Clean-energy transitions and net-zero goals depend on materials and technologies that comprise complex and often fragile chains that stretch from mines and refineries to ports and project sites. The idealism of a rapid transition now collides with the realities of geopolitical tensions; disruptions cascading across chokepoints, with uneven social and environmental burdens along the way. On the one hand, in a fragmented world of tariffs, export controls, buyer clubs, and subsidy races, shocks at a few nodes can delay projects and shift costs and harm particular regions, workers, and communities, as well as the environment and ecosystem services. On the other hand, the rise of green industrial policies that aim to onshore or reshore value chains for clean energy transitions could create new opportunities if carefully designed and implemented. We invite interdisciplinary submissions across a range of these interconnected fields to confront the questions:
how resilient are these value chains,
who bears the risks and benefits, which risks in the value chains pose challenges to an equitable and nature-positive transition, and
what kind of opportunities exist that can help climate & sustainability goals while strengthening these value chains?
We welcome studies on just transitions and equity analyses linked to clean energy value-chain data, practical approaches across extraction and processing, recycling and circular design, or the design and implementation of green industrial policy. Contributions may examine who carries risks and who captures value; how technology and policy choices affect suppliers and communities; how governance and finance shape outcomes; and how impacts travel across scales. Adaptation insights are welcome when they clarify disruption risks or recovery times relevant to energy transitions.
We aim to surface where evidence is strong, where methods are missing, and what to measure next to make resilience and justice actionable.
Rainer Quitzow