This report explores how media sentiment and social resistance influence delays in renewable energy projects in Global South countries.
Community resistance to renewable energy projects can stall permitting and implementation for years, delaying the energy transition away from fossil fuels.
This is an often-overlooked aspect of why many countries see a gap between planned and deployed renewable energy capacity.
This report by SEI and JustRE Alliance introduces the Composite Social Resistance Index (CSRI) as a means of translating territorial friction into actionable quantitative data for monitoring renewable energy projects portfolios and public policy. Analysing nine Global South Countries, researchers apply the CSRI to measure how media sentiment and social resistance influence the renewable energy implementation gap unique to each region. The report proposes that policymakers, investors and project developers can use this data to anticipate bottlenecks, adjust financial expectations and design public participation outlets that can smooth the course for renewable energy projects.
