Energy Research & Social Science最新文献

{"title":"The landlord - property manager - tenant trilemma: Exploring the decision-making processes in decarbonising the rental housing market","authors":"Katharina Reidl","doi":"10.1016/j.erss.2026.104602","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.erss.2026.104602","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The building sector is responsible for one third of carbon emissions globally. To reach NetZero targets, decarbonisation efforts must be accelerated. In societies with a large proportion of rental housing, the decision to retrofit lies in the hand of landlords. Depending on regulation, finances but also personal values, landlords are thus largely responsible to invest in advancing building energy efficiency. This focus can overlook tenants' needs. Described as the landlord-tenant dilemma, literature has long described the issue but overlooked a third influence on investment decision-making, namely property managers. Their relationship with both sides offers valuable insights in the needs and perspectives of landlords and tenants. This study comprises semi-structured interviews in Switzerland to investigate the interplay of landlords, property managers and tenants in the energy-efficient retrofit of buildings. The results show that property management is a valuable point of contact for policy makers, as they provide landlords with retrofit investment options and are in charge of applying for subsidies. Further, they receive insights from tenants and have a better assessment of needs inside the building. Policy makers should address them with coherent subsidy schemes, regulations and emphasise the importance of long-term investment returns of energy efficiency and renewable energy retrofits.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48384,"journal":{"name":"Energy Research & Social Science","volume":"133 ","pages":"Article 104602"},"PeriodicalIF":7.4,"publicationDate":"2026-02-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146174633","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"‘Are we part of the equality?’: Reimagining gender equality of energy transition","authors":"Ellen Fungisai Chipango","doi":"10.1016/j.erss.2026.104598","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.erss.2026.104598","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>While gender equality has become a rallying cry in energy transition, it remains contested. At the heart of this contestation is the question: equality of what—available energy resources or the opportunity to use them? Through a qualitative feminist political ecology study of the Zingondi Resettlement, I analyse the intersectional factors shaping energy access. Using the Capabilities Approach, I illustrate how differently situated individuals have differing needs. The study finds that technological shifts alone do not guarantee gender equality, particularly for those unable to use energy technologies in ways they value. For that reason, <em>capability equality</em> must precede gender equality, as without it, apparent progress can mask persistent inequalities. Achieving gender equality in energy transitions requires policies that are capability-based, gender-responsive, and address structural barriers, guided by gender-disaggregated data.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48384,"journal":{"name":"Energy Research & Social Science","volume":"133 ","pages":"Article 104598"},"PeriodicalIF":7.4,"publicationDate":"2026-02-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146175264","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Conceptualising social value in net zero governance: The case of Bristol City Leap","authors":"Caroline Bird ,&nbsp;Emilia Melville ,&nbsp;Jack Nicholls ,&nbsp;Colin Nolden","doi":"10.1016/j.erss.2026.104571","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.erss.2026.104571","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Social value is an important tool in public sector procurement, allowing the inclusion and valuing of elements beyond those directly procured, such as local jobs and environmental enhancements. In the UK, the Public Sector (Social Value) Act 2012 and the Public Procurement Act 2023 have enabled procurement reflecting wider co-benefits. This paper examines how social value has been codified in the public procurement of city-scale net zero energy infrastructure and services using the case study of Bristol City Leap, an innovative 20-year £1bn public-private partnership. We analyse the evolution of social value from its roots in value theory, to practical implementation in the governance of energy transitions, exploring how business efficiency logics relate to more participatory approaches to achieving co-benefits. Social value within the procurement of net zero energy investments can enable better alignment of private finance with public sector objectives. Our findings however suggest that social value frameworks relying on quantification and financial proxies risk missing the more qualitative measure of value that can bring deeper and more nuanced outcomes. Long-term contracts for comprehensive municipal clean energy governance, such as BCL, provide greater scope for more meaningful social value through the development of local supply chains, longer term jobs, co-productive relationships with local voluntary and social enterprises and participatory processes. We conclude that a hybrid approach could maximise social value outcomes. While it is too soon to fully evaluate, nevertheless this is a significant case study for understanding social value in urban energy transitions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48384,"journal":{"name":"Energy Research & Social Science","volume":"133 ","pages":"Article 104571"},"PeriodicalIF":7.4,"publicationDate":"2026-02-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146174631","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The power of plurality: A new taxonomy of actors in the European energy system","authors":"Till Fladung ,&nbsp;Julia Hoffmann ,&nbsp;Mathias Mier ,&nbsp;Mustafa Ispa","doi":"10.1016/j.erss.2026.104566","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.erss.2026.104566","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The European energy market comprises a diverse range of actors, each with distinct roles and objectives. This paper proposes a taxonomy that categorizes these actors into five groups: governance, grid and transport, supply, demand, and investors. Utilizing a systematic literature review, we identify salient characteristics and distinctions within these groups through analyzing their interconnections and interactions. By systematically mapping energy flows and investment patterns, we present a structured overview of the market’s evolving landscape and its implications for the energy transition. A special focus is the ongoing debate about the necessity of capacity mechanisms.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48384,"journal":{"name":"Energy Research & Social Science","volume":"133 ","pages":"Article 104566"},"PeriodicalIF":7.4,"publicationDate":"2026-02-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146174635","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Seeking recognition justice in Arizona coal country","authors":"Will Niver ,&nbsp;Andréanne Doyon","doi":"10.1016/j.erss.2026.104575","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.erss.2026.104575","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The 2019 closure of a coal-fired coal plant within the Navajo Nation was economically ruinous for many communities. A just transition funding package – negotiated between representatives of the Navajo Nation and the electric utility Arizona Public Service – would have delivered nearly $150 million to rural and Indigenous coal-impacted Arizona communities, but Arizona's utility regulators opposed the use of ratepayer funds in such a plan, resulting in years-long controversy. This paper examines stakeholders' appeals to moral arguments from both sides of the funding controversy and describes why the funding package stalled despite apparent popularity. Methodologically, the paper uses content analysis of public testimony to catalogue appeals to distribution, procedural, and recognition justice. The paper complements that analysis with semi-structured interviews conducted in and around Arizona. Proponents of the transition funding appealed to distribution, procedural, and recognition justice, but opponents relied exclusively on distribution and procedural justice. A critical aspect of recognition justice is its emphasis on equalizing power imbalances; the energy and political landscape of Arizona is rife with such disparity. Appeals to recognition justice, with its emphasis on restoration and leveling socio-political hierarchies, are ill-suited for maintaining an unjust status quo. The paper's discussion section further explores the use of “sacrifice” as a framing for Black Mesa's role in the American Southwest's energy systems. Finally, the paper suggests further avenues for research, including the ways in which injustice has been compounded by the federal government's recent seizure of funding and issues of power, politics, and demographics in underexamined political races.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48384,"journal":{"name":"Energy Research & Social Science","volume":"133 ","pages":"Article 104575"},"PeriodicalIF":7.4,"publicationDate":"2026-02-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146174634","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Additional value of multi-city pilot projects in achieving climate neutrality – Lessons from the EU cities mission","authors":"Justyna Maliszewska-Nienartowicz,&nbsp;Joanna Modrzyńska","doi":"10.1016/j.erss.2026.104586","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.erss.2026.104586","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The paper investigates six multi-city pilot projects realised within the EU Mission for Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities to test innovative solutions for climate neutrality. It is based on public documents and semi-structured interviews with representatives of municipalities participating in these projects. The main finding is that multi-city pilot activities generate additional value compared to individual ones, as they enable addressing complex urban challenges in cooperation and offer opportunities for optimising resources. Knowledge sharing plays a key role at all stages, from the planning phase through implementation and follow-up works, since the exchange of experience is crucial for the success of the common projects. However, there are also certain barriers to implementing multi-city pilot activities, such as improper coordination across cities or bureaucratic requirements for reporting. Similarly, although the possibility of replicating developed solutions in other cities is an important aspect of all pilot activities, it requires genuine cooperation and engagement.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48384,"journal":{"name":"Energy Research & Social Science","volume":"133 ","pages":"Article 104586"},"PeriodicalIF":7.4,"publicationDate":"2026-02-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146175094","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"One plug fits all? Multi-sectoral complementarities, operator diversity, and geographies of transition in Spain's electric vehicle recharge networks","authors":"Andrea Ferloni","doi":"10.1016/j.erss.2026.104579","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.erss.2026.104579","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The acceleration of the Electric Vehicle (EV) transition requires upscaling recharge infrastructure, creating localized economic opportunities around new sociotechnical configurations. Existing studies have investigated the technical aspects of EV recharge but not the multi-sectoral interactions and complementarities that chargers involve, with their geographical foundations. Research on the geography of transitions is developing across transition studies and economic geography, but a framework to connect innovation, technology diffusion, and the emergence of new markets and institutions is still lacking. This paper aims to identify the activities, constraints, actors, and strategies that are involved in EV recharge, and reflect on how the diffusion of chargers relates to the emergence of new local development paths. Expert interviews showed that EV recharge involves six interconnected domains ranging from electric generation to recharge demand. Operators differ in the tasks they perform and the strategies they pursue, according to whether they engage in high- or low-speed recharge and if recharge is their core or secondary business. Diversity of technological and business approaches by recharge operators involves different geographical orientations. Understanding the geography of new sociotechnical configurations requires embracing this variability and building on it to devise place-sensitive policies and recommendations.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48384,"journal":{"name":"Energy Research & Social Science","volume":"133 ","pages":"Article 104579"},"PeriodicalIF":7.4,"publicationDate":"2026-02-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146174637","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"How much travel is enough? Minimum levels for sustainable mobility: A systematic literature review","authors":"Marte Peeters ,&nbsp;Tine Compernolle ,&nbsp;Soukaina Anougmar ,&nbsp;Gwenny Thomassen","doi":"10.1016/j.erss.2026.104580","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.erss.2026.104580","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The transport sector accounts for around 20% of global carbon dioxide emissions, with passenger ground transport responsible for a substantial share. At the same time, mobility is essential for accessing goods, services, and social participation. This creates a central challenge for sustainable transitions: how can emissions related to passenger ground transport be reduced without undermining human well-being? The concept of a sustainable consumption corridor provides a framework that distinguishes a lower boundary representing the minimum level of goods and services required for well-being, and an upper ecological ceiling of consumption. While research on sustainable transport has largely focused on environmental limits, far less attention has been paid to defining a social floor of mobility. This paper presents a systematic literature review of studies that conceptualize and operationalize minimum levels of mobility provision in relation to human well-being. The review focuses on passenger ground transport. Three research questions guide the analysis: <em>(1) How is the relationship between the mobility provisioning system and well-being conceptualized? (2) Which indicators define a minimum level for the mobility provisioning system? and (3) Which threshold values can be used to establish this minimum level for the mobility provisioning system?</em> Objective approaches, often grounded in human needs theory or decent living standards, attempt to define a social floor using indicators related to mobility, accessibility, affordability, and transport-related externalities. However, these studies show limited consistency in indicator selection and threshold values, which are frequently generalized and weakly linked to cultural and contextual differences. Subjective well-being approaches, by contrast, focus on individual experiences and self-reported outcomes such as life satisfaction and travel satisfaction. While these studies do not define explicit sufficiency thresholds, they shed light on how mobility systems shape everyday experiences and on potential barriers for reducing travel demand. The review highlights the lack of consensus on what constitutes a sufficient level of passenger mobility for well-being. It argues for a dual strategy that combines expert-defined indicators with participatory and context-sensitive approaches, integrating objective thresholds with subjective experiences. Such an approach can support the development of socially just and environmentally sustainable mobility provisioning systems aligned with human needs.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48384,"journal":{"name":"Energy Research & Social Science","volume":"133 ","pages":"Article 104580"},"PeriodicalIF":7.4,"publicationDate":"2026-02-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146175080","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Assessing the level and barriers of cross-border electricity interconnection between China and neighboring countries","authors":"Jing-na Kou ,&nbsp;Qi Liu ,&nbsp;Rui Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.erss.2026.104559","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.erss.2026.104559","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Cross-border electricity interconnection (CEI) is regarded as a key focus of energy infrastructure connectivity under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). China and its neighboring countries, in particular, have electricity trade complementarities, with huge exploitable potential and demonstration effects. This paper focuses on the four dimensions of technology-economy-politics-society, selects quantifiable assessment data of the degree of interconnection in the three major neighboring regions (11 countries) from 2013 to 2023, and constructs a CEI evaluation system containing 16 specific indicators through the entropy-weighted TOPSIS method, to quantitatively evaluate the degree of electricity interconnection between the neighboring countries and China and the actual influencing factors. It is found that the development level of CEI between China and its neighboring countries exhibits significant inter-country differences and regional distribution characteristics, with Southeast Asia and Northeast Asia performing better than Central Asia as a whole. The economic dimension is the most significant, accounting for more than 37%, followed by the political and social dimensions. In our view, although the Chinese government and enterprises have made some innovations in CEI initiatives, mechanisms, project planning, and construction, CEI between China and neighboring countries is still facing multiple obstacles in technical, economic, political, and social dimensions, including differences in technical standards, limited financing capacity, political instability, and external geopolitical competition. The CEI under the BRI will be a long-term process characterized by gradualism, rather than an abrupt breakthrough, requiring China to resolve logical contradictions regarding energy security and energy cooperation, and provide more trust and support to neighboring countries.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48384,"journal":{"name":"Energy Research & Social Science","volume":"133 ","pages":"Article 104559"},"PeriodicalIF":7.4,"publicationDate":"2026-02-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146175090","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Deliberate destabilization on trial: Fair-process lessons from the Czech Coal Commission","authors":"Filip Černoch,&nbsp;Michaela Hronová,&nbsp;Lukáš Lehotský","doi":"10.1016/j.erss.2026.104573","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.erss.2026.104573","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Expert commissions have become pivotal in coal-phase-out governance, yet their capacity to unsettle incumbent coal regimes remains contested: do they genuinely shift entrenched power relations or merely create an illusion of participatory legitimacy? Drawing on energy-justice and transition studies, this article approaches the issue from the perspective of procedural justice and assumes this tenet of justice is crucial in shaping the outcome of an institutionally induced destabilization. We develop a four-part framework of procedural justice – member selection, stakeholder balance, deliberative conditions, and public transparency – and apply this framework to the Czech Coal Commission (2019–2021), which was established as an expert body tasked with establishing the coal phase-out schedule. Our results show that the Czech Coal Commission was blatantly procedurally unjust. Discretionary appointments, industry-leaning membership, and compressed timelines that circumscribed substantive deliberation ultimately enabled coal incumbents to retain power over the outcome. This case underscores that rigorous procedural design is a necessary precondition for commissions to function as effective agents of destabilization within fossil-fuel regimes, and that design choices must be addressed if similar bodies are to support credible and socially legitimate coal exits.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48384,"journal":{"name":"Energy Research & Social Science","volume":"133 ","pages":"Article 104573"},"PeriodicalIF":7.4,"publicationDate":"2026-02-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146175093","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}