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Energy Transition and Territorial Reconfigurations

Transition énergétique et reconfigurations des territoires

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Published on Tuesday, April 22, 2025

Abstract

Ce colloque sur la transition énergétique se fonde spécifiquement sur l’observation de territoires concrets. Cette observation est articulée à une approche systémique, représentée ici par la notion de nexus, soit une logique d’interaction entre trois dimensions : la société, l’environnement et la technologie. Cette combinaison peut être activée dans un nombre varié de régions et de territoires, quelle que soit la technologie au centre du système énergétique. Elle permet d’appréhender la transformation des systèmes énergétiques, dans un contexte de territorialisation des politiques publiques et dans une perspective de durabilité réaliste.

Announcement

Français English

Objective

This conference on energy transition focuses on the empirical study of concrete territories, adopting a systemic approach framed by the concept of the nexus. This notion highlights the dynamic interactions between three fundamental dimensions: society, environment, and technology. By applying this framework across diverse regions and territories—regardless of the specific technologies underpinning their energy systems—the conference aims to advance a comprehensive understanding of energy system transformations. Particular emphasis will be placed on their evolution in the context of public policy implementation and from a pragmatic sustainability perspective. 

Argument

In the context of climate change and the imperative to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from energy systems still largely dependent on fossil fuels, the notion of energy transition has gained prominence in political, economic, and media discourse across Europe. While often presented as a broadly accepted objective, it remains a contested concept, particularly among climate-skeptical circles, as evidenced by the United States' withdrawal from the Paris agreements. Moreover, significant divergences persist regarding its precise definition (Hourcade & Van Neste, 2019). Its goals range from preserving the current paradigm of abundance to advocating for degrowth through energy sobriety (Aykut & Evrard, 2017; Parrique, 2022). Traditional socio-technical approaches, which emphasize the reciprocal influence of technological and social factors (Simondon, 1958; Akrich, 1989), are increasingly inadequate for addressing the complexity of contemporary environmental challenges. Socio-ecosystems are not merely technical constructs but dynamic systems shaped by continuous interactions between natural and societal processes. Beyond theoretical debates, it is essential to examine the territorialization of energy transition (Duran, 2020)—its concrete manifestations across specific regions— (Mattina et al., 2023 ; Meyer et Weber, 2024), where global imperatives, which are often abstract and a-territorial, intersect with local governance structures and socio-economic realities (Bombenger & Larrue, 2014).

By bringing together six Human-Environment Observatories (OHMs) (Chenorkian, 2020)—four in France and two in North America—the ENERGON program, supported by the LabEx DRIIHM[1], has enabled the study of diverse energy transition reconfigurations. These include the decommissioning of major energy infrastructures, such as the closure of the coal-fired power plant in the former Provence Mining Basin (Daviet, Schleyer-Lindenmann et al., 2024) and the shutdown of the Fessenheim nuclear power plant in Alsace (Meyer et al., 2022). Additionally, transitions manifest as catalysts for local development, as seen in projects such as the planned dam in the Rhône Valley amid ongoing river restoration (Barthélémy et al., 2022), the new hydroelectric facility in Nunavik (Northern Quebec), the expansion of photovoltaics in Pima County, Arizona (Le Tourneau et al., 2024), and the shift toward wood-energy in the Pays de Bitche, Lorraine (Robin, 2022).

These case studies (Daviet, Barthelemy et al., 2024) have served as testing grounds for applying the nexus framework to energy transitions, considering the interdependencies between society, technology, and the environment. Inspired by the Water-Food-Energy nexus (Urbinatti et al., 2020), this perspective acknowledges that interventions in one domain inevitably impact the other two. Consequently, every energy transition project inherently integrates these three dimensions, along with their reciprocal effects. The nexus approach, understood as a web of interconnections, facilitates the dismantling of disciplinary silos (Cairns & Krzywoszynka, 2016), enabling the development of integrative methodologies attuned to territorial dynamics, to the materialities of transitions (Forget, Bos, Carrizo, 2021) and resource flows (territorial metabolism). Such an approach is critical for assessing the consequences of energy transitions on socio-ecosystems (Cumming & Collier, 2005; Ostrom, 2007).

Energy transitions entail multiple reconfigurations. Technical reconfigurations refer to shifts in energy production, transport, and consumption systems, including decarbonization processes. Societal reconfigurations encompass the restructuring of public and private actor networks (Velut & Ghorra-Gobin, 2006; Perrin & Bouisset, 2022), the evolution of public policies, and changes in economic models. Environmental reconfigurations involve the redistribution of land use, landscape transformations, resource pressures, and broader ecological shifts. Each of these dimensions follows distinct temporalities and is shaped by constraints, accelerations, and threshold effects, leading to moments of crisis characterized by tension and systemic instability.

This conference aims to analyze a broad spectrum of territorial case studies through the nexus lens to deepen our understanding of energy transition dynamics. Key questions include:

  • Axis 1: Do these reconfigurations unfold in conflictual or consensual contexts? and what are the modalities of consultation and public debate?
  • Axis 2: Do they reinforce existing path dependencies, or do they foster new trajectories through innovative dynamics?
  • Axis 3: To what extent do climate and biodiversity concerns align, or do they sometimes generate tensions? What about resources?
  • Axe 4: How are governance structures and energy systems being reconfigured across different scales? What are the links between local and regional or national levels?

By exploring these issues, the colloquium seeks to generate insights into the complex interplay between societal, technological, and environmental dimensions of energy transitions.

Submission

This call is addressed to a wide range of disciplines. We expect contributors to position themselves on a territorialized example of energy transition, highlighting the interactions between the technological, social, and environmental dimensions of the studied cases, and specifying the modalities of territorial reconfiguration. Candidates will specify their name and surname; institution and laboratory affiliation, discipline; status (PhD students, researchers, teacherresearchers, etc.); email for correspondence. Communication proposals must be submitted in French or English on a standard Word page, Times New Roman 12 (approximately 500 words + a maximum of 10 references). Summaries must clearly indicate the chosen axis, present the objectives of the communication, its originality, its method, and its results. The communication proposal will be accompanied by a title and a maximum of five keywords.

Proposals for papers should be submitted on the SciencesConf platform (NB If you haven't already done so, please create an account on the platform

Contact : energon2025@sciencesconf.org

Calendar

  • May 15, 2025: Deadline for receiving applications

  • June 15, 2025: Feedback from the scientific committee to candidates
  • September 2025: Program published 
  • Colloquium on November 20 and 21, 2025

Location of the conference 

MMSH, 5 rue du Château de l’Horloge 13090 Aix-en-Provence (France)

Organization and funding

Labex DRIIHM, CNRS, AMU, UMR Telemme, UMR CREDA, EA CRESAT

Scientific Committee 

  • Barthélémy Carole (AMU, Marseille)
  • Bouisset Christine (UPPA, Pau)
  • Cataia Marcio (UNICAMP, Campinas)
  • Curli Barbara (UNITO, Turin) 
  • Daviet Sylvie (AMU, Aix-en-Provence)
  • Forget Marie (USMB, Chambéry)
  • Fournier Pierre (AMU, Aix-en-Provence)
  • Haillot Didier (ETS, Montréal)
  • Meyer Teva (UHA, Mulhouse)
  • Noack Yves (CNRS, Aix-en-Provence)
  • Velut Sébastien (USN, Paris)
  • Weber Florian (UDS, Sarrebrücken)
  • Bombenger Pierre-Henri (HEIG, Canton de Vaud)

-AKRICH, M, 1989, « La construction d'un système socio-technique. Esquisse pour une anthropologie des techniques », Anthropologie et Sociétés, vol. 13, no 2,  1989 (ISSN 0702-8997, DOI 10.7202/015076ar). -AYKUT S. C., EVRARD A., (2017), "Une transition pour que rien ne change ? Changement institutionnel et dépendance au sentier dans les « transitions énergétiques » en Allemagne et en France", Revue internationale de politique comparée, Vol. 24, N°1, 17‑49

-BARTHÉLÉMY C., COMBY E., EL ARCH Y., BRICARD A., PORAL M.C., BIRÉ L., FAURE L., PICON G. 2022. Le renouvellement de la concession de la Compagnie Nationale du Rhône : qui participe et pour quel développement du fleuve ?, Congrès ISRIVERS, Lyon, Juillet. 

-BOMBENGER P-H., LARRUE C., 2014, Quand les territoires font face aux nouveaux enjeux de l’environnement, Natures Sciences Sociétés, 22, 189-194 (2014)

-CAIRNS R., KRZYWOSZYNSKA A., (2016), "Anatomy of a buzzword: The emergence of ‘the water-energy- food nexus’ in UK natural resource debates", Environmental Science & Policy, Vol.64, 164‑170.

- CHENORKIAN R., 2020, Conception and implementation of interdisciplinarity in the Human-Environment Observatories (OHM, CNRS), Natures Sciences Sociétés, Vol. 28 (3), 292-305, https://shs.cairn.info/journal-natures-sciencessocietes-2020-3-page-292?lang=en

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-DAVIET S., SCHLEYER-LINDENMANN A., RAYNAL J.C., BATTEAU P., NOACK Y., 2024, The Provence Coalfield: trajectory, assessment and prospective. Comptes Rendus. Géoscience, Online first (2024), pp. 1-16. doi : 10.5802/crgeos.223.

-DAVIET S., BARTHELEMY C., HAILLOT D., LE TOURNEAU FM., MEYER T., ROBIN V., NOACK Y., 2024, La Transition Énergétique dans les Observatoires Hommes-Milieux, 19 pages, https://hal.science/hal-04918825  

-DURAN, P., 2020, « Territorialisation », in Dictionnaire des politiques territoriales, pp 529 à 537, sous la direction de Romain Pasquier, Sébastien Guigner et Alistair Cole, Presses de Sciences Po, 628 pages

-FORGET, M., BOS, V. ET CARRIZO, S.C., (2021) « Les matérialités de la transition énergétique en montagne : pour une approche critique », Journal of Alpine Research | Revue de géographie alpine [En ligne], 109-3 | 2021, mis en ligne le 31 décembre 2021. URL : http://journals.openedition.org/rga/9424 ; DOI : https://doi.org/10.4000/rga.9424 https://doi.org/10.3917/scpo.pasqu.2020.01.0529

-HOURCADE R., VAN NESTE S., (2019), "Où mènent les transitions ? Action publique et engagements face à la crise climatique", Lien social et Politiques, N°82, 4‑26.

-LE TOURNEAU ET AL. 2024, The socio-ecological complexity of facing climate change: a case study from Pima County (Arizona, USA), Compte-rendu Géosciences, pp. 1-19.

-MATTINA C., BINI E., CURLI B., FOURNIER P., dir., 2023, Les territoires des transitions énergétiques. Nucléaire et énergies renouvelables en Italie et en France, Paris, Karthala/MMSH, 352 p.

-MEYER T., VALLERAND F., BOUR V., DAUWE C., ERNE-HEINTZ V. ET SCHELLENBERGER T.,2022 « Produire les échelles de la transition à Fessenheim : contingences et jeu d’acteurs autour de la fermeture d’une centrale nucléaire », L’Espace Politique [En ligne], 43 DOI : https://doi.org/10.4000/espacepolitique.9674  

-MEYER T., & WEBER F., (Ed), 2024, Energy Geographies: Negotiating the French-German Interface, Springer Nature, 292p, DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-69797-5

.-OSTROM E., (2007), « A diagnostic approach for going beyond panaceas », Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 104, n° 39, p. 15181-15187

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-URBINATTI A. M., DALLA FONTANA M., STIRLING A., GIATTI L., (2020), "‘Opening up’ the governance of water-energy-food nexus: Towards a science-policy-society interface based on hybridity and humility", Science of The Total Environment, Vol.744, 140945

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[1] https://www.driihm.fr/en 

Places

  • Maison Méditerranéenne des Sciences de l'Homme - 5 rue du Château de l'Horloge
    Aix-en-Provence, France (13)

Event attendance modalities

Full on-site event


Date(s)

  • Thursday, May 15, 2025

Keywords

  • transition énergétique, territoire, nexus société technologie environnement, durabilité

Reference Urls

Information source

  • Sylvie Daviet
    courriel : sylvie [dot] daviet [at] univ-amu [dot] fr

License

CC0-1.0 This announcement is licensed under the terms of Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal.

To cite this announcement

« Energy Transition and Territorial Reconfigurations », Call for papers, Calenda, Published on Tuesday, April 22, 2025, https://doi.org/10.58079/13s4v

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