Energy transition, socio-environmental challenges, justice dilemmas, and transformative possibilities

The energy transition has been positioned as one of the main pathways to address contemporary socio-environmental challenges. However, there are multiple and often competing understandings of this concept. In its most widespread interpretation, strongly associated with the 2030 Agenda and Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7, which aims to ensure access to clean, safe, and affordable energy, the transition is understood primarily as a process of decarbonization and technological substitution of fossil fuels by renewable sources, guided by innovation and efficiency. Critical approaches, however, argue that the transition entails broader structural transformations across social, political, and territorial dimensions.

Such transformations should incorporate principles of social, environmental, and energy justice, acknowledging the historical asymmetries between countries, regions, and social groups. Other perspectives question the very notion of “transition”, contending that what occurs is not a complete substitution of energy sources, but rather a reconfiguration and overlapping of energy regimes and ongoing disputes over development models, territoriality, and power. These factors render the transition an unequal, non-linear, and profoundly political process.

In order to contribute to this debate, it is essential to foster a deeper academic discussion that gives due consideration to the positions of different sectors of society. It thus becomes urgent to reflect on the extent to which the global discourse on energy transition corresponds to effective transformations toward more sustainable, equitable, and resilient systems. The theme, therefore, calls for the advancement of interdisciplinary scientific production, dialogue among diverse forms of knowledge, and social and political engagement, thereby enabling a more comprehensive understanding of the contradictions, dilemmas, and transformative potentials inherent in this process.

In this context, this thematic issue invites researchers to contribute with interdisciplinary studies and research that critically explore and problematize the topic of energy transition, investigating its challenges, limitations, dilemmas, and possibilities. This call particularly welcomes articles addressing, but not limited to, the following themes: energy justice in contexts of socio-environmental conflicts and vulnerabilities; renewable and non-renewable energies in the context of decarbonization and climate change; conflicts and resistance related to energy projects; comparative studies across contexts, policies, and institutional arrangements; analyses of energy poverty with a focus on gender, race, territory, and resistance movements; assessments of cumulative impacts and local transformations; analyses of successful and unsuccessful cases in the implementation of transition strategies; and theoretical discussions on governance, innovation, and sustainability, including critical analyses of sociotechnical transition theories, transition governance, transition justice, and various perspectives on sociotechnical change and socio-environmental transformation.

Furthermore, this call values the methodological diversity of submitted papers, recognizing the importance of quantitative, qualitative, and mixed approaches, including field studies, interviews, modeling, territorial analyses, and theoretical reviews that engage with different disciplines and perspectives.

Managing editors

Flávia Mendes de Almeida Collaço, PhD Professor, School of Engineering of São Carlos, University of São Paulo, São Carlos, São Paulo, Brazil.

Jacques Demajorovic, Associate Professor, Graduate Program in Administration, FEI University Center, São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.

Julia Silvia Guivant, Senior Full Professor, Graduate Program in Political Sociology and Interdisciplinary Doctoral Program in Human Sciences, Federal University of Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, Santa Catarina, Brazil.

Lira Luz Benites Lazaro, Associate Researcher, Center for Energy Transition Studies, State University of Campinas, Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil.

Pedro Roberto Jacobi, Senior Full Professor, Institute of Energy and Environment, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.

Rylanneive Leonardo Pontes Teixeira, Assistant Professor, Professional Master’s Program in Public Administration, Federal University of Fronteira Sul, Realeza, Paraná, Brazil.

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