TY - JOUR A1 - Leipprand, Anna A1 - Flachsland, Christian A1 - Pahle, Michael T1 - Advocates or cartographers? Scientific advisors and the narratives of German energy transition JF - Energy Policy N2 - Political debate on energy in Germany has been shaped by two historically opposed discourses, one pushing for a transition to renewables, the other holding on to the status quo. Scientific policy advice (SPA) has been involved in their evolution from the beginning. This paper draws on the Advocacy Coalition Framework and on discourse and narrative theory to study the role of SPA in recent German energy policy. We explore 1) whether scientific advisors have been members of advocacy coalitions, and 2) how their contributions may have interacted with the evolution of the discourses and major narratives. We perform a qualitative text analysis of 50 SPA reports published between 2000 and 2015. We find that the majority of studies clearly take sides in the debate, and that in most cases the reports’ positions are fully transparent. Despite the polarization, SPA provides differentiated information on key aspects of the discourses, and alternative design options for policy instruments. We conclude that SPA contributions have improved the conditions for political consensus and compromise. Collectively, SPA studies provide a basis for mapping different policy pathways and their consequences. In the future, SPA should address additional critical issues such as coal phase-out and international leadership. KW - Energy transition KW - Scientific policy advice KW - Discourse KW - Narratives KW - Advocacy coalitions KW - Germany Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2016.12.021 SN - 0301-4215 VL - 102 SP - 222 EP - 236 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Leipprand, Anna A1 - Flachsland, Christian A1 - Pahle, Michael T1 - Starting low, reaching high? Sequencing in EU climate and energy policies JF - Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions N2 - In order to achieve the UNFCCC Paris Agreement goals, climate policies worldwide require considerable ratcheting-up. Policy sequencing provides a framework for analysing policy process dynamics that facilitate ratcheting-up. We apply a sequencing perspective to two key EU climate and energy policies, the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) and the Renewable Energy Directive (RED), to comparatively test the empirical relevance of sequencing for single policies – in addition to sequencing across policies, which has been the focus of sequencing theory so far – and to uncover specific mechanisms. Our results confirm that sequencing, based on triggering positive and controlling negative feedback, is relevant both within and across policies. Policy choices that may facilitate ratcheting-up include tools to control costs, the possibility to centralise and harmonise in a multi-level governance context, options for compensation of reluctant actors, and the encouragement of learning processes. KW - Policy sequencing KW - Policy feedback KW - Energy policy KW - Climate policy KW - Emissions trading Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eist.2020.08.006 VL - 37 SP - 140 EP - 155 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Leipprand, Anna A1 - Flachsland, Christian A1 - Pahle, Michael T1 - Energy transition on the rise : discourses on energy future in the German parliament JF - Innovation: The European Journal of Social Science Research N2 - In this paper we describe energy policy discourses and their story-lines in German parliamentary debates, and trace their evolution over the past decades. Through content analysis and coding with MAXQDA, changes in the discourses and in the use of story-lines by different political parties are analyzed. Our study shows that while the concept of a transition towards a nuclear-free, renewables-based energy system became hegemonic within three decades, the discourse itself underwent major changes. Energy Transition was de-radicalized and became part of a discourse of Ecological Modernization, thus aligning with mainstream economic logic. There are still considerable differences in the story-lines narrated by parliamentarians about pathways to Energy Transition and its effects. Discursive struggles into the meaning and the means of the transition project continue, suggesting that discourse structuration is far from complete. KW - discourse analysis KW - story-lines KW - energy transition KW - renewable energy KW - energy policy KW - Germany Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1080/13511610.2016.1215241 IS - 3 SP - 283 EP - 305 PB - 30 ER -