Regional low-carbon transitions: Exploring multi-actor and multi-scalar dynamics

This thesis investigates regional low-carbon transitions in their multi-actor and multi-scalar character. These transitions involve deliberate structural changes to established socio-technical systems in order to reduce carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions. Beyond technological innovation or market mechanisms, low-carbon transitions also depend on societal dynamics and are shaped by heterogeneous networks of actors and the institutions that both guide and are shaped by their actions. Originally mainly conceived as a global problem requiring solutions at a global or national level, research has increasingly recognised the relevance of the regional level for low-carbon transitions.
While these advances have provided a better understanding of the geography of low-carbon transitions, the literature review undertaken in this framing paper outlines several research gaps. First, existing research does not adequately reflect the diversity of actors involved in regional transition processes. This is particularly evident in the limited consideration to date of the influence of the attitudes and actions of individuals from civil society. Second, challenges remain in accounting for multi-scalar dynamics in the analysis of the nuanced, fine-grained transition processes at the regional level. Finally, a better understanding of social dynamics in (regional) low-carbon transitions is constrained by both the persistent disconnect and the lack of differentiation between two concepts that are considered to play a key role in technology diffusion: legitimacy and acceptance.
This thesis seeks to address the identified gaps in the existing literature. Employing a mixed-methods approach that integrates both quantitative and qualitative methods, it investigates the multi-actor and multi-scalar dynamics in regional low-carbon transitions by focusing on two empirical contexts. First, using survey data from 554 municipalities in Germany, it examines how and why municipalities engage in and institutionalise climate change mitigation. Second, it investigates the scarcely studied industrial transitions to green hydrogen-based processes from a spatially-sensitive perspective, focusing on their legitimacy and acceptance. This analysis is based on survey responses from 2,513 individuals at regional and national levels, and insights from 19 expert interviews. In both cases, particular attention is given to the regional (and municipal) level, while also considering the interplay with overarching contextual structures. These empirical analyses are complemented by a systematic review of 240 articles to provide insights into the complementarities and differences between the concepts of legitimacy and acceptance.
This cumulative dissertation draws on the findings of four research papers. Taken together, the findings contribute to research on low-carbon transitions at the regional level and beyond. They illustrate conceptually and empirically how the interplay of a variety of actors across scales and their interdependencies with technologies and institutions influence transitions at the regional level. They also provide insights into the perceptions of key stakeholders and the general public in transition processes, identify influential factors for their legitimacy and acceptance evaluations, and highlight differences between regions and across scales. In this respect, the findings also elucidate the bi-directional relationship between macro-level legitimacy and micro-level acceptance evaluations.
The conclusions and recommendations from this work might help policymakers and practitioners across different levels to shape and accelerate regional low-carbon transitions. They provide support in formalising and sustaining regional climate change mitigation efforts and guidance in designing place-specific policies. In particular, they highlight the importance of engaging multiple actor groups in regional decision-making processes, and how legitimacy and acceptance evaluations are embedded in regional contexts, while at the same time being shaped by activities and dynamics at supra-regional levels. In doing so, they help build or maintain key stakeholder and public support for low-carbon initiatives in the industrial sector and beyond, thereby contributing to addressing the climate crisis.