ABSTRACT
The reduction of carbon emissions is primary target of the sustainable governance of energy. An International Energy Agency (IEA) report suggests that although traditionally, industrialized countries are responsible for tbiggest share of anthropogenic greenhouse gases (GHGs), developing countries' emissions are on rise, and are expected to rise further in coming years. A large-scale consolidation of renewable energy resource use would mean paradigm shift in international energy governance as well, especially when all embedded characteristics, rules, norms, regulations, actors and institutions of current international energy regime are considered. This chapter explains how and to what extent the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) is addressing the energy challenges people are facing today. The chapter argues that while governing international energy transitions, certain institutional and non-institutional challenges have arisen. Institutional challenges of current energy governance are narrow coverage of demand-side energy issues and environmental externalities, division between developed and developing countries in system, and the bottleneck that is created by controversial contextual issues.
