Policy actions at the local level are key to reaching national and global climate and energy transition goals. This study seeks to understand the factors that explain variation in energy transition success at the local level, meaning the progress that local regions make to advance renewable energies as well as energy efficiency measures. This is done through the study of discourses that characterize the local policy processes surrounding the German energy transition. Discourses are conceptualized as infinite games, emphasizing the long-term and complex nature of transition processes. Research questions examine how local-level energy transitions are influenced by the content and the structure of the discourse and rural versus urban characteristics. Results from four regions show differences in discourse networks between rural and urban areas, as well as between more and less successful areas. Implications for the design of policies that affect the energy transition at the local level are explored.

地方一级的政策行动是实现国家和全球气候与能源过渡目标的关键。这项研究旨在了解解释当地能源转换成功率差异的因素，这意味着当地地区在推进可再生能源以及提高能效措施方面所取得的进步。这是通过对围绕德国能源转型的地方政策过程进行表征的话语研究来完成的。话语被概念化为无限博弈，强调过渡过程的长期性和复杂性。研究问题探讨了地方能源转换如何受到话语的内容和结构以及乡村与城市特征的影响。来自四个地区的结果表明，城乡之间的话语网络存在差异，以及成功领域之间或多或少之间。探索了影响地方一级能源过渡的政策设计的含义。