The political economy of energy transition: The role of globalization and governance in the adoption of clean cooking fuels and technologies

The need for substantial economic, political, and social integration among economies and an effective domestic governance system to create a more inclusive and clean energy economy cannot be underestimated. Overreliance on biomass and other dirty fuels for cooking in developing countries has contributed to the global climate change challenge. In this study, we examine the impact of globalization and governance on adopting clean fuels and cooking technologies in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Regarding analytical approaches, we deploy econometric techniques such as Driscoll-Kraay and instrumental variable generalized method of moment techniques to control econometric issues such as autocorrelation, heteroskedasticity, cross-sectional dependence, and endogeneity. The findings indicate that globalization (economic, social, and political) and governance (government effectiveness, control of corruption, political stability, and the rule of law) drive the adoption of clean fuels and technologies for cooking. The results further reveal that right-wing political leaders contribute significantly to adopting clean cooking fuels and technologies in SSA, while left-wing and center-wing political leaders do not. These findings differ among the sub-regions in SSA. Furthermore, interaction and marginal effect analyses suggest that improving governance system enhances the effect of globalization on access to clean cooking fuels and technologies. Hence, improving the efficacy of the domestic governance system could enable globalization to speed up the adoption of clean fuels and technologies for cooking in SSA.