Understanding Rural Resistance to the Green Transition: Putting Place in Perspective

Abstract

Presenter: Théodore Tallent With the climate crisis calling for more stringent policies, the green transition has sparked resistance in Europe, particularly in rural areas. But what explains such resistance among the rural population? This article answers this question by exploring how rural dwellers make sense of the green transition through the lens of their place. Drawing on fieldwork conducted in (widely defined) rural areas in France, made of 37 interviews with 43 individuals from various sociodemographic backgrounds, I provide a contextual understanding of rural citizens’ attitudes to climate policies by underlining the intertwined role of place-based material, cultural and symbolic concerns that collectively shape their perspective on the green transition. While material concerns are a well-documented source of resistance, this study reveals their understudied, highly contextual nature. Beyond material issues, the findings emphasize the importance of deep-seated cultural and symbolic dimensions, deeply rooted in collective sociocultural representations attached to their (rural) territory as well as symbolic concerns about the decision-making process. Rural residents often see the transition as clashing with their rural representations and perceive the political elite as urban-centric and detached from their unique identities. This paper contributes to articulating how contextual concerns contribute to a broader rural perspective on the green transition, forming a collective framework that rural dwellers use to interpret and respond to climate policies. It also opens avenues of research on place-based dynamics in climate politics and more complex ways to build support, beyond material concerns.