ALBERT

Description: This deliverable 5.2 is a compilation of novel research of 16 coal-and-carbon-intensive regions (CCIRs). These case studies were carried under the umbrella of the Tipping Plus project from 2020 until 2023. This collection presents empirical data and their analysis on the diverse transition processes in CCIRs. This report helps define the boundaries of the CCIR and to develop the narratives for each case study considering perspectives from different disciplines across the work packages: WP1 (geography including demography), WP2 (culture & social psychology), WP3 (policy, politics & governance) and WP4 (economics). Empirical findings help to critically study the concept of socio-ecological tipping points. Additionally, each case study presents key trends, and factors that either enable or hinder low-carbon transitions. This novel collection was a collective work of more than fourty-five partners from the Tipping Plus consortium.

Description: This is the first Deliverable (D5.1) of the Work Package 5 (WP5) whose aim is to improve the understanding of the concept(s) of a region to be applied in regional socio-ecological energy systems. This review gathered insights from four literature reviews on Socio-Ecological Tipping Points (provided by our Tipping Plus partners from Work Packages 1 to 4: Human Geography, Environmental and Social Psychology, Policy and governance, and Economics); and from a systematic review on sustainability transitions research including sustainability studies, regional studies, and innovation studies. The Deliverable represents a “Report with literature review advancing the state of the art on the characterisation of social-ecological regional energy systems” (shortly called “WP5 Literature Report”). Approaching socio-ecological energy systems at the regional level can make climate change mitigation efforts more cohesive across scales. Urban studies recognize that regions tend to react more efficiently to global changes compared to nations. Yet, most energy transition approaches focus on the global, national, community, or single project level. On the one hand, community energy transition projects can be hardly upscaled. On the other hand, national approaches often fail to meet the needs and possibilities for transformation at the local level as well as to meet international agreements such as the EU climate change goals (Amundsen et al. 2018). Thus an in-between approach is needed to bridge climate change efforts across scales: a regional approach. This report is structured in four chapters. The Introduction chapter formulates the need to approach socio-ecological energy transitions from a regional level. Method and justification present the various sources of knowledge that this report considered as well as their analysis. The Results present a model to conceptualize a region. The model consists of three scales that categorize the dimensions of regions: 1) components, 2) processes and interrelatedness, and 3) concepts of a region. Finally, the Discussion elaborates on the state of the art, research gaps, and relevance of the findings for the Tipping Plus project.

Description: The Eastern Sierras Pampeanas were structured by three main events: the Ediacaran to early Cambrian (580–510 Ma) Pampean, the late Cambrian–Ordovician (500–440 Ma) Famatinian and the Devonian-Carboniferous (400–350 Ma) Achalian orogenies. Geochronological and Sm–Nd isotopic evidence combined with petrological and structural features allow to speculate for a major rift event (Ediacaran) dividing into two Mesoproterozoic major crustal blocks (source of the Grenvillian age peaks in the metaclastic rocks).This event would be coeval with the development of arc magmatism along the eastern margin of the eastern block. Closure of this eastern margin led to a Cambrian active margin (Sierra Norte arc) along the western margin of the eastern block in which magmatism reworked the same crustal block. Consumption of a ridge segment (input of OIB signature mafic magmas) which controlled granulite-facies metamorphism led to a final collision (Pampean orogeny) with the western Mesoprotrozoic block. Sm–Nd results for the metamorphic basement suggest that the TDM age interval of 1.8–1.7 Ga, which is associated with the less radiogenic values of εNd(540) (−6 to −8), can be considered as the mean average crustal composition for the Eastern Sierras Pampeanas. Increasing metamorphic grade in rocks with similar detrital sources and metamorphic ages like in the Sierras de Córdoba is associated with a younger TDM age and a more positive εNd(540) value. Pampean pre-540 Ma granitoids form two clusters, one with TDM ages between 2.0 and 1.75 Ga and another between 1.6 and 1.5 Ga. Pampean post-540 Ma granitoids exhibit more homogenous TDM ages ranging from 2.0 to 1.75 Ga. Ordovician re-activation of active margin along the western part of the block that collided in the Cambrian led to arc magmatism (Famatinian orogeny) and related ensialic back-arc basin in which high-grade metamorphism is related to mid-crustal felsic plutonism and mafic magmatism with significant contamination of continental crust. TDM values for the Ordovician Famatinian granitoids define a main interval of 1.8–1.6, except for the Ordovician TTG suites of the Sierras de Córdoba, which show younger TDM ages ranging from 1.3 to 1.0 Ga. In Devonian times (Achalian orogeny), a new subduction regime installed west of the Eastern Sierras Pampeanas. Devonian magmatism in the Sierras exhibit process of mixing/assimilation of depleted mantle signature melts and continental crust. Achalian magmatism exhibits more radiogenic εNd(540) values that range between 0.5 and −4 and TDM ages younger than 1.3 Ga. In pre-Devonian times, crustal reworking is dominant, whereas processes during Devonian times involved different geochemical and isotopic signatures that reflect a major input of juvenile magmatism.

Description: This study evaluates and compares the trends in CO2 emissions for the manufacturing industries of three countries: two developed countries (Germany and Sweden) that have applied several measures to promote a shift towards a low-carbon economy and one developing country (Colombia) that has shown substantial improvements in the reduction of CO2 emissions. This analysis is conducted using panel data cointegration techniques to infer causality between CO2 emissions, production factors and energy sources. The results indicate a trend of producing more output with less pollution. The trends for these countries’ CO2 emissions depend on investment levels, energy sources and economic factors. Furthermore, the trends in CO2 emissions indicate that there are emission level differences between the two developed countries and the developing country. Moreover, the study confirms that it is possible to achieve economic growth and sustainable development while reducing greenhouse gas emissions, as Germany and Sweden demonstrate. In the case of Colombia, it is important to encourage a reduction in CO2 emissions through policies that combine technical and economic instruments and incentivise the application of new technologies that promote clean and environmentally friendly processes.