FS 3.222: Energy transitions and their impacts in mountain areas

The transition from fossil energy sources to renewable energy has been accepted as a need by the vast majority of countries, especially in Europe and the Global North. This is impacting in mountain areas in different ways. First, mountains are suppliers for important natural resources needed for the energy transition, like minerals or timber. The exploitation of those resources impact in the environment and the local populations leading to increasing conflicts. Second, mountains have a big potential for the generation of renewable energies, like hydropower, wind energy and solar energy. On the one hand, this results in new income opportunities. On the other hand, large-scale energy production has impacts on the environment, and is often rejected by local populations. Since people are concerned about the competition with other (economic) activities, like tourism or nature protection, this often leads to conflicts. And third, mountains also need to go through the transition from fossil to renewable energy sources and are facing the challenges related to this process. What are the specificities for the energy transition in mountain areas? With this session, we want to focus on those different kinds of impacts, in different contexts and from different disciplinary perspectives. We welcome contributions from scholars and practitioners. Through this session, we aim to give visibility to the diversity of impacts of the energy transition in mountains.