MSc defence by Johannes Onjala Ochome

Johannes Onjala Ochome from Kenya, MSc Fellow in Sustainable Energy at the Reykjavík University will defend his MSc project on Tuesday 11th of October at 9:00 in Room M208 at Reykjavík University.

The title of the project is:
Assessment of Public Energy Organizations’ Innovation Awareness and Readiness for Climate Action: A Case Study of Icelandic and Kenyan Energy Sectors

Johannes's supervisors are:
Dr. Þórður Víkingur Friðgeirsson, assistant professor, Reykjavík University.

Examiner:
The external examiner is Helgi Þór Ingason, professor, Reykjavík University.

Abstract
Due to its over-reliance on fossil fuels in electricity generation, heating, and transportation, the energy sector is the largest contributor to global GHG emissions, accounting for nearly three-quarters of the 50 billion tons CO2eq of annual global GHG emissions. Developed and developing economies alike are investing in future energy solutions to meet the ever-increasing energy demand sustainably. The purpose of this study is to determine the understanding and approach to innovation in public energy organizations by investigating the internal drivers of climate action innovation. The study used quantitative research methods, such as structured self-administered, Likert scale-type online questionnaires distributed to public energy organization employees in Iceland and Kenya via QuestionPro Essentials online survey software, and was analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics version 27. The study's findings revealed that innovation collaboration systems in organizations were a positive predictor of employee innovation awareness. Employee knowledge and skills, on the other hand, were found not to be a predictor of an organization's innovation awareness, even though theory suggests that education and training equip employees with the necessary knowledge and skills for solving difficult tasks, empowering them to innovate and adapt to changing environments and markets. Further, employees' motivation to innovate, as well as organizational innovation strategy, management structure, and leadership, were found to be positive predictors of an organization's innovation readiness. The Icelandic and Kenyan energy organizations were discovered to be innovating differently and, as a result, prioritized climate action projects in different ways. Despite the low response rate, this study contributes to innovation research, particularly in the under-researched public sector innovation with a focus on the energy sector. Innovation is at the heart of climate action, with a focus on both technological and policy developments, and hence key to meeting set climate action goals.