The political economy of low carbon development

This chapter discusses the political economy of low carbon development. Often the politics and the political economy behind action on tackling climate change are neglected. Low carbon development cannot be treated as a depoliticized neutral approach that escapes the influence of politics and the economy. Instead, low carbon development needs to be treated as an approach that is influenced, shaped and often driven by political and economic stances. The pursuit and the implementation of low carbon development depend on political will, governance and financial and political deals just as much as they depend on the technicalities of emission reductions. This chapter therefore elaborates some of the key issues of a political economy approach to low carbon development. This chapter further discusses examples from South Africa, China and Indonesia.