Enabling sustainable transitions in coal and carbon-intensive regions

Abstract

Low-carbon transitions are particularly acute in coal and carbon-intensive regions (CCIRs), which face not only technological and economic barriers but also deep socio-political and cultural obstacles in moving away from carbon lock-in. Transforming these regions requires destabilizing and reconfiguring high-carbon regimes, often demanding structural changes across technological, socio-economic, political, and cultural domains. Despite increased attention to the decline of unsustainable energy systems, much research and policy remain short-sighted, often overlooking paradoxes, trade-offs, and spill-over effects during transitions. This Special Issue addresses the complexity of sustainability transitions in CCIRs from an interdisciplinary social science perspective, drawing on nine original contributions from the TIPPING+ project. The collection introduces advanced concepts, methods, and empirical evidence to better understand and navigate transitions in CCIRs, focusing on Social-Ecological Tipping Points. Through diverse case studies across Europe, Asia, and North America, the articles examine the interplay of forces shaping transition trajectories and highlight their non-linear, multi-scalar, and justice-sensitive nature. The Special Issue introduces frameworks for diagnosing transition states and identifying tipping dynamics, with attention to timing, territoriality, and equity. It further analyzes how political, economic, and governance conditions, as well as place-based narratives and cultural framings, influence the destabilization of carbon lock-ins and the legitimacy and direction of change. Collectively, the articles reframe transitions in CCIRs as embedded, justice-centred, and culturally contested processes, providing actionable insights for research, policy, and planning in sustainability transformations.