The European Union has already adopted a binding target to cut emissions by at least 55% below 1990 levels by 2030. Furthermore, to achieve the goal set by the Paris Agreement, the EU is planning to reach greenhouse gas emissions neutrality by 2050. To achieve these targets, it will be necessary to accelerate the energy transition and rapidly decarbonise the energy sector, which is responsible for about 75% of the EU’s greenhouse gas emissions. While there is broad agreement on the general aim of reaching carbon neutrality in Europe by 2050, when it comes to planning and implementing consequent policies, a set of practical, economic, social, political, and cultural problems arise. Among them, one of the more debated issues is how to manage the decarbonisation process for those regions that are still heavily dependent on fossil-fuel-based industries or the extraction of fossil fuels, i.e. Coal- and Carbon-Intensive Regions (CCIRs). In such regions, the decarbonisation policy implies a de-industrialisation of their economy, a prominent effect of which is job losses and unemployment.
ENTRANCES addresses these challenges by integrating in a single research framework and in a Cross-European study focused on 13 CCIRs, socio-economic factors, political dynamics, and deep territorial transformations linked to the energy transition. In the perspective adopted by the project, the CET does not pose only a technical challenge for CCIRs, but a wide set of socio-economic, socio-cultural, socio-psychological, and socio-political issues. The underestimation of these aspects and, more in general, the difficulty of dealing with the complex nature of the social dynamics of the energy transition may: i) weaken the capacity to effectively face the risks connected with de-territorialisation and with the rise of the so-called populist movements; ii) delay, stop, or even reverse the process of CET.
The overall goal of this project has been to develop a theoretically-based and empirically-grounded understanding of cross-cutting issues related to SSH aspects (e.g. socioeconomic, socio-technical, socio-ecological, socio-cultural, socio-political, and socio-psychological, and gender aspects) of the CET in European CCIRs so as to formulate a set of recommendations able to tackle these issues. This overall objective has been articulated in the following specific objectives:
• Produce comprehensive and detailed knowledge on the SSH aspects of the CET as they emerge in the 13 CCIRs analysed in the project.
• Develop a better understanding of the differentiated challenges faced by European CCIRs in transition and the coping strategies developed by them.
• Co-create a set of recommendations reflecting the lessons learned from the project as well as the views of relevant stakeholders from the selected CCIRs.
• Contribute to promoting a common vision of the societal implications and opportunities of the CET.
• Uncover gender disparities in the CCIRs and recommend measures to bridge the gender gap in these regions.
