Work

Energy transformation in parliamentary debates: shifting from technologies to climate strategy in Finland

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: Politics plays a key role when states steer themselves towards becoming low-carbon societies, as parliaments hold the power to guide nations’ activities. This article engages in a longitudinal analysis of parliamentary debates on energy, and identifies how topics emerge, evolve in parallel, and diminish. We used transcripts of plenary debates in Finnish parliament to model topics in energy from 2008 to 2020. We show that debates shift from one focus area to another, and that significant political decisions have been followed by policy-related activities, such as taxation and national strategies guiding energy issues. The idea of renewable energy has become more varied and accepted in political debates, further transforming energy politics, and has been partly incorporated in, and replaced by, the debate on climate change mitigation. Reducing carbon emissions has become a key target of energy transformation, and is likely to stay on the agenda in parliamentary debates on energy.

Source: Environmental Politics

DOI: 10.1080/09644016.2024.2431395

Authors: Kaisa Matschoss, Petteri Repo, Juri Mykkänen

Institutions: University of Helsinki, National Consumer Research Centre

Language: English

Topic: Climate Change Policy and Economics

Subfield: Economics and Econometrics

Field: Economics, Econometrics and Finance

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Climate action, Affordable and clean energy, Peace, justice, and strong institutions

Open Access status: green

Funder: Strategic Research Council