Nations around the world are adopting renewable energy at varied paces. While some countries have a relatively higher consumption of renewable energy, others are still heavily dependent on traditional sources to meet their energy needs. But what exactly are the factors driving this shift towards renewable energy? Probably the first answer that comes to the mind is that nations have different potentials to generate renewable versus conventional energy. But beyond the obvious, there are other factors influencing renewable energy consumption. This research paper makes an attempt to establish two such factors: pollution level and type of governance. Using several regression models, it aims to show that nations that hold governments accountable to the citizens and have large scale pollution are the ones showing a faster shift towards renewable energy.