ABSTRACT
The previous chapters have amply demonstrated that putting the world on track to a global sustainable energy regime is a gigantic task to which the current institutional architecture proves unequal. The challenge is not only extremely complicated in terms of the science, the trade-offs to be made, and the multitude of actors and policy levels involved. It is also most urgent, since any delay in the transition to a global sustainable energy regime causes harm and risks on the ecological, social-economic and international-political fronts. In the introductory first chapter, we already indicated that a global sustainable energy regime, based on transparent and well-regulated markets governed by multilateral institutions (the “markets and institutions” model), cannot be brought about without effective leadership. Quite the contrary, in a world without a powerful leadership that supports and defends the “markets and institutions” model, the conflict-prone “regions and empires” approach is set to steadily gain ground.
