Global pressures vs. local embeddedness: the de- and restabilization of the Estonian oil shale industry in response to climate change (1995–2016)

Abstract

Article (Accepted Version) http://sro.sussex.ac.uk Sillak, Silver and Kanger, Laur (2020) Global pressures vs. local embeddedness: the de-and restabilization of the Estonian oil shale industry in response to climate change . Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions,

Rethinking the Multi-level Perspective for energy transitions: From regime life-cycle to explanatory typology of transition pathways

“…The former refers to the efforts of the incumbent actors to retain their position despite major changes in the system's environment, e.g. the continued attempts to stabilize the heavily-polluting Estonian energy system based on oil shale despite increasing climate change agenda [87]. The latter refers to the contestation of the system because of a large external shock, e.g.…”

Energy transitions from the cradle to the grave: A meta-theoretical framework integrating responsible innovation, social practices, and energy justice

“…Thus, the system was designed to maximize production, but this priority came at the cost of putting little effort into recycling spent shale, a byproduct of the distillation product. Consequently, the system design resulted in waste being dumped throughout the hills and landscapes of Ida-Virumaa (Sillak and Kanger 2020). During the mid-2000s and under pressure from the European Union, the industry started to implement more efficient circulating fluidized bed technology, backed by a long period of economic growth and a fourfold increase in oil prices, which helped to offset the necessary retrofitting costs.…”

“…This view of practice operates with a different unit of analysis than our other cases because the focus here is less on household and community practices and more on institutional practices in government and policy. Sillak and Kanger (2020) stress that because the survival of the industry was perceived as crucial for energy security as well as for employment in the mainly Russian-speaking industrial regions, Estonians had an aversion to low-carbon substitutes. The abundance of oil shale in the Ida-Virumaa region has also led to regional technological specialization and thus attachment and dependence on oil shale, where the industry has become "culturally and societally embedded […] on regional and national scales" (Sillak and Kanger 2020).…”

Six policy intervention points for sustainability transitions: A conceptual framework and a systematic literature review

“…If one was to analyse the Estonian energy system, focusing only on niche-regime dynamics, one would quickly conclude that the above description matches the main conclusions of Kivimaa and Kern (2016): as many other countries, Estonia tends to focus too much on niche support (e.g., renewable subsidies) in comparison to regime destabilization (reflected in continued state support for the oil shale industry). However, a closer analysis of the situation reveals that since the mid-1990s, proposals to transform the Estonian energy system have been repeatedly blocked by industry actors and policymakers on three grounds: concerns for energy security, regional unemployment and the potentially resulting political instability (Sillak and Kanger, 2020). In other words, the lack of regime destabilization has been directly caused by the socio-spatial embeddedness of the industry into its surrounding environment.…”

“…First, in the context of oil shale-based energy production, policy support for EVs is unlikely to contribute to emissions reduction, indicating a failure to coordinate multi-regime interaction. Furthermore, during the last 15 years, Estonia has pursued a strategy of implementing ecological reforms to conform to EU regulations while simultaneously negotiating exceptions for the oil shale industry from that very union (Sillak and Kanger, 2020). This means that Estonian international policy has been rather opportunistic, trying to make use of landscape trends unfolding in two opposite directions.…”