Energy transitions, carbon emissions, and network effects: A multiphase analysis of global industrial resilience

Resilience in industrial sectors has become critical for economies facing energy disruptions and environmental challenges. This study examines how industrial resilience dynamically interacts with renewable energy adoption, carbon emissions trajectories, and network interaction strength to determine industrial resilience. The study analyzes the global perspective and also takes the cases of five major economies (China, US, Japan, India, Spain) from 1995 to 2023 across eight crisis phases (economic, geopolitical, financial, and health) and establishes three core relationships using a novel Lotka-Volterra framework: (1) Network effects amplify renewables' impact on resilience but weaken when emissions rise, (2) Carbon reductions lag without integrated network policies despite renewables growth, (3) Emissions paradoxically enhance short-term network resilience during crises. The findings show that globally, renewables increase (energy efficiency declines from 1.65 to 1.11), while emissions persist despite stronger resilience drivers (βeff: 70.76-241.42 B). In country-specific cases, China demonstrates that high interaction strength boosts resilience during crises. However, emissions threshold conflicts offset the gains from renewable energy. Japan achieves decarbonization through policy and strengthens its network resilience. At the same time, India's sluggish adoption of renewable energy (RE) worsens its emissions. Spain excels in RE-driven resilience, while the US shows limited progress due to its dependence on fossil fuels, although interaction strength aids crisis resilience. Consequently, synchronizing network-enhanced renewable integration with structural reforms is essential for sustained resilience and emissions mitigation.