A global transition to renewable energy is required to address the sustainability challenge and mitigate the socio-ecological consequences of climate change. This thesis explores what factors contribute to slowing down the transition to renewable energy in Southeast Asia. The region was chosen due to its rising energy demand, high energy poverty rates and unsustainable energy generation. The objective is to identify what barriers and enablers inhibit and encourage the financing of decentralized solar energy systems (DSES) in the region.  The study applied a qualitative approach where five exploratory and 12 semi-structured interviews were conducted to gain rich and diverse insights into the current state of DSES within Southeast Asia. The PESTLE analytical framework was used to code the results in a systematic way. This study found several barriers inhibiting an increased deployment of DSES. These included ineffective regulatory frameworks, systemic corruption and market monopolization of DSES, financial issues related to the small size of projects as well as technical and financial capacity among local actors. At the same time, the study identified multiple enablers to address these challenges, including policies encouraging transparency and standardization, capacity building for maintenance or financial literacy and falling project costs due to technological innovation.

Decentralized renewable energy procurement has gained traction in recent years for its potential to alleviate rural energy poverty and environmental degradation in developing countries. Hence, this study investigates if deploying renewable energy can mitigate rural energy poverty in developing countries as often claimed. Because any energy regime cannot be initiated or sustained without the conviction of local political leaders, the study also evaluates the extent to which government investments in the development of renewable energy technologies and the energy sector, affect the environmental quality (i.e. greenhouse gas emissions) of developing countries. Energetic theory and environmental inequality constitute the key conceptual premises guiding this study. Ordinary least squares regression is utilized to analyze the relationship between key variables. The results reveal that as of 2010, use of renewable energy can indeed support rural electrification. Higher GNI per capita and use of conventional fuels are also positively related to rural electrification, all else equal. As for environmental degradation in 2005 and 2008, R&D investments actually tend to increase GHG emissions; procuring energy from either renewable or non-renewable sources is however, found to be environmentally detrimental, net of all other variables. Finally, some evidence is found for the role of aid funds and multilateral debt in abating GHG emissions.