The international system has been described as fragmented (Leal-Arcas and Filis, 2013; Dubash and Florini, 2011; Lesage, 2009; Lesage et al, 2010). Many organisations have been set up with an energy policy function; however no single international body co-ordinates energy governance (Cheng, 2013:5). Goldthau and Witte (2010:7-8) argue that one can categorise international efforts into three types. First, certain institutions are designed to correct market failures and could be described as consumer clubs. The prime example, and the example used for our case study, is the IEA, which following the 1970s oil shocks was originally established to deal with short-term supply management. Second, other institutions are designed to lower transaction costs. One such example is the International Energy Forum (IEF), whose objective is to promote transparency. The IEA’s data-gathering and data-sharing activities are another example. Third, there are institutions which set rules and standards. Examples are the World Trade Organization (WTO), Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) and United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) which aim to establish legislation on rule setting for market exchange or the global climate change regime.
