability as much as change.regulatory politics; Europeanization; energy policy

The process of Europeanization - the case of Norway and the Internal Energy Market

This paper approaches the study of national adaptation to the EU as a process involving institutional constraints and actors’ interactions across levels of decision-making. The argument is that domestic adaptation to the EU is a matter of ability and willingness to conduct integrative political bargaining rather than a matter of matching institutional structures. The paper provides an empirical case study of the Norwegian adaptation to EU energy sector legislation, denoted as the Internal Energy Market (IEM). The various outcomes to different directives in this sector indicate that the structural feature of a particular state or policy sector is inadequate to fully explain variations in national and domestic adaptation to EU legislation. Thus, the paper focuses on characteristics of the process of adaptation itself, focusing on issues like affectedness, policy similarities, bargaining opportunities, and potential for arbitration.Europeanization; energy policy; implementation

Talking Oil: A Study of Speech Acts Performed by Saudi Arabian and Norwegian Oil Ministers

energy policy; Norway; policy analysis