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Coordinator’s words
On 30 April 2023, the ENTRANCES project has completed its third year and has entered its final phase of policy recommendation and dissemination of results. Over the past six months, the ENTRANCES research teams from the different regions have held their regional co-creation meetings with stakeholders from their respective regions. In these co-creation meetings, the researchers presented the challenges and coping strategies identified by the researchers in different carbon- and coal-intensive regions and shared the results of the socio-economic simulations and socio-ecological and technical scenarios with the stakeholders. In the end, they co-created recommendations to mitigate the adverse impacts of the decarbonisation process and accelerate the pace of regional development in different regions. All case studies have produced short reports that will be the main input for policy and practice recommendations (Deliverables 6.1 and 6.2). ENTRANCES researchers have also produced regional policy briefs highlighting regional issues, challenges, coping strategies and recommendations for regional development. These policy briefs provide policy makers with tools to promote a just transition in coal- and carbon-intensive regions. Preparations are underway for the ENTRANCES final conference, which will be held in Brussels on 5-6 September 2023. From the coordination team we are working to ensure that everything is in order to have the conference venue well prepared to host the interesting discussions and debates about our research results. We will present the main findings of the project and discuss various issues related to decarbonisation and energy transition in different regions. We will also focus on the changing relationship between population and territory, in terms of deterritorialisation or re-territorialisation, in selected coal- and carbon-intensive regions. If you have not registered yet, please do so as soon as possible, maximum before August 1st , in order to leave the entire infrastructure of the Conference well organized. This is the link for the registration to our Final Conference: EUSurvey - Survey (europa.eu)

Save the Date – ENTRANCES Final Conference

The EU funded Entrances project is coming to an end and is organizing its Final Conference on the 5th and 6th of September 2023. This one-and-a-half-day conference will present the main findings of the ENTRANCES project and discuss the main concerns related to the energy transition in thirteen coal- and carbon-intensive regions in nine EU countries. Policy makers and local experts will be engaged to discuss policy and practical recommendations at the EU and regional levels.

Register now to secure your presence at the ENTRANCES Final Conference.

The ENTRANCES Regional Co-creation Meetings

As
Pontes

On 21 April, 2023, the UDC research team, under the guidance of Dr. Ricardo Garcia Mira, organised a regional cocreation meeting in the As Pontes - A Coruña region, at the Sociology department of the University of A Coruña. Seven regional stakeholders from local and regional governments, environmental groups, trade unions, the business sector, central government agencies and research and innovation institutes participated in this meeting. The main objective of this meeting was to gather insights on the strategies and approach adopted or planned for regional development in As Pontes and the surrounding region, as well as on the main barriers and facilitators from the perspective of the different stakeholders. Stakeholders validated different scenarios (both socio-economic and transformative capacity) for the economic revival of the region and discussed possible trajectories for the development of this region in the short and long terms. They also offered some recommendations for mitigating the impacts of the closure of the La Central thermal power plant and other related businesses and for the region’s just transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy. The meeting will provide inputs for the deliverable: Practical recommendations for Regional Development (D6.2).

On 21st April 2023, Neath Port Talbot Council hosted the co-creation meeting for the South Wales case of the ENTRANCES project. Held in Port Talbot, the meeting involved participants representing the public sector, local community and academia. Business representatives had been invited but were unable to attend. The meeting explored various socio-economic scenarios of a net-zero carbon future for Port Talbot in the context of a broader energy transition. Three scenarios were discussed: one in which the region is able to achieve its net-zero transition by 2050 whilst maintaining steel-making activities in the area and diversifying economic activities; a second that imagined a net-zero transition by 2050 where a cessation of steel-making activities is offset by the development of successful alternative economic opportunities, and a third where the cessation of steel-making activities was not offset by the development of alternative economic opportunities. Participants favoured the first scenario, as that is the scenario policy is currently aiming to achieve. Whilst participants felt that achieving this scenario was plausible they highlighted the need for more positive governance actions at regional, national and international scales in combination with substantial investment in infrastructures and skills

South Wales: Port Talbot

Central Germany

The co-creation meeting for the Central German region took place virtually on April 26, 2023 and has been organized by researchers from the Halle Institute for Economic Research and Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg. Seven regional stakeholders from the third sector, especially unions, civil society, and public sector participated in the meeting. Challenges that were already identified in interviews and focus group discussion, such as the management of structural change, the diversification of the regional energy supply, transparency and openness of policy decisions and outmigration have been discussed. Furthermore, socioeconomic scenario results for an ideal scenario “The Green Heart of Germany: From Brown Coal to the Green Economy” and the negative scenario “The Sick Heart of Germany: Decarbonization and Deindustrialization” have been presented and assessed. The participants provided several recommendations, such as i) decentralized energy transition, ii) increase the participation of civil society in the energy transition, especially through community organizing iii) reuse of the open-pit mining landscape after the coal phase-out more explicitly and strategically, iv) strengthening the region through investments in economic innovations and v) investing more strategically in regional public infrastructure

The co-creation meeting in Rhineland took place virtually via ZOOM on April 24, 2023. Researchers from the Halle Institute for Economic Research and Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg lead the discussion. Nine regional stakeholders from civil society, the third sector, the private sector and the public sector participated in the meeting discussing the socioeconomic results simulated in the project for an ideal scenario: “Europe's Hydrogen Valley: Rhineland – Centre for Green Industry 4.0” and a scenario “Ruhrpott 2.0: Decarbonization and Deindustrialization” and challenges for the region. They derived some recommendations such as i) encouraging actual utopian thinking, ii) communicating the implications of an energy transition in a widely available and easily accessible way, iii) broader resource planning for a sustainable and climate-resilient regional economy and iv) transparent funding allocation procedures and accompanying external monitoring

Rhineland

Upper
Styria

In the Austrian case study region of Upper Styria the ENTRANCES co-creation meeting was held on 24 May 2023. It took place in the regional district capital of Leoben, and was organised and moderated by Centre for Social Innovation (ZSI) collaborators Dr. Martina Lang and Manfred Spiesberger. The workshop involved six stakeholders, representing the local energy agency, steel industry, city administration, labour chamber, and interest organisations/NGOs for e-mobility and youth energy education. We started out from two future scenarios. A positive one outlining a successful transformation to a clean steel future, where the challenges of energy and hydrogen provision for a green steel production have been mastered and related issues such as demography and female employment have been tackled. A negative scenario projected a continuation of climate delay in Austria, where the country follows its current path of trailing other EU countries in CO2 emission reductions. The recommendations generated in the workshop ranked communication of the energy transition and behavioural change as most pressing issues to be addressed, followed by urgent necessary upgrades to the energy grid for uptake of renewable energy. Other recommendations concerned energy efficiency measures, accelerated approval procedures for renewables, reducing the regional gender pay gap, achieving a fair and just energy transition, and modifications to
current Austrian land use procedures.

ENTRANCES at EUROPEAN SUSTAINABLE ENERGY WEEK

Ricardo García Mira, the coordinator of the ENTRANCES project, participated in the European Sustainable Energy Week (EUSEW) as a panellist and made a significant contribution to the event. The EUSEW is Europe's premier annual event dedicated to promoting renewables and efficient energy use. It serves as a platform for advancing Europe's quest for a secure and sustainable energy future. This year, EUSEW will be held from 20th to 22nd June 2023, adopting a hybrid format with both in-person activities in Brussels and online engagement. EUSEW encompasses a range of impactful initiatives aimed at driving progress in the field of sustainable energy. The highly anticipated Policy Conference brings together influential stakeholders and policymakers to exchange ideas, strategies, and insights, setting the agenda for a greener future. The prestigious EUSEW Awards ceremony recognizes outstanding achievements and innovation in the renewable energy sector. Additionally, the fourth European Youth Energy Day provides a unique opportunity for young talents to showcase their visions and contribute to shaping sustainable energy solutions. In the session titled "Accelerating just energy transition," Ricardo García Mira presented the ENTRANCES project, introducing its objectives and sharing valuable insights on expediting equitable energy transitions in Coal and Carbon Intensive Regions (CCIRs) across Europe and beyond.

Power to the people: citizen-centred Just Transitions challenge energy system centralization

Ricardo García Mira, the coordinator of the ENTRANCES project from the University of A Coruña, along with Diana Süsser from IEECP and Serafeim Michas from TEESlab, emphasized the importance of EU Member States phasing out coal and transitioning their carbon-intensive industries to achieve climate neutrality. However, they emphasized that these objectives should not be pursued in isolation. Transparency and justice should be integral components of this transformative journey. As the Member States implement their territorial just transition plans, they must ensure they benefit affected citizens and communities. The authors use simulation models to offer the case study of Megalopolis as an example, the second largest lignite mining and power production centre in Greece. Its planned solar PV parks of 550 MW will feed back into the national grid, and local households will not receive a direct renewable supply. Furthermore, for space heating households will receive a new gas boiler for free, which will be fuelled by a new gas distribution network. However, supplying just 5% of the solar power yield to Megalopolis could cover 90% of the city’s electricity needs. And further efficiency and heat pump investment could save households €1,700 per year compared to using natural gas as a heating fuel
Read more about this article.

CINTRAN (https://coaltransitions.org) or “Carbon Intensive Regions in Transition – Unravelling the Challenges of Structural Change” will study the structural changes of decarbonisation in order to find ways to minimise the risks. The researchers will combine quantitative model-based research with qualitative in-depth analysis. The qualitative research will focus on four highly fossil-fuel dependent regions: Western Macedonia (Greece), Silesia (Poland), Ida-Virumaa (Estonia) and the Rhenish mining area (Germany).

TRACER (tracer-h2020.eu) supports 9 coal-intensive regions in Europe to design (or re-design) their R&I strategies in order to facilitate their transition towards a sustainable energy system. Six of these nine European target regions are from EU Members States (Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Poland, Romania), and three from countries outside the EU (Serbia, Ukraine, UK), yet all of them facing the same challenges.

Tipping Plus (tipping-plus.eu) intends to advance the scientific understanding of the critical concept of Social-Ecological Tipping Points (SETPs) to support successful clean-energy transitions in Coal and Carbon Intensive Regions (CCIRs). It will provide an empirical in-depth social science understanding of fundamental changes in socio-demographic, geographical, psychological, cultural, political, and economic patterns. The project will comparatively analyse 20 European and non-European regions.

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ENTRANCES project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under Grant Agreement nº 883947. This newsletter represents the view of the author only and is his/her sole responsibility: it cannot be considered to reflect the views of the European Commission and/or the Innovation and Networks Executive Agency (INEA). The European Commission and the Agency do not accept responsibility for the use that may be made of the information it contains.

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