Lessons for the Global Energy Transition: Comparing the Discourse on Coal Phase-Out in the UK, Germany and Finland

The intentional phase-out of unsustainable technologies and industries is an important political strategy in order to address sustainability concerns (Kivimaa and Kern, 2016). Given the urgency to mitigate climate change and to reduce CO2 emissions, phasing out coal is high on the political agenda in several countries (Turnheim and Geels, 2012; Isoaho and Markard, in press). In this paper, we compare the public discourse around coal decline in the UK, Germany and Finland from 2000 until recently. In all three countries, governments made pledges to phase-out coal-fired power generation. We ask what we can learn from struggles over coal in these three countries for the global energy transition. Coal decline is in different stages and the strength of domestic coal regimes, e.g. the relevance of coal for each nation’s power supply, varies. The UK is the frontrunner and has phased-out coal from its energy mix almost entirely. In Germany and Finland, decline is still in its early stages and both countries face very different frame conditions. Germany faces a two-fold challenge as the coal phase-out will affect jobs in domestic lignite mining and the government has already made an earlier pledge to phase out nuclear power (until 2022). In Finland, coal phase-out is less complex (no mining, no nuclear phase-out) but there is a different kind of challenge as coal is used for the co-generation of heat in several cities. Our study is based on the analysis of the discourse around coal decline in national newspapers. We identify the main storylines and arguments in favor or against coal decline together with the actors that mobilize these storylines. We chose to draw from discourse analytic techniques given that they have been demonstrated adept at revealing political contestations surrounding policy issues in energy transitions (Isoaho and Karhunmaa, 2019; Rosenbloom, 2018). We contribute to energy transition studies in two ways. First, we provide further insights into the dynamics and political struggles of (coal) decline, which is a highly relevant topic in many places. In particular, we look into the role of public discourse and public policies to accelerate decline. We also discuss the political strategies of incumbent actors from the coal industry and from unions to delay the decline. Second, using a comparative approach, we will can draw first lessons about i) enabling and restraining conditions for coal phase-out in different contexts and ii) interdependencies of developments at national scales and repercussions for global developments. References Isoaho, K., Karhunmaa, K., 2019. Energy Policy 128, 930-942. Isoaho, K., Markard, J., in press. The politics of technology decline: Discursive struggles over coal phase-out in the UK. Review of Policy Research. Kivimaa, P., Kern, F., 2016. Research Policy 45, 205-217. Köhler, J., Geels, F.W., Kern, F., et al. 2019. Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions 31, 1-32. Rosenbloom, D., 2018. Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions 27, 129-145. Turnheim, B., Geels, F.W., 2012. Energy Policy 50, 35-49.