Research reveals surprising link between socio-economic indicators and sustainability transition

A new study by EIT Climate-KIC partner academic institutions enables learning between high CO2-emitting regions following similar change pathways and suggests socio-economic factors such as digital development and education may play a critical role in decreasing emissions and supporting just transition.

Many European regions face the challenge of phasing out coal energy as fast as possible in order to meet the targets outlined in the Paris Agreement while providing new economic perspectives for people who currently depend on coal sector jobs. Many coal mining regions are also some of the most polluted in Europe and contribute considerably to the European Union’s CO2 emissions. In December 2017, the European Commission launched the platform on coal regions in transition, to support a Europe-wide exchange of ideas on how coal mining regions can modernise their economies and phase out coal energy while creating new income perspectives for workers and communities.

The analysis of coal regions presented last month during the fifth meeting of the platform for coal regions in transition was conducted in the context of EIT Climate-KIC’s Re-Industrialise programme, which aims to transition high-emitting regions to low-carbon innovation hotspots. It drew on work led by the University of Bologna and supported by Provadis Hochschule and the Wuppertal Institute for Climate. The study team, led by Professor Mura of the University of Bologna, used indicators such as industry data on CO2 emissions from the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), and socio-economic indicators from Eurostat, the EU’s statistical arm, to map coal regions’ carbon emissions intensity.

The results were fed into a publicly available interactive web-based tool for data analysis and visualisation, which helps highlight different groups of coal regions with similar transition pathways, breaking down and filtering data both at state and regional levels.

A digital transition

Professor Mura’s dataset included socio-economic figures such as GDP, population, digital development and education and found that regions who are on a transition towards decarbonisation share a few specific traits. At this stage, the main finding of the research is that factors such as digital development and education levels may play a critical role in decreasing CO2 emissions and supporting transition efforts in coal-mining regions. Even before the mines are closed.

Digital development, in particular, seems to have a strong correlation with decreases in carbon emissions. The indicator is a compound of different variables such as access to fast Internet, and developments and investments in the sector by both public and private actors.

By focusing on GDP variation between 2008 and 2016, Professor Mura was also able to establish that some coal regions shared similar transition pathways, paving the way for better-targeted and more intensive exchanges of transition experiences between regions. The outlook for Europe seemed positive overall, as 23 out of 35 of all regions where mining is still an existing industry saw their CO2 emission levels decrease, while the overall wealth of the regions, as measured by their GDP, increased between 2008 and 2016.

As for future developments, an idea being considered is to measure CO2 emissions via data provided by Copernicus, an EU-backed network of satellites and the largest space data provider in the world. This would make the measurement of carbon emissions more accurate since it will be obtained via satellite imagery rather than reported by companies.

 
Location
Related Goal
Goal 9: Reboot regional economies
Articles you may be interested in
In The News
For cities to become climate-resilient, they need to invest in capability buil...

As cities grapple with transforming and adapting to meet...

For cities to become climate-resilient, they need to invest in capability building
In The News
EIT Climate-KIC signs declaration ‘EU Green Deal: from local to global’

All around the globe, cities and regions are driving...

EIT Climate-KIC signs declaration ‘EU Green Deal: from local to global’
In The News
EIT Climate-KIC organises first Festival of Circular Economy and Bioeconomy in...

Running from November 28 to December 2, the activities...

EIT Climate-KIC organises first Festival of Circular Economy and Bioeconomy in Santander
In The News
What does climate action look like for the Culture and Creative Sector Industr...

The Culture and Creative Sector Industries (CCSI) can play...

What does climate action look like for the Culture and Creative Sector Industries?
In The News
Collaboration and knowledge sharing is key to unlocking capital for climate ne...

In order to reach net zero by 2030, or...

Collaboration and knowledge sharing is key to unlocking capital for climate neutrality
In The News
Gipuzkoa shapes the green future with local actors

Gipuzkoa is taking action towards sustainability through collaboration with...

Gipuzkoa shapes the green future with local actors
In The News
How can we enable African climate innovation to thrive?  

Much of the discussion around COP27 this year has...

How can we enable African climate innovation to thrive?  
In The News
EIT Climate-KIC and partners publish recommendations to include systemic lands...

The European Green Deal represents a unique opportunity for...

EIT Climate-KIC and partners publish recommendations to include systemic landscape thinking into EU policies to achieve the Green Deal
In The News
The challenges of building a resilient farmers’ community in Africa

Audrey S-Darko is a researcher and a farmer from...

The challenges of building a resilient farmers’ community in Africa
In The News
EIT Climate-KIC joins business and civil society to call on governments to uph...

As the official COP27 outcomes are being drafted this...

EIT Climate-KIC joins business and civil society to call on governments to uphold commitments to 1.5
In The News
Climate innovation: “The purpose is people, everything else is just the mean...

Massamba Thioye is leading the UN climate change Global...

Climate innovation: “The purpose is people, everything else is just the means”
In The News
Become a European Climate Leader

The Climate-KIC International Foundation is looking for a Supervisory...

Become a European Climate Leader
In The News
EIT Climate-KIC launches open-access database to map start-up ecosystem, now w...

Climate start-ups supported by EIT Climate-KIC are now worth...

EIT Climate-KIC launches open-access database to map start-up ecosystem, now worth €11.8 billion in combined enterprise value
In The News
Slovenia higher education reform aims to create a supportive environment for s...

Slovenia’s ministry of higher education is gearing up for...

Slovenia higher education reform aims to create a supportive environment for students and teachers
In The News
Co-designing the future of coal regions

EIT Climate-KIC launches the Post Coal Future Lab initiative...

Co-designing the future of coal regions
In The News
Bringing in business is key to achieving systems transformation on the climate...

“What does it mean to enable businesses to deal...

Bringing in business is key to achieving systems transformation on the climate crisis
In The News
What will it take to build the New European Bauhaus?

“Beautiful, Sustainable, Together”. These are the values – and...

What will it take to build the New European Bauhaus?
In The News
EIT Climate-KIC selects five partners in Global South to implement gender main...

The intersection of climate and innovation remains a male-dominated...

EIT Climate-KIC selects five partners in Global South to implement gender mainstreaming into entrepreneurship
In The News
Citizens inspire a car-free Leuven

A broad survey, possible solutions displayed on screens, inspirational...

Citizens inspire a car-free Leuven
In The News
EIT Climate-KIC accelerates climate tech solutions for a net-zero Africa 

Climate-focused start-up teams in developing countries face distinct challenges...

EIT Climate-KIC accelerates climate tech solutions for a net-zero Africa 
In The News
New European Bauhaus Hackathons will reward most innovative solutions

EIT Community New European Bauhaus partners will be hosting...

New European Bauhaus Hackathons will reward most innovative solutions
In The News
Slovenia takes a pivotal turn towards circularity

Slovenia has decided to actively combat climate change by...

Slovenia takes a pivotal turn towards circularity
In The News
Innovative climate projects part of EIT Community New European Bauhaus initiat...

The European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) has...

Innovative climate projects part of EIT Community New European Bauhaus initiative
In The News
A new air and climate plan for Milan

The City Council of Milan approved the Air and...

A new air and climate plan for Milan
In The News
Meet the three EIT Climate-KIC innovators nominated for EIT Awards

Three innovators from EIT Climate-KIC’s community have been nominated...

Meet the three EIT Climate-KIC innovators nominated for EIT Awards
In The News
100 European cities take up the challenge to become carbon neutral by 2030

On Monday 13 June, the representatives of the 100...

100 European cities take up the challenge to become carbon neutral by 2030
In The News
The role of cities and regions in transforming wood value chains

Climate smart forest economies It’s a crucial decade for...

The role of cities and regions in transforming wood value chains
In The News
Glasgow City Region pioneering forest economy innovation to drive climate acti...

Scotland’s largest city region is actively tackling climate change...

Glasgow City Region pioneering forest economy innovation to drive climate action
In The News
Forging sustainable timber construction in Europe

EIT Climate-KIC and Built by Nature, announce an initiative...

Forging sustainable timber construction in Europe
In The News
EIT Climate-KIC launches new Circularity Thinking training programme

EIT Climate-KIC is launching Circularity Thinking courses to tackle...

EIT Climate-KIC launches new Circularity Thinking training programme