Sustainable energy transformations in an age of populism, post-truth politics, and local resistance

Abstract

The increase of right-wing populist parties, post-truth politics, and local resistance challenges the policies and politics of sustainable energy transformation. The contributions of this Special Issue address at least one of these political phenomena in the context of sustainable energy transformation. They show that populism, especially right-wing populism, and post-truth politics indicate rising political polarisation on climate and energy policies while local resistance indicates the political nature of sustainable energy transformations. More research is needed to explore the causes, nature, and consequences of the increase in extreme positions on climate and energy policies across political parties and individuals.