Fast because it’s just: fostering acceptance to accelerate sustainability transitions in coal-dependent regions
Coal-dependent communities and regions are at the frontline of the global energy transition, with net-zero scenarios requiring unprecedented sharp decreases in coal use and production in the next few decades. Rapid decarbonization in these ‘coal-dependent’ regions can result in high disruptiveness a...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IOP Publishing
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Environmental Research: Energy |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1088/2753-3751/adaaf7 |
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| author | Cristian Pons-Seres de Brauwer Paola Andrea Yanguas Parra |
| author_facet | Cristian Pons-Seres de Brauwer Paola Andrea Yanguas Parra |
| author_sort | Cristian Pons-Seres de Brauwer |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Coal-dependent communities and regions are at the frontline of the global energy transition, with net-zero scenarios requiring unprecedented sharp decreases in coal use and production in the next few decades. Rapid decarbonization in these ‘coal-dependent’ regions can result in high disruptiveness and trigger socio-political resistance across both the acceleration of coal phase-outs (decline) and clean energy phase-ins (diffusion). Lack of social acceptance (SA) stands as a critical bottleneck risking slowing down the pace of the transition. Governance strategies seeking the acceleration of coal transitions will therefore need to strike a delicate balance between disruptiveness and acceptance . We argue that fostering acceptance, for instance through just transition (JT) policies, does not simply serve as a means to pursue ‘just’ transition processes, but rather as a fundamental acceleration strategy for decline and diffusion dynamics that unfold simultaneously. To substantiate this argument, we conduct a narrative review cutting across the literature on JTs and SA of renewables’ innovations, and reinterpret them using a socio-technical (sustainability) transition perspective to outline three core propositions: (i) justice perceptions underlie acceptance; (ii) acceptance precedes reorientation; (iii) reorientation as a transition acceleration strategy. We then outline an integrative research agenda to renew the scientific focus towards the interconnections between justice-acceptance-acceleration in the ongoing transitions in coal-dependent regions and elsewhere. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-3e6627af710b4f3bb08e895decfc78d0 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2753-3751 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Environmental Research: Energy |
| spelling | doaj-art-3e6627af710b4f3bb08e895decfc78d02025-01-30T09:12:03ZengIOP PublishingEnvironmental Research: Energy2753-37512025-01-012101300210.1088/2753-3751/adaaf7Fast because it’s just: fostering acceptance to accelerate sustainability transitions in coal-dependent regionsCristian Pons-Seres de Brauwer0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5311-5587Paola Andrea Yanguas Parra1https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5681-1628Institute for Economy and the Environment, St.Gallen University (IWÖ-HSG) , Müller-Friedberg-Str. 6/8, 9000 St. Gallen, Switzerland; INE Institute for Sustainable Development, ZHAW School of Engineering, Zürich University of Applied Sciences , Technoparkstrasse 2, 8400 Winterthur, SwitzerlandINE Institute for Sustainable Development, ZHAW School of Engineering, Zürich University of Applied Sciences , Technoparkstrasse 2, 8400 Winterthur, Switzerland; FossilExit Research Group, Workgroup for Infrastructure Policy (WIP), Technische Universität Berlin , Straße des 17. Juni 135, 10623 Berlin, GermanyCoal-dependent communities and regions are at the frontline of the global energy transition, with net-zero scenarios requiring unprecedented sharp decreases in coal use and production in the next few decades. Rapid decarbonization in these ‘coal-dependent’ regions can result in high disruptiveness and trigger socio-political resistance across both the acceleration of coal phase-outs (decline) and clean energy phase-ins (diffusion). Lack of social acceptance (SA) stands as a critical bottleneck risking slowing down the pace of the transition. Governance strategies seeking the acceleration of coal transitions will therefore need to strike a delicate balance between disruptiveness and acceptance . We argue that fostering acceptance, for instance through just transition (JT) policies, does not simply serve as a means to pursue ‘just’ transition processes, but rather as a fundamental acceleration strategy for decline and diffusion dynamics that unfold simultaneously. To substantiate this argument, we conduct a narrative review cutting across the literature on JTs and SA of renewables’ innovations, and reinterpret them using a socio-technical (sustainability) transition perspective to outline three core propositions: (i) justice perceptions underlie acceptance; (ii) acceptance precedes reorientation; (iii) reorientation as a transition acceleration strategy. We then outline an integrative research agenda to renew the scientific focus towards the interconnections between justice-acceptance-acceleration in the ongoing transitions in coal-dependent regions and elsewhere.https://doi.org/10.1088/2753-3751/adaaf7social acceptancejust transitionsaccelerationdecline/phase-outdiffusioncoal transitions |
| spellingShingle | Cristian Pons-Seres de Brauwer Paola Andrea Yanguas Parra Fast because it’s just: fostering acceptance to accelerate sustainability transitions in coal-dependent regions Environmental Research: Energy social acceptance just transitions acceleration decline/phase-out diffusion coal transitions |
| title | Fast because it’s just: fostering acceptance to accelerate sustainability transitions in coal-dependent regions |
| title_full | Fast because it’s just: fostering acceptance to accelerate sustainability transitions in coal-dependent regions |
| title_fullStr | Fast because it’s just: fostering acceptance to accelerate sustainability transitions in coal-dependent regions |
| title_full_unstemmed | Fast because it’s just: fostering acceptance to accelerate sustainability transitions in coal-dependent regions |
| title_short | Fast because it’s just: fostering acceptance to accelerate sustainability transitions in coal-dependent regions |
| title_sort | fast because it s just fostering acceptance to accelerate sustainability transitions in coal dependent regions |
| topic | social acceptance just transitions acceleration decline/phase-out diffusion coal transitions |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1088/2753-3751/adaaf7 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT cristianponsseresdebrauwer fastbecauseitsjustfosteringacceptancetoacceleratesustainabilitytransitionsincoaldependentregions AT paolaandreayanguasparra fastbecauseitsjustfosteringacceptancetoacceleratesustainabilitytransitionsincoaldependentregions |