Yiannis Karagiannis (p), Despoina Kanteler, Sofia Pavlidou, Konstantinia Nikolaidou, Lefteris Topaloglou

Viola Taormina

In this paper we are going to explore the data disaggregation methodologies that can be used in monitoring Just Transition processes. Data disaggregation methodologies are essential for the success of the "leave no one behind" (LNOB) principle of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development by identifying and addressing inequalities. Data disaggregation is the process of breaking down broad datasets into finer, more specific informational units, of a categorical or spatial nature. By applying these methodologies policymakers, researchers, and organisations can understand how progress toward the SDGs achievement is developing at various hierarchical levels and subsets. One case of specific importance is the spatial data disaggregation of spatial data to lower-level administrative units. Population disaggregation methodologies used in recent decades can be categorised as areal interpolation and dasymetric mapping. Area-based areal interpolation methods are mainly areal weighting and pycnophylactic interpolation. Dasymetric mapping consists of subdividing the source zone into smaller areas that can reflect the spatial changes in the population based on ancillary data. Dasymetric mapping can be categorised into binary dasymetric, multi-class dasymetric, and intelligent dasymetric mapping. Ancillary data used for disaggregation modelling can be land cover, nighttime lights, Infrastructures and Environmental factors. Modern data sources can be open data initiatives, online service providers and data collected through volunteer geographic information activities. The amount of data that can support spatial data disaggregation is increasing. Precision and accuracy of this methodologies and the quality of ancillary data used should always be examined and the results should be evaluated and cross-checked with questionnaires and field surveys.

Viola Taormina (p)

Marina Van Geenhuizen

This study analyzes the renewable energy policies in the Basilicata region and develops a quali-quantitative framework to assess the environmental, socio-economic and institutional implications of renewable energy at regional level. The study offers a methodology that can be replicated for other regions (NUTS2), highlighting the central role of local government action in guiding the energy transition towards a development paradigm that aims at regeneration, self-sufficiency and well-being of territories.

Climate change represents an imposing challenge for regions of South Italy, the urgency is due by the multiplication of extreme natural phenomena, but also by the succession of particular international contingencies that have made energy security a priority, even for local governments. Assuming that the transition to an economic model based on the concept of sustainable growth is not in itself free of contradictions, a paradigm shift requires the active and coordinated participation of all sectors of society and effective multilevel governance.

This paper seeks to contribute to the academic discussion on energy transition evaluation, proposing a framework that integrated qualitative and quantitative variables to give a territorial point of view on the implementation of renewable energy policies at local level. A composite index will be developed, with the aim to assess and monitor regional policies in the field of renewable energy with a multidimensional approach. The variables chosen for each dimension are high-references in literature and try to capture specific aspects connected to the energy sector in three different key dimensions: environment, socio-economic and governance.

Marina Van Geenhuizen (p)

Nikos Kapitsinis

This paper deals with a policy (management) tool aimed at enhancing innovation, introduced about 20 years ago: living labs. Living labs as a tool has attracted attention by policymakers for many years, thanks to the participative design for citizens, real-life settings and open innovation. However, recently, case studies reveal several tension in living labs’ practice and lack of understanding of effectiveness of results. In the first part, the paper presents a scoping literature review on the ‘state-of the art’ and concludes that application of living labs has reached a certain maturity, but still calls for attention for three important conditions, namely, a stronger anticipative learning on stakeholders’ different interests and problem perceptions, an extended ex-post evaluation on effectiveness; this alongside a stronger involvement of municipalities. In the second part, in view of improvements, the paper discusses causes of complexity in stakeholder analysis, and ex-post evaluation, and forwards a set of practical decisions to be taken. With regard to involvement of municipalities, the paper puts emphasis on desirability of a stronger and more coherent involvement in important steps in transitional change. This holds for experimentation and design of energy solutions concerning housing stock and wider facilities owned/managed by municipalities, for acting as launching customer, and eventually broader, for acting as one of the leaders of an innovation community.

Nikos Kapitsinis (p)

Yiannis Karagiannis

Macro drivers of change, including technological change, globalisation, and green transition, as well as extraordinary phenomena, such as the 2008 global economic crisis and the Covid-19 pandemic, have restructured labour. The green transition transforms European labour markets, though its effects on job creation and destruction (JCD) vary significantly across regions. Carbon-intensive areas are particularly vulnerable, facing the most severe implications. This occurs alongside the digital transition that promotes more sustainable production methods, including automation and autonomy. Digitalization and greening the economy are interconnected and mutually reinforcing: on the one hand, digitalization contributes to more environmentally friendly production processes, while the greening of the economy necessitates the adoption of digital solutions and more advanced technologies to accompany structural changes. These uneven implications are not only economic, with recent literature on economic geography introducing concepts such the “geography of discontent” or the “revenge of places that don’t matter” that remark the idea that places that suffer declines on their economic dynamism and a loss on jobs offered, are more prone to express their discontent. Vulnerable groups—such as migrants, NEETs (young people not in education, employment, or training), and low-skilled workers—are especially at risk, as they are overrepresented in high-risk sectors and face greater challenges when seeking re-employment.
Existing views on the process of JCD have provided crucial insights for the transformation of labour markets in the current transitionary period, although focusing on the demand side, particularly related to skills needed. Moreover, the largest part of literatures on JCD and its effects focuses on the national level, particular sectors, predominantly approaching them from a quantitative perspective, thus relatively overlooking working conditions in the jobs created. Thus, the conceptualization of JCD remains rather constrained by these limitations.
This paper will propose a comprehensive conceptual framework on JDC and its geographically and socially uneven effects that will adopt a geographical political economy approach on the transitions, since the latter are frequently localised processes that occur in multi-actor, multi-scalar and multi-dimensional environments, with the aspects of the geographically-specific context shaping the evolution of transitions in various places and territories. This framework seeks to evaluate the long-term effects of JCD, accounting for the gender dimension, and from both demand and supply sides, issues that have been relatively neglected in the academic and policy debates, while also providing with alternative explanations on the factors of uneven implications of JCD.