Project description
The challenges facing coal regions in transition
In a globalised context, many European regions are exposed to the deep and sometimes painful transformation of their social, economic and cultural life. The clean energy transition, if not properly managed, may become an additional and decisive factor of 'deterritorialisation' for those regions that are still heavily dependent on fossil-fuel-based industries or the extraction of fossil fuels themselves, i.e. coal and carbon-intensive regions. The EU-funded ENTRANCES project will investigate the challenges facing carbon-intensive regions in transition hinging on the idea that the transition to clean energy should not be considered only as a technological change or an industrial shift but also a socio-economic-psychological process that affects the daily life of local communities. The project will integrate, in a single research framework and in a cross European study focused on 13 coal and carbon-intensive regions, socio-economic factors, political dynamics and deep territorial transformations linked to the energy transition.
Objective
"This project is framed under the topic ""SSH aspects of the Clean-Energy Transition"" and it tries to interpret the ""Challengues facing the carbon intensive regions"" within a multi-contextual framework: 1) the de-carbonisation policies; 2) the ongoing processes of de-territorialisation; and 3) the territorial dimension of clean energy transition. These contextual elements are presented in the project, providing an interpretation of the main research questions of the topic.: a) The de-carbonisation of coal and carbon intensive regions risks to be a cul de sac of the energy transition process. Along with this process a set of conflicts emerge and move from local to national and European level and vice-versa. One of the main ideas of the project is analysing these conflicts and the negotiation processes related to them, as well as the political cultures and discourses behind these conflicts; b) The challenges facing coal and carbon-intensive regions are studied in the light of the ongoing process at the territorial level. Another main idea of the project is to identifying the factors of de-territorialisation in action in different coal and carbon-intensive regions and to explain their dynamics and interactions; c) The clean energy transition cannot be understood only as a technological change or as an industrial shift, and it is studied as a socio-economic-psychological process affectng the life of local communities. In this respect the project is focused on the study of the coping strategies from a wide array of perspectives: A multidimensional perspective, combining different disciplinary frameworks; a comparative perspective, developing a comprehensive set of case studies; and a multilevel perspective, involving different key players at territorial, regional, national, European and global level. Each of these strategies will be developed in a specific strand of research: Theoretical strand, Analytic strand, and Pro-active strand."
Fields of science
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Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
RIA - Research and Innovation actionCoordinator
15001 La Coruna
Spain