A new report warns that current governance arrangements may leave coastal communities bearing the cost of energy transition while seeing limited long-term benefits.
The report, produced by the Just Transition Lab, suggests that today’s shift to offshore renewables must guard against echoing long-standing patterns of economic instability, limited local control, and uneven distribution of wealth.
Based on an analysis of 181 historical and contemporary records spanning the 1800s to the present day, the new report finds that marine energy transitions are not isolated events, but cumulative processes. Decisions made decades, or even centuries ago, continue to shape how communities experience change today.
Persistent challenges
Across all three case studies, it identifies persistent challenges for coastal communities, including limited local influence, driven by centralised and reactive governance structure and boom-and-bust economic cycles that leave communities vulnerable once industries decline.
The research also highlights the deep connection between coastal communities and the sea, and how previous transitions have often been viewed locally as unfair when they disrupt long-standing industries, cultural identity, and ways of life.
It forms part of the wider interdisciplinary TRANSitions in Energy for Coastal Communities Over Time and Space (TRANSECTS) project, which examines successive waves of marine industry development - from 18th century whaling and fisheries, through offshore oil and gas, to the rapid expansion of renewable energy - showing how each has left lasting social and economic imprints on coastal areas.
Strathclyde has a leading role in the initiative, with involvement in understanding the role of natural and social capital in energy transitions. Researchers are also co-developing a ‘Theory of Change’ framework to understand the significant barriers and opportunities associated with energy transitions and the consequential impacts for coastal communities.
Historical transitions
Dr Scott McGrane, a senior Economics Lecturer at the University of Strathclyde, said:
This research establishes the relevance of historical transitions as a benchmark for ensuring future transitions towards more renewable technologies are fair and just, and that such adaptations do not result in detriment to coastal communities, workers in the oil and gas sector, or the global climate by failure to adapt with sufficient urgency.
The report identifies clear opportunities to deliver a fairer transition, including improving coordination between national and local decision-making.
Dr Amy McCarron, Research Fellow at the University of Aberdeen, who led the work, said: “Marine energy transitions are not new for coastal communities - they have been happening for centuries. What our research shows is that many of the same challenges continue to reappear, particularly around who benefits, who bears the costs, and whose voices are heard in decision-making.”
The findings will inform ongoing policy discussions around offshore energy development, community benefit, and the UK’s pathway to net zero.