Understanding what conditions promote or hinder energy affordability in energy transitions is crucial for coal and carbon-intensive regions (CCIRs) dealing with the trade-off between phasing out fossil fuels and deepening social inequalities. While previous studies have included household and national-level conditions, this paper addresses the research gap covering regional-level conditions by drawing from regional energy governance, energy justice, and sociotechnical transition frameworks. A mixed-method approach consisting of a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis and case-study analysis is applied to 14 CCIRs in Europe, Asia, and North America. Results show that energy affordability in CCIRs is influenced by combinations of regional and (inter)national conditions. Whereas the existing literature and transition policies do not differentiate between the CCI sector’s transition type, this paper highlights that conditions underlying energy (un)affordability differ when the CCI sector is phased out or has the option to transition. Based on the findings, this study calls for a multi-level governance approach to alleviating and preventing energy unaffordability and recommends that policy mixes like the EU Just Transition Fund consider the different types of CCIR transitions.

中文翻译：

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能源转型何时会影响家庭负担能力？14 个煤炭和碳密集型地区的混合方法比较


了解能源转型中哪些条件促进或阻碍能源可负担性，对于煤炭和碳密集型地区 （CCIR） 处理逐步淘汰化石燃料和加深社会不平等之间的权衡至关重要。虽然以前的研究包括家庭和国家层面的条件，但本文通过借鉴区域能源治理、能源正义和社会技术转型框架来解决涵盖区域层面条件的研究差距。由模糊集定性比较分析和案例研究分析组成的混合方法方法应用于欧洲、亚洲和北美的 14 个 CCIR。结果表明，CCIRs 的能源可负担性受到区域和（国际）国家条件组合的影响。虽然现有文献和转型政策没有区分 CCI 部门的转型类型，但本文强调，当 CCI 部门被逐步淘汰或可以选择转型时，能源（不）负担能力的潜在条件会有所不同。基于研究结果，本研究呼吁采用多层次治理方法来缓解和防止能源负担能力，并建议欧盟公正转型基金等政策组合考虑不同类型的 CCIR 转型。