Why Countries Just Can't Quit Coal? New Research Offers Some Clues

"Coal Lady" Credit: Adlai 88 via flickr creative commons

We know that countries around the world sometimes favor coal because it is cheaper. But new research aims to pinpoint some of the political forces that drive continued investment in coal. 

Jan Steckel, along with his research collaborator Michael Jakob, are coordinating a series of global case studies to understand the non-economic factors associated with investment in coal-fired power. The series includes over a dozen countries with collaborators from all corners of the world using a political-economy framework developed by Jan Steckel and Michael Jakob's team at the Mercator Institute. 

Their research examines what interests and actors that make investment in coal (or divestment) politically so attractive. And in so doing, they also identify possible entry points for policies that nudge countries away from coal. 

Jan Steckel is head of the working group on climate and development at the Mercator Research Institute on Global Common…