Private sector agency in low-carbon transitions : rethinking energy security through hybrid governance in the Global South

Abstract

The growing involvement of private firms in low-carbon transitions is reshaping how energy security is governed across the Global South. Yet the strategic role of corporate actors within hybrid governance systems remains insufficiently examined. This study investigates how private companies influence energy transitions through investment strategies, sustainability commitments, and engagement with evolving policy frameworks. The analysis integrates a systematic literature review and bibliometric mapping of research published between 2001 and 2025 with qualitative case studies of Conex Oil Gas Holdings in Liberia and Sierra Leone and PT Adaro in Indonesia. Bibliometric evidence shows that scholarship has shifted from treating firms primarily as corporate social responsibility actors toward understanding them as participants in energy transition governance. The study identifies four mechanisms through which firms shape energy security outcomes: Corporate responsibility, investment narratives, policy alignment, and resilience building. The findings show that private sector engagement has evolved from peripheral compliance toward more central involvement in transition governance, although its effectiveness depends strongly on institutional capacity, regulatory credibility, and geopolitical context. By linking firm-level strategies with national and transnational governance processes, the article contributes to sustainability transitions scholarship by conceptualizing energy security as a dynamic outcome co-produced by states and corporations rather than as a purely state-driven objective. This perspective highlights how private sector agency can both enable and constrain pathways toward just and low-carbon development in emerging economies.

HIGHLIGHTS • Maps private-sector engagement in low-carbon transitions (2001–2025) • Identifies four mechanisms: responsibility, investment, policy alignment, resilience • Shows a shift from state-centric governance to hybrid energy-security governance • Demonstrates how institutional capacity conditions corporate transition performance • Proposes a model linking firm agency to energy security and transition outcomes