Navigating Energy Transitions: Perspectives from Sardinia and Corsica Amidst Environmental Challenges and Internal Colonization

In the face of pressing environmental and geopolitical challenges, the imperative of energy transition has risen to the forefront of political agendas worldwide. To address these challenges, the energy transition will require changes in both energy production and consumption. Sustaining current energy supply levels or meeting energy demand with existing energy mixes will pose challenges. In recent decades, efforts to reduce energy consumption and its resulting impacts have focused on increasing energy efficiency, complemented by a growing adoption of renewable or low-carbon energy sources. Nevertheless, it is increasingly evident that these approaches might be inadequate. Hence, there has recently been a growing recognition of the need to consider a new strategy: energy sufficiency. Energy sufficiency, often viewed as a complementary strategy to traditional conservation efforts, encompasses more than mere behavioral changes or emergency measures in response to energy crises. Instead, it entails a fundamental shift towards reducing energy services consumption through changes in values, norms, practices, and collective organization. This strategy aims to achieve a more equitable distribution of energy services consumption, addressing both technical and socio-cultural dimensions. In addition to reports emphasizing the need to adopt energy sufficiency (or at least the risk incurred by not resorting to it), proposals for energy sufficiency measures also emerge in climate assemblies or similar initiatives, especially at the local level. This is notably more apparent than in national government plans for ecological and energy transition. Drawing from ongoing research focused on the cases of Sardinia and Corsica, two geographically proximate yet politically distinct territories, this contribution explores the intersection of energy transition dynamics and territorial independence movements. Despite sharing common characteristics, these islands face unique energy challenges shaped by divergent national energy policies and aspirations. The clash between national energy visions and local demands for autonomy often underscores perceptions of ‘internal colonization,’ highlighting the complex interplay between energy transition, geopolitics, and decolonial struggles. By examining the perspectives of representatives from autonomist and sovereignty parties and movements, this study investigates how energy sufficiency is perceived and integrated into decolonial agendas, shedding light on its potential role in navigating the energy transition within territorially diverse contexts.