Energy transitions operate at the intersection of multiple policy priorities, such as green, digital, and just transitions. While the policy discourse treats those priorities as synergetic, the real-world transition processes may feature tensions among different ideas, demands, or outcomes. Understandings of tensions and ways to address them differ across research fields. Yet, such differences are seldom considered in science-policy interfaces that tend to prioritize a relatively narrow set of methods and vocabularies. This study argues that different assumptions, theories, and methods provide important alternative standpoints for identifying, analyzing and navigating tensions. Building on an analysis of 28 real-world examples from peer-reviewed studies and complementary literature, we present five perspectives on energy transition tensions: constructing realities, governing transitions, negotiating meanings, reasoning by numbers, and reimagining transitions. The paper compares and contrasts insights across those perspectives and outlines their prospects and limitations for informing the design and governance of energy transition pathways. Researchers can benefit from the study by identifying opportunities to expand their theoretical and methodological apparatus for addressing energy transition challenges. Policymakers and practitioners can benefit from the study by considering how to engage productively with various types of knowledge to identify and compare strategic policy options.
This paper critically examines the environmental and socio-economic impacts of green hydrogen (GH 2 ) development in South Africa, investigating the challenges and opportunities for its successful implementation. Guided by the discourses on developments within South Africa's GH 2 economy, the study employs a rapid appraisal of existing literature to derive insights from both scholarly and non-scholarly sources, as well as case studies centered on key themes. As Africa's largest emitter of greenhouse gases (GHG), primarily due to its reliance on fossil fuels, South Africa's GH 2 economy has the potential to decarbonise hard-to-abate sectors such as transport and agriculture. To realize this potential, the country must achieve competitive GH 2 production costs while addressing challenges such as renewable energy intermittency, energy security, and freshwater shortages. Furthermore, establishing comprehensive regulatory frameworks is crucial for promoting economic growth, generating employment opportunities, and ensuring environmental sustainability within the GH 2 economy. The paper also emphasizes the need for further research into freshwater availability, social inclusion strategies for electrolysis, and the development of inclusive policies nationwide.
South Africa's transition away from coal-based energy is promoted as a pathway toward inclusive development and poverty reduction. Yet concerns persist about whether current transition policies deliver meaningful economic benefits to the communities most affected by the coal phase-out. This systematic review assesses how energy transition interventions in South Africa influence employment outcomes and poverty reduction, with particular attention to governance arrangements, job quality, and the spatial alignment of new economic opportunities with coal-dependent regions. Following PRISMA-guided review procedures, peer-reviewed literature was systematically identified, screened, and synthesized to examine evidence across renewable energy deployment, labor market transitions, and complementary public employment and energy-efficiency programmes. The review finds that while the energy transition has generated new employment opportunities, these are frequently short-term, low-quality, or geographically disconnected from communities experiencing job losses, limiting their poverty-reduction potential. Weak institutional coordination, uneven local implementation, and the exclusion of vulnerable groups further constrain inclusive outcomes. The paper concludes by outlining policy-relevant recommendations to strengthen governance, improve employment quality, and better integrate energy transition strategies with local development and poverty alleviation objectives.
Permitting reform, shaped by local and state governance, could eliminate unnecessary administrative burdens that slow the development of new electricity generation. However, the permitting process or duration is not well known, especially for locally-permitted projects, which are the standard in the U.S. Northeast and the most common permitting type in the United States. Here, we create an original data set of locally-permitted wind and solar energy projects in Massachusetts to document those timelines. We find that, on average, the permitting duration lasted 250 days, and this duration has increased over time. Permitted and lower capacity projects were associated with shorter permitting duration while canceled and larger capacity projects are associated with longer permitting duration. The results represent the first attempt to calculate permitting speed for locally-permitted wind and solar energy projects at a time when several states are reforming permitting policies, including Massachusetts. This study, therefore, contributes to both the academic and policy debates about how to balance fast deployment with fair practices that weigh the concerns of local communities.
Renewable energy systems (RES) are essential for combating climate change and achieving sustainable development. However, their deployment presents both ecological and socio-economic challenges. This review examines the impacts of renewable energy technologies on ecosystem services, focusing on the environmental footprints of solar PV, concentrating solar power, wind, hydropower, and biomass systems. It explores the socio-economic benefits, such as job creation and improved public health, and emphasizes the importance of effective policy frameworks in facilitating renewable energy adoption. Additionally, the need for integrating ecological considerations into energy planning to mitigate negative impacts is highlighted. Despite the clear benefits, research gaps persist, particularly in understanding the interactions between RES and ecosystem services. Future studies should prioritize comprehensive data collection, long-term monitoring, and adaptive management strategies. Addressing these critical knowledge voids is pivotal for optimizing the trade-offs between energy security and ecological integrity, offering a foundation for evidence-based policy formulation. By addressing these gaps, stakeholders can develop more sustainable energy practices that balance ecological integrity and community wellbeing, contributing to a sustainable and equitable energy future.
The precise forecasting of total electricity generation and consumption can provide data support for framing the sustainable development planning of a developing nation. The study framework is composed of two phases: electricity generation and carbon mitigation framework and structure and logical procedures. This study develops decomposition and Long-range Energy Alternatives Planning system methods and analyzes electricity and CO2 emission mitigation scenarios for 2025–2035 under Energy Vision 2035, including policy implementation, carbon management, and intensity effects. Six main driving factors, including low-carbon structure, electricity generation intensity, energy security, energy intensity, carbon productivity, and CO2 emissions for four decades, are investigated. The results show that (i) low-carbon electricity presents a rising trend in the current phase, which means the renewable electricity structure is undergoing development; (ii) the carbon production factor shows the Pakistan's economy is improving due to substantial advancements in low-carbon electricity generation, mitigating CO2 emissions; (iii) electricity demand scenarios show that renewable, hydro, and nuclear electricity are major contributing resources and are lowering CO2 emissions; (iv) CO2 emission mitigation scenarios from 2025 to 2035 indicate that CO2 will be cut by 63.40%, showing that low-carbon electricity resources may produce relative efficiencies in the electricity sector; and, finally, and (v) the development of low-carbon electricity generation and decarbonization could be ensured by regulating carbon mitigation policies and technical development.
State policies determine the degree to which commercial and industrial electricity customers can choose specified power supplies in the United States. Policies that enable customer choice have helped customers to manage electricity costs and achieve sustainability objectives. Customer choice could also mitigate the risk of increasing electricity demand leading to higher retail electricity prices. Here, our objective is to document how state-level policies have resulted in varying degrees of power choice in the United States. Unlike previous work that has focused on nationwide trends or in markets with ample customer choice, we focus on 18 states in the western and southeastern U.S. without wholesale power markets or retail electricity competition. We conducted a narrative review to explore how these states have implemented hybrid policies such as utility green tariffs and direct access provisions that grant customer choice to subsets of commercial and industrial customers. We leverage various public data sources to estimate that commercial and industrial customers procured about 34 million megawatt hours of electricity through hybrid choice pathways in the 18-state sample, representing about 4% of commercial and industrial demand in those states. Hybrid choice enables these customers to achieve sustainability goals, with commercial and industrial customers procuring around 17 million megawatt-hours of renewable energy through hybrid choice in the 18-state sample. We posit that expanded customer choice could complement other measures to mitigate potential impacts from rapidly increasing electricity demand on retail electricity prices.
The 2022 Russia–Ukraine war has created a new and intense energy crisis. This crisis, which followed the COVID-19 pandemic, continues to have a major impact on the economy, society, and the environment. It brought transformative change to the energy system amid crises, challenges, uncertainty, and opportunities. EU Member States were most affected because of their high dependence on Russian fossil fuels. The complexity of the energy crisis, its impacts, and the emerging energy landscape create the need for a systematic literature review that serves two objectives: capturing the existing knowledge on the impact of the energy crisis after the start of the Russia–Ukraine war and identifying future research avenues that will adequately and effectively illuminate aspects of the energy crisis. More specifically, this review compiles knowledge across three areas: the food market sector, the energy transition sector, and, lastly, the energy poverty sector. The results of this systematic review demonstrate that the energy crisis triggered by the Russia–Ukraine war has reshaped these sectors in different ways. While the crisis provided the necessary impetus for a faster transition to renewables, it also triggered significant inflationary pressure in the global food supply chain and intensified energy vulnerability for low-income populations.
Rural America sits at the center of a profound energy paradox: communities with some of the nation's richest renewable resources continue to face persistent energy insecurity, economic vulnerability, and deepening social divides. This Perspective argues that these challenges stem less from technological limitations than from governance structures that sideline local agency. Drawing on insights from a diverse landscape of community-driven solar, wind, biomass, and cooperative initiatives across the United States, we contend that the trajectory of rural energy transitions is profoundly shaped by who owns, controls, and benefits from emerging energy systems. While distributed renewables can reduce fuel dependence, lower household costs, and strengthen local resilience, these gains remain uneven and frequently undermined by top-down decision-making, siting conflicts, and weak participatory processes. Evidence from rural projects shows that Energy Democracy, anchored in the pillars of participation, ownership, equity, and sustainability offers a more durable pathway to rural revitalization than technology deployment alone. We outline why current policy frameworks fall short of supporting democratic energy governance and propose a forward-looking roadmap that centers community authority, anticipates conflict, and aligns socio-technical design with rural priorities. Reframing rural energy transitions around governance rather than hardware is essential for realizing the promise of equitable, resilient, and community-led rural futures.
The corporate commitment to reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions has gained significant traction, with over 11,000 companies committing to reduce their corporate emissions. This paper critically examines two prevalent corporate climate strategies: renewable energy power purchase agreements (PPAs) and supplier engagement initiatives, highlighting their alignment with existing GHG Protocol accounting standards and company implementation considerations around internal approval processes, business operation impacts, and transaction costs. The analysis reveals that PPAs are successful due to their clear recognition in accounting standards and minimal impact on core business operations. Conversely, supplier engagement programs, despite their endorsement by initiatives like the Science Based Targets Initiative, struggle to deliver scope 3 inventory reductions emissions due to mismatched data and high transaction costs. The paper underscores the necessity for corporate climate standard setters to consider the realities of company accounting and decarbonization strategy practices as standards undergo major revisions. By integrating these implementation considerations, the effectiveness of voluntary GHG emissions accounting and target-setting systems can be improved, ultimately contributing to more significant emission reductions.
The decarbonization of energy systems poses significant challenges to energy networks due to the introduction of new energy vectors and changes in the pattern of energy demand. However, this is currently an under-researched area. This paper addresses a gap in the literature by drawing on the socio-technological transitions and multi-system interactions literature to explore the views of experts from industry, academia and other sectors about the challenges facing UK energy networks and the possible solutions, including taking a more wholistic approach to the planning and operation of different networks. Using these frameworks, we have demonstrated that systems can be deliberately integrated to interact and solve particular system challenges, and have identified the nature of these interactions. The empirical results identify areas of consensus and disagreement about the future development of network infrastructure and regulation. They also highlight how government policy responds to the challenges and opportunities presented by the UK climate targets. The findings show widespread agreement that the UK energy system will become more electrified and decentralized as it incorporates more renewable energy. However, the role of gaseous fuels in the energy system is more uncertain, with some experts seeing a move from natural gas to hydrogen as being key to maintaining the security of supply, while others see little or no role for hydrogen. There is also widespread agreement that the regulatory structure should change to address the challenges facing energy networks with much less agreement on whether this could happen quickly enough. Recent developments indicate the UK Government recognizes the need for regulatory change, but it is premature to foresee their success in helping networks be a driver of, rather than a barrier to, a net-zero energy system.
Cities are at the forefront in linking their socio-economic development to culture and heritage that they are slowly acknowledging as a way to also address climate change. Cultural participation can influence a diverse range of social impact areas, such as health and wellbeing, social cohesion and intercultural dialogue, innovation, and education, as well as community-driven urban and territorial renewal and development. The sense of heritage ownership is a complex relationship between individual, collective, and institutional claims that can leverage action and better governance. With the New European Bauhaus (NEB) initiative launched in 2021, the European Union pledges culture's contribution to the European Green Deal and advocates the role of cultural institutions, as they play a vital role in strengthening community engagement. This article illustrates to what extent culture (arts, heritage, cultural, and creative industries) and NEB principles are mainstreamed into recent and innovative urban energy and climate policies to drive behavioral change and improve networking and multi-stakeholder commitment. We have focused on a sample of the 100 EU Mission Cities. By analyzing their road maps for climate-neutrality and smartness, the Climate City Contracts (CCCs), we have addressed the following questions: – Do cities rely on culture and heritage for a just transition? – What is the role of arts, heritage, cultural, and creative Industries in their pathways for a just transition? – Do these actions take advantage of digitalization? Based on the vocabulary categorization, we have started developing a text mining method that may support extending the analysis of “culture for climate action”—related elements to a broader number and types of urban transition policies. We have interpreted the CCCs sample providing a high-quality human-annotated corpus. The aim is to train a future artificial intelligence model that could help assess impacts and identify other culture and heritage-based experiences to enhance “Knowledge for Policy” toward the NEB application in cities.
This paper interrogates the nexus between climate justice and policy-driven equity, placing a spotlight on the disproportionate vulnerabilities faced by marginalized groups, including women, Indigenous peoples, and low-income communities, in the global climate arena. It argues for incorporating diverse perspectives in decision-making processes and shows how historical injustices, particularly those rooted in colonial legacies, continue to shape current climate governance structures. Using illustrative examples, the manuscript demonstrates how local initiatives that prioritize community engagement and empowerment can effectively tailor climate strategies to address the specific needs of impacted populations. Moreover, it emphasizes the critical role of interdisciplinary collaboration, spanning public health, urban planning, and environmental protection, in crafting climate policies that mitigate environmental impacts while promoting social justice. Ultimately, this study offers practical insights and strategies for policymakers, researchers, and advocates committed to building resilient and inclusive climate policies, underscoring that embedding equity in global climate action is essential for achieving a sustainable and just future for all communities.
Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) is a key carbon dioxide (CO2) mitigation technology in climate change mitigation pathways that aim to limit the rise in temperatures to below 1. 5 and 2 °C, in line with the recommendations of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). This policy brief focuses on the deployment at scale of geological storage of CO2 as the last critical link in the CCS process chain. It proposes the establishment of a new Storage Climate Club led by a group of “enthusiastic” countries in order to operationalize a new asset class, Carbon Storage Units (CSUs) under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement and support the deployment at scale of geological storage of CO2 and CCS technologies worldwide.
Environmental sustainability is a central concern in environmental economics, yet the effects of institutional quality and macroeconomic risks on sustainability outcomes remain underexplored, particularly in developed economies. This study examines how economic policy uncertainty (EPU), political risk (PRI), and governance quality (GOV) influence environmental sustainability in Canada, using the load capacity factor as a proxy. Utilizing quarterly data from 1990 to 2022, we apply the quantile-on-quantile regression method to capture heterogeneous and nonlinear relationships across different levels of environmental performance. Robustness is ensured through wavelet coherence analysis. The results reveal that EPU positively affects sustainability at higher quantiles, possibly due to precautionary shifts in policy or investment behavior. PRI also contributes positively in high-risk settings, reflecting the role of political institutions in environmental governance. Strong governance exhibits a consistently favorable impact across quantiles. Moreover, environmental innovation strengthens the positive effects of all three variables. These findings underscore the importance of adaptive institutions, risk-aware policymaking, and innovation-driven strategies for advancing environmental sustainability.
Providing energy access in “hard to reach” under- or unelectrified contexts like informal settlements or remote rural regions requires rethinking how we develop and finance energy access business models. While terminologies like “hardest to reach,” “reaching the last mile” or “leaving no-one behind” have increasingly been used within energy access and broader development discourses, different country and regional contexts present unique and practical challenges for deploying electrification models in these areas. These challenges are also intrinsically linked to the viability gap, which results from a disjuncture between end-users' ability to pay and revenues required to cover the cost of service. “Hard to reach” areas can comprise geographically remote regions like rural villages or urban informal settlements where households and businesses are precluded from grid electricity and other key infrastructure services due to financial, socio-technical and socio-political barriers despite being directly “under the grid.” In this paper we argue that contextual grounding is needed when exploring the intricacies of delivering energy access in contexts that traditionally lack formal service provision, security of tenure and material certainty. We furthermore argue that it is necessary to critically engage with discourses that characterize geographic remoteness as “un-electrifiable.” Notwithstanding the increased focus on leaving no-one behind in the international agenda, more pragmatic grounding is needed to understand and draw lessons from energy access in dynamic contexts. Drawing on the authors' current and prior experience working on research projects on off-grid energy and other infrastructures across sub-Saharan Africa, the paper compares the geographic contexts of urban informality and geographically remote contexts through six case studies from Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, South Africa, the Kingdom of Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) and Madagascar. It explores the intricacies and practicalities of providing energy access in urban informal settlements, remote rural villages or displacement settings, and provides lessons for policy and practice.
Large-scale solar (LSS) electric capacity is expanding rapidly in the U.S., with over 18 GW added in 2023 and over 40 GW in 2024; high levels of LSS deployment are anticipated to continue in coming years to meet growing electricity demand. Such deployment relies on sustained support from host community members and local governments, but that support is not assured, with community opposition now a leading cause of LSS project delays and cancellations. We conducted a nationally representative, stratified random survey of LSS neighbors (living within 3 miles) in order to better understand factors correlated with sentiments about LSS and levels of support and opposition for additional LSS development among residents with direct lived experience. Overall, we find most LSS neighbors are neutral or supportive of additional LSS in or near their communities. While some objective measures—such as the size of the project nearest the respondent, the respondent's education level, and whether they have solar on their own home—are important correlates with support, subjective sentiments and perceptions of respondents are much more informative. Perceptions about how LSS helps or hinders community quality of life, landscape aesthetics, residential property values, climate change, and community interests and priorities were especially salient. In addition, respondents' familiarity with their local project was influential: seeing the project more frequently generally corresponded to lower support for additional LSS. Broadly, we find evidence to reject the NIMBY hypothesis, and, conversely, more evidence to support the relationship between LSS support and community values, identity, sense of place, and protection of that place.
Energy poverty remains a pressing issue across Europe, particularly as the EU prepares to launch the Social Climate Fund in 2026. This paper serves as a review , drawing on behavioral science literature and existing evidence to provide actionable insights and practical guidance for policy-makers on designing and implementing grant schemes that effectively reach households vulnerable to energy poverty. Specifically, we identify cognitive and structural barriers—often overlooked in conventional policy approaches—that prevent vulnerable households from accessing or fully utilizing available financial support. While our recommendations are broadly applicable across the EU, we focus on the case of Cyprus, where energy poverty is high, and previous initiatives have faced significant challenges. By integrating behavioral insights into policy design, we aim to illustrate how grant schemes financed through the Social Climate Fund launching in 2026 can be made more accessible and effective for decision-makers of vulnerable households, ultimately paving the way for a more equitable and green transition.
Introduction Norway's goal to significantly increase onshore wind power production requires building public trust and addressing societal concerns. Objective This study investigated Norwegian attitudes toward onshore wind power at national and local levels, examining the influence of socioeconomic factors, the “Anywhere-Somewhere” worldview, climate change denial, and materialism. Methods A representative survey of 1,029 Norwegian adults (aged 18 years and above) was conducted. Results Public opinion on national onshore wind power development was almost evenly divided, although negative attitudes tended to be more extreme. However, local opposition was significantly higher (60%), primarily because of concerns about environmental impacts (harm to wildlife, visual impacts, noise, and land use). Socioeconomic factors did not predict attitudes, but opposition strongly correlated with a “Somewhere” worldview; this relationship was not mediated by climate change denial or materialism. Conclusion Significant public opposition to onshore wind power exists in Norway, particularly within marginalized sociocultural groups. Implications Achieving Norway's renewable energy targets requires inclusive policies that address citizen concerns.
