Municipalities globally are recognizing their role in mitigating climate change and are actively working to reduce carbon emissions. This complex challenge is heightened in areas like Northern Sweden, where municipalities are adapting to accommodate new industries essential for meeting global climate targets, subsequently changing the energy landscape. The local administration must not only decarbonize existing energy use but also develop infrastructure for the new industries, all while fostering sustainable and appealing cities where residents aspire to live. However, the trajectory of these changes and the subsequent future energy requirements remain uncertain. This study aims to assist the local administration in navigating through these uncertainties and setting ambitious climate and energy targets aligned with the goals of the Paris Agreement and sustainable developments. The research explores how model based scenario analysis can be improved to identify a set of relevant pathways that the municipalities can adopt by employing system analysis, energy system optimization, and scenario analysis. The study focuses on Gällivare municipality in Northern Sweden and employs the TIMES-City model to develop the energy system model of the municipality (RQ1). To identify relevant scenarios for local energy transition a framework for developing "Glocal" scenarios has been established (RQ2). These glocal scenarios incorporate global, national, and local socioeconomic trends into a coherent narrative and provide a more holistic and realistic view of potential future pathways (Paper 2). Additionally, a set of SDG indicators for evaluating the sustainability of different scenarios has been developed and applied in the model (RQ3, Paper 3). While the study focuses on Gällivare, the "glocal" scenario framework and SDG indicators developed in this research can be utilized by municipalities across the globe for identifying their climate and energy targets.

The focus has predominantly been on Southeast Asian countries like Japan and China. Meanwhile, such South Asian countries as India, Indonesia, and Pakistan, which are important from the point of view of understanding the processes of modernization, are undeservedly overlooked. Academics have maintained the necessity to study intangible cultural heritage, citing a new global context marked by a growing urban population and a changing climate as justification. UNESCO has also recognized the value of intangible cultural heritage (ICH) since 2003. Nonetheless, the link between ICH and green energy transition discourses is new. The aim of this study is to analyze how the intangible cultural heritage of Indian civilization affects the energy sector and to which conclusion it leads. Specifically, the paper is trying to expand on focusing on the clean energy sector in India. A systematic literature review (SLR) and the quantitative research method were used to answer the research questions in this work. Considerations for future approaches to ICH and the green energy sector are presented.

To enable the use of renewable energy throughout the system, the Dutch government aims to rely strongly on hydrogen gas as a green energy carrier. This thesis is dedicated to assessing the feasibility of meeting the future Dutch hydrogen demand with locally produced green hydrogen through offshore wind. The aim was realized by modelling the Dutch hydrogen demand in 2050 based on government plans and comparing this with the amount of green hydrogen the Netherlands can produce through offshore wind. Methods used include extensive literature reviews, energy system modelling, scenario analysis, and calculations. The results show that between 1,28 and 2,04 EJ of wind energy is necessary to meet the regular electricity demand and the electricity demand for hydrogen production through electrolysis. This needs to be compared to an offshore wind energy potential in the Dutch North Sea that ranges between 0,67 and 1,79 EJ. An analysis of the results shows that the offshore wind demand could be met, but it is more likely that the offshore wind energy potential is insufficient to meet the demand. The government envisions five applications for hydrogen, namely to be used as feedstock for the process industry, to generate high temperature heat, as energy storage for renewables (balancing the grid), as a transport fuel, and in the built environment. The results indicate that the demand of these five applications is unlikely to be met completely with offshore wind green hydrogen. However, the large majority of the hydrogen demand is dedicated to be used as a feedstock for the process industry. If this feedstock were to be from another source, meeting the demand of the remaining hydrogen applications with offshore wind is more realistic. Consequently, a main take-away is that the creation of a wind and solar based electricity grid with green hydrogen as a balancing agent is feasible. The results of this research gave rise to several recommendations. Firstly, renewable energy generation should be maximized using the full scope of different available techniques (not only focusing on offshore wind). Second, different decarbonization pathways other than offshore wind green hydrogen should be explored to account for process industry feedstocks. Third, the government should work closely together with other North Sea-bordering countries in order to make the best use of the available space. Fourth and final, efforts should be steered towards maximizing the wind energy potential of the Dutch North Sea, which is ideally suited for wind energy generation and should therefore be used in the best way possible.

En France, la transition énergétique apparaît comme consensuelle. Elle s’appuie à la fois sur un argument moral (la nécessité de diminuer les émissions de gaz à effet de serre à l’échelle mondiale), sur une injonction légale (la loi de transition énergétique pour une croissance verte parue en 2015) et sur les intérêts économiques des groupes techno-industriels. Pourtant, la mise en place de la transition se ne fait pas sans frictions : des contestations s’expriment, sur le littoral, lorsque sont discutées les infrastructures d’énergies marines sur la façade atlantique. Pourquoi des projets qui se réclament d’un processus de transition énergétique porteur d’intérêt général sont-ils en fait source de conflits ? Nous verrons que ces conflits sont révélateurs de représentations différentes des territoires maritimes sur lesquels les nouvelles infrastructures énergétiques s’implantent. Ils reposent également sur des conceptions différentes d’une transition énergétique qui souffre d’un manque de définition claire. Ces différentes visions de ce que doit être une « réelle transition » s’expriment à propos de la dimension territoriale et de la dimension énergétique de la transition : constitue-t-elle une rupture territoriale dans l’aménagement du littoral ? À quel agencement du bouquet énergétique la transition énergétique peut-elle aboutir, au cœur d’un système énergétique qui possède une inertie importante et qui reste fortement marqué par les logiques nucléaires ? Derrière ces conceptions variées de la transition énergétique se nouent, sur les littoraux, des rapports de forces entre acteurs. Les groupes techno-industriels (EDF, EDF Énergies marines, Engie, Iberdrola) et les autorités publiques sont amenés, pour faire accepter les nouvelles infrastructures énergétiques, à négocier avec les pêcheurs et les associations locales de protection de l’environnement ou de loisirs. Ils développent notamment des stratégies d’acceptabilité pour gérer les conflits qui s’expriment : recours à des compensations territoriales, mise en place de dispositifs participatifs, utilisation de la fiscalité locale, promotion d’un imaginaire acquis à la technique. / In France, the energy transition appears to be consensual. It is based on a moral argument (the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions worldwide), a legal injunction (the energy transition law for green growth published in 2015) and the economic interests of techno-industrial groups. However, the transition is not without friction: there are disputes on the coastline when discussing marine energy infrastructures on the Atlantic coast. Why are projects that claim to be part of an energy transition process of general interest in fact creating conflicts? We will see that these conflicts reveal different representations of the maritime territories on which the new energy infrastructures are being built. They are also based on different conceptions of an energy transition that suffers from a lack of clear definition. These different visions of what a "real transition" should be express themselves in terms of the territorial and energy dimensions of the transition: does it constitute a territorial break in coastal development? What arrangement of the energy mix can the energy transition lead to, at the heart of an energy system that has a significant inertia and remains strongly marked by nuclear logic? Behind these various conceptions of the energy transition, on the coastlines, there is a balance of forces between actors. Techno-industrial groups (EDF, EDF Energies marines, Engie, Iberdrola) and public authorities are led to negotiate with fishermen and local associations for the protection of the environment or leisure activities in order to gain acceptance for new energy infrastructures. They develop acceptability strategies to manage conflicts that are expressed: resorting to territorial compensation, setting up participative mechanisms, using local taxation, promoting an imaginary acquired through technology.

Há décadas a comunidade científica vem alertando sobre as mudanças climáticas e a necessidade de reduzir as emissões gases de efeito estufa. Sobre dois pilares fundamentais têm se sustentado a narrativa e as ações para enfrentar a crise ecológica global (a) na desmaterialização da economia usando tecnologias e processos cada mais eficientes (b) na descarbonização da economia usando fontes renováveis. Não obstante, os resultados gerais deste trabalho não encontraram evidência empírica de desmaterialização ou descarbonização da economia mundial. Partindo deste resultado em escala global, aprofundou-se a análise empírica ao nível individual de todas as economias do planeta. Os resultados encontrados indicam que em 4 economias com elevada renda e desenvolvimento tecnológico tem havido descasamento forte (strong decoupling) do uso de energia e das emissões de CO2. Porém, este resultado contrasta com evidências compiladas que apontam que o determinante principal deste descasamento está associado a um processo de desindustrialização destas economias e, concomitantemente, uma acelerada importação de mercadorias produzidas pelas indústrias da Ásia, especialmente a chinesa (energizada a carvão). Portanto, a julgar pela dominância fóssil passada e ainda vigente, não se vislumbra um cenário no curto e médio prazos, de ruptura abrupta entre crescimento econômico futuro e o uso de energia majoritariamente produzida com fósseis. O que está em curso é a gestação de uma futura transição energética alimentada pela introdução de fontes renováveis na matriz energética mundial nos últimos anos, mas com limitações socioeconômicas importantes que são descritas neste trabalho. É mostrado que América Latina pode ter um papel crucial nesta transição, com a industrialização e sinergia regional entre seus recursos naturais (tanto renováveis como não renováveis), sendo as reservas de lítio para produção de baterias um recurso estratégico para impulsionar a mobilidade elétrica. Além da importância socioambiental e política dos padrões analisados neste trabalho, é mostrada também a relevância teórica destes, pois permitem aprofundar o questionamento da representação ortodoxa das relações entre Economia e Natureza. / For decades the scientific community has been warning about climate change and the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. On two fundamental pillars have been supported the narrative and the actions to face the global ecological crisis (a) \'dematerialization\' of the economy using more efficient technologies and processes (b) decarbonization of the economy using renewable sources. Nevertheless, the overall results of this work did not find empirical evidence of dematerialization (strong decoupling) or decarbonization of the global economy. Starting from this result on a global scale, the empirical analysis was deepened including all the economies of the planet. Our findings are that in 4 high income and technological advanced economies are signs of strong decoupling between both energy use and CO2 emissions. However, these results contrasts with evidence in favor of a decoupling process associated with the deindustrialization of these economies. Simultaneously, the flux of imports produced by Asian industries, especially by coal-fired Chinese industries is increasing. Thus, judging by past and still prevailing fossil dominance, there is no indication of a short-medium term scenario with abrupt rupture between future economic growth and the use of energy (mostly produced with fossils). Currently, there is a global energy transition brewing, pushed by the efforts to insert renewable sources in the world energy matrix. However, important socioeconomic limitations described in this work remains. Latin America may be a crucial actor in the global energy transition, promoting the industrialization and synergy between natural resources (both renewable and non-renewable); being lithium reserves for the production of electric batteries one of the strategic resources to put forward the option of electric mobility. Besides the socioenvironmental and political importance of the results presented here, it was also highlight the theoretical relevance of these, since they allow to deepen in the debate about the orthodox representation of the relations between Economy and Nature.

Un rattachement ou une formation disciplinaire, pas plus que la relation à des espaces de travail et des instruments spécialisés, ne suffisent seuls à définir une culture scientifique. Ce sur quoi des chercheurs issus d’horizons divers travaillent, construit un mode singulier de conception de leurs activités, pratiques et rapport au monde. Leur réussite est irrémédiablement liée à un sujet, à la fortune que rencontre celui-ci comme innovation dans un contexte social qui le borne et qu’il crée simultanément. Comment s’organise cette (re)conversion vers une nouvelle thématique, alors que l’évolution des modes de financement privilégie aujourd’hui précisément ce cadrage ? Cette thèse propose une enquête sur la notion de « domaine de recherche », que nous définissons a priori comme le cadre des interactions entre l’activité professionnelle de chercheurs et la société autour d’un thème partagé ; elle défend sa dimension épistémique.Ce manuscrit décrit en parallèle le développement des bioénergies, une des principales formes d’énergie dites renouvelables ou encore durables, issue de la biomasse, ses acteurs et leurs jeux d’actions, dans un contexte de forte incitation à conduire une transition énergétique globale, mais aussi de controverses sociales vives. Les deux objectifs de cette thèse convergent :décrire le style de pensée inhérent à un domaine de recherche particulier est nécessaire à l’appréhension, au-delà des seuls discours et promesses, des modes effectifs de développement d’une innovation (ici la mobilisation à grande échelle de végétaux, microorganismes ou déchets pour produire des biocarburants) et donc in fine, à l’évaluation par tout un chacun, de sa pertinence. / Neither academic training within scientific disciplines, nor the daily work in the lab involving specialised equipments, define alone a scientific culture. What diverse researchers from various backgrounds work on, builds a specific way of designing their own activities, practices and relationships with the world. Their individual success is irrevocably bound to a subject, to its fortune as an innovation within the boundaries of a social context it simultaneously changes. How do they perform this (re)conversion to a new domain, as funding agencies nowaday favor this thematic framing? This thesis proposes an investigation into the notion of “research area”, which we a priori define as the frame of interactions between the professional activity of researchers and society around a shared theme; it stands up for its epistemic dimension.This manuscript parallelly describes the “bioenergy” development, a major form of renewable or sustainable energy derived from biomass, its social actors and their interrelations, as strong incentives towards a global energy transition meet sharp social controversies. The two objectives of this thesis meet: describing the inherent style of thinking within a particular research area is required to grasp, beyond the hopes and promises, the actual patterns of development of an innovation (in this case, the large-scale mobilisation of plants, microorganisms or waste to produce biofuels) and thus, ultimately, to collectively evaluate its relevance.

Há décadas a comunidade científica vem alertando sobre as mudanças climáticas e a necessidade de reduzir as emissões gases de efeito estufa. Sobre dois pilares fundamentais têm se sustentado a narrativa e as ações para enfrentar a crise ecológica global (a) na desmaterialização da economia usando tecnologias e processos cada mais eficientes (b) na descarbonização da economia usando fontes renováveis. Não obstante, os resultados gerais deste trabalho não encontraram evidência empírica de desmaterialização ou descarbonização da economia mundial. Partindo deste resultado em escala global, aprofundou-se a análise empírica ao nível individual de todas as economias do planeta. Os resultados encontrados indicam que em 4 economias com elevada renda e desenvolvimento tecnológico tem havido descasamento forte (strong decoupling) do uso de energia e das emissões de CO2. Porém, este resultado contrasta com evidências compiladas que apontam que o determinante principal deste descasamento está associado a um processo de desindustrialização destas economias e, concomitantemente, uma acelerada importação de mercadorias produzidas pelas indústrias da Ásia, especialmente a chinesa (energizada a carvão). Portanto, a julgar pela dominância fóssil passada e ainda vigente, não se vislumbra um cenário no curto e médio prazos, de ruptura abrupta entre crescimento econômico futuro e o uso de energia majoritariamente produzida com fósseis. O que está em curso é a gestação de uma futura transição energética alimentada pela introdução de fontes renováveis na matriz energética mundial nos últimos anos, mas com limitações socioeconômicas importantes que são descritas neste trabalho. É mostrado que América Latina pode ter um papel crucial nesta transição, com a industrialização e sinergia regional entre seus recursos naturais (tanto renováveis como não renováveis), sendo as reservas de lítio para produção de baterias um recurso estratégico para impulsionar a mobilidade elétrica. Além da importância socioambiental e política dos padrões analisados neste trabalho, é mostrada também a relevância teórica destes, pois permitem aprofundar o questionamento da representação ortodoxa das relações entre Economia e Natureza. / For decades the scientific community has been warning about climate change and the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. On two fundamental pillars have been supported the narrative and the actions to face the global ecological crisis (a) \'dematerialization\' of the economy using more efficient technologies and processes (b) decarbonization of the economy using renewable sources. Nevertheless, the overall results of this work did not find empirical evidence of dematerialization (strong decoupling) or decarbonization of the global economy. Starting from this result on a global scale, the empirical analysis was deepened including all the economies of the planet. Our findings are that in 4 high income and technological advanced economies are signs of strong decoupling between both energy use and CO2 emissions. However, these results contrasts with evidence in favor of a decoupling process associated with the deindustrialization of these economies. Simultaneously, the flux of imports produced by Asian industries, especially by coal-fired Chinese industries is increasing. Thus, judging by past and still prevailing fossil dominance, there is no indication of a short-medium term scenario with abrupt rupture between future economic growth and the use of energy (mostly produced with fossils). Currently, there is a global energy transition brewing, pushed by the efforts to insert renewable sources in the world energy matrix. However, important socioeconomic limitations described in this work remains. Latin America may be a crucial actor in the global energy transition, promoting the industrialization and synergy between natural resources (both renewable and non-renewable); being lithium reserves for the production of electric batteries one of the strategic resources to put forward the option of electric mobility. Besides the socioenvironmental and political importance of the results presented here, it was also highlight the theoretical relevance of these, since they allow to deepen in the debate about the orthodox representation of the relations between Economy and Nature.

<p>This thesis investigates the theoretical dimension of fuel transition in developing countries; and assesses the role of socio-cultural factors as determinants of fuel choice at household level. Past research has focused on income as a determining factor for fuel transition, as depicted by the energy ladder model, and the more development oriented energy leapfrogging model. This thesis challenges this notion by providing empirical evidence from Catembe, Mozambique; suggesting that socio-cultural factors are just as important determinants for household energy transition. By applying psycho-anthropologic research techniques, a series of qualitative and quantitative results from 402 households in Catembe, provide a framework for understanding the core factors responsible for household cooking energy choice. It was determined that factors such as taste preferences, cooking practices, local cuisine, kitchen type, gender relations and fuel preferences are culturally determined, and significantly influence on the adoption of modern cooking technologies. To demonstrate the importance for considering such factors, the introduction of an ethanol cook-stove is simulated and evaluated in terms of its applicability to user needs and preferences in Catembe. Results show that despite meeting developmental objectives, the stove falls short in conforming to the culinary traditional of intended beneficiaries.</p>

This thesis investigates the theoretical dimension of fuel transition in developing countries; and assesses the role of socio-cultural factors as determinants of fuel choice at household level. Past research has focused on income as a determining factor for fuel transition, as depicted by the energy ladder model, and the more development oriented energy leapfrogging model. This thesis challenges this notion by providing empirical evidence from Catembe, Mozambique; suggesting that socio-cultural factors are just as important determinants for household energy transition. By applying psycho-anthropologic research techniques, a series of qualitative and quantitative results from 402 households in Catembe, provide a framework for understanding the core factors responsible for household cooking energy choice. It was determined that factors such as taste preferences, cooking practices, local cuisine, kitchen type, gender relations and fuel preferences are culturally determined, and significantly influence on the adoption of modern cooking technologies. To demonstrate the importance for considering such factors, the introduction of an ethanol cook-stove is simulated and evaluated in terms of its applicability to user needs and preferences in Catembe. Results show that despite meeting developmental objectives, the stove falls short in conforming to the culinary traditional of intended beneficiaries.

This thesis puts forth the means of a strategic approach to address a persistent problem in the energy system and in this way, to transition the built environment to a future state that is more exergy-aware to curb CO2 emissions. Such a vision is made possible by the six-fold contributions of the research work: I) An analytical model is developed, which for the first time, formulates the CO2 emissions that are compounded in the energy system as a function of the systematic failures to match the supply and demand of exergy. This model is namely the Rational Exergy Management Model or REMM. II) REMM is then applied to analyze the pathways in which it is possible to lead the built environment into addressing structural overshoots in its exergy supply to curb CO2 emissions. The cases that embody these pathways are also analyzed over a base case, including cases for sustainable heating and cooling. III) New tools are designed to augment decision-making and exemplify a paradigm shift in the more rational usage of exergy to curb CO2 emissions. These include a scenario-based analysis tool, new options for CO2 wedges, and a multi-fold solution space for CO2 mitigation strategies based on REMM. IV) The concept of a net-zero exergy building (NZEXB) is developed and related to REMM strategies as the building block of an exergy-aware energy system. The target of a NZEXB is further supported by key design principles, which address shortcomings in state-of-the-art net-zero design. V) A premier building that deployed the key design principles to integrate building technology in an innovative, exergy-aware design and received LEED Platinum is analyzed on the basis of the NZEXB target. The results validate that this building boosts net self-sufficiency and curbs compound CO2 emissions, which are then presented in a proposed scheme to benchmark and/or label future NZEXBs. VI) Based on the scalability of the best-practices of the NZEXB ready building, the means to realize a smarter energy system that has exergy-aware relations in each aspect of the value chain to curb CO2 emissions are discussed. This includes a target for such a network at the community level, namely a net-zero exergy community (NZEXC). As a whole, the results of the thesis indicate that the strategic approach as provided by REMM and the NZEXB target of the research work has the potential to steer the speed and direction of societal action to curb CO2 emissions. The thesis concludes with a roadmap that represents a cyclical series of actions that may be scaled-up at various levels of the built environment in a transition to be in better balance with the Planet. / QC 20111014