Why are some countries better than others at switching to renewable energy sources?

Climate change is arguably the most dire problem facing the human race today, and the world's top experts agree there is a greater than 95% probability that it has been driven almost exclusively by the use of fossil fuels. Despite the magnitude of climate change and its catastrophic consequences, the passing of effective legislation to cut greenhouse gas emissions has not had success in every country. This study seeks to identify elements of countries and governments that are successfully able to transition to renewable energy sources.
The quantitative analysis in this paper uses the Energy Information Administration's data on renewable and total energy production and consumption by country and global region, along with the World Bank's demographic information on population, gross national income per capita, and social development indicators such as life expectancy and infant mortality rate. The qualitative analysis consists of case studies of regions and individual countries to get a more specific picture of the mechanisms at work. If a correlation can be established between characteristics of a country or region and its use of renewable energy, these case studies can strengthen the argument for a causal relationship between these variables. Knowing how elements of an area impact its ability to switch over to greener energy sources could help isolate problems present in current climate change policy and make future legislation more effective in cutting global carbon dioxide emissions.