Unveiling emerging socio-ecological fixes of the evolving green energy transition: Lignite phase-out in Greece
Vasiliki KROMMYDA, Dept. of Geography and Regional Planning, School of Rural, Surveying and Geoinformatics Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, Greece
Anastasia STRATIGEA, Dept. of Geography and Regional Planning, School of Rural, Surveying and Geoinformatics Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, Greece
Current climate crisis streamlines sectoral policy decisions, including the energy sector. The latter is marked by a transition towards green energy production, in alignment with the Paris Agreement. Drawing upon the European Green Deal and the low-carbon energy transition policies, Greece in 2019 decided to proceed to a fast-track lignite phase-out until 2023, except for one lignite power plant, planned to be decommissioned by 2028. Apart from a purely technological venture, this transition: implies complex socio-spatial changes, shaped by political/economic factors; entails profound social, environmental and cultural implications; while brings forth issues of uneven power relations and effects on less privileged communities. Critical approaches interpret the overall process as a temporary and technocratic reaction to climate change that is capable of handling capitalist accumulation crisis and launching a prolonged green transition. Seen as a socio-ecological fix, the focus of this transition is on how capital seeks to (re)organise socio-economic conditions, space and production forces, while ensuring the hegemony of specific social hierarchies, power relations and institutions.
This paper attempts to grasp the ongoing energy transition in Greece and interpret it through the lens of socio-ecological fixes. It uses Western Macedonia as a typical example of a rural region, heavily dependent on lignite energy production. It follows a theoretically-informed empirical research consisting of: i) literature review and secondary data analysis, outlining issues raised with emphasis on labour market implications; and ii) primary research, by use of the Focus Groups participatory methodology in order to highlight contradictions and feature the essential political context. Results indicate key uncertainties of this transitional process and contribute to the interpretation of capitalist efforts to reorganize energy geographies in a fast-track way that bypasses societal needs.
Mots clés : Climate crisis|Socio-ecological fix|Lignite phase-out|Focus Groups|Western Macedonia-Greece
A103194VK