Social Inclusion in the Governance of Regional Energy Transitions

Abstract

This PhD thesis examines how regional governance can address energy injustices while advancing low-carbon transitions, with a particular focus on coal and carbon-intensive regions (CCIRs). I begin from the observation that regions offer a meaningful governance scale for energy transitions: they are large enough to encompass key economic sectors, yet close enough to citizens to respond to social impacts. Building on this, the thesis asks: What governance arrangements can regions apply to address energy injustices and achieve social inclusion while pursuing a low-carbon transition?

To answer this question, I draw on sustainability transitions, regional and innovation studies, energy justice, and intersectionality theory. The research consists of one conceptual study and four empirical studies conducted in European and North American contexts, including my involvement in the EU H2020 Tipping Plus project.

The thesis first develops a clearer understanding of what energy regions are and how they transition. Through a systematic literature review, I propose a typology of energy regions based on the level of institutional formality and progress toward low-carbon transitions. This typology identifies five types of energy regions and positions CCIRs as peripheralized regions with strong path dependencies. It serves as a framework to compare transition pathways and assess how different governance arrangements shape social and justice outcomes.

I then examine how energy injustices manifest at the regional level. A case study of a wealthy Dutch energy region shows that energy vulnerability exists even in high-income contexts and is often overlooked in top-down regional transition strategies. I conceptualize energy vulnerability as an intersectional phenomenon that emerges from the interaction of socio-economic characteristics, access to knowledge, and institutional exclusion. Three main forms of vulnerability are identified: limited energy affordability, restricted access to clean energy, and lack of inclusion in decision-making processes.

To explore how transition pathways and justice outcomes interact across regions, I conduct a comparative analysis of fourteen CCIRs using fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fs-QCA). Focusing on household energy affordability as a key distributional justice outcome, the findings show that justice outcomes are shaped not only by regional policies but also by national and international conditions. Regions with techno-economic capacity to transform their carbon-intensive sectors tend to experience better affordability outcomes than regions forced to phase out these sectors without viable economic alternatives.

Finally, I investigate how governance arrangements can motivate citizen participation, particularly among vulnerable and hard-to-reach groups. A case study in a US–Mexico cross-border energy region uses surveys and a discrete choice experiment to examine citizens’ preferences for participation. The results show that vulnerable groups are willing to engage—and even take leadership roles—when governance arrangements combine local, regional, and national actors and are explicitly framed around justice. Trust and meaningful inclusion emerge as key conditions for participation.

Overall, this thesis demonstrates that addressing energy injustice requires regional-level action and inclusive governance. It contributes to theory by advancing the concepts of energy regions and intersectional energy justice, and it offers practical insights for policymakers seeking to design fair and socially inclusive regional energy transitions.