Beyond Silos: A Framework for Cross-sector System Resilience in the Energy Transition

Resilience has emerged as a critical concept for understanding how systems respond to disturbances. However, existing approaches often remain siloed within specific sectors. Here, it is shown that cross-sector system resilience, defined as the capacity of interconnected sectors to collectively withstand, adapt to, and transform in response to disruptions, offers a more comprehensive framework for addressing complex challenges, particularly in energy transitions. An integrated framework is developed that combines resilience and nexus approaches while centering social justice considerations. This framework identifies key cross-sector linkages, feedback mechanisms, and potential trade-offs across temporal and spatial scales. Its application is demonstrated through case studies spanning energy infrastructure, climate adaptation, and socio-economic systems, revealing how cross-sector approaches can identify previously overlooked vulnerabilities and opportunities. The framework enables more equitable resilience-building by explicitly addressing who benefits from and bears the costs of different interventions across sectors. This work advances resilience theory beyond single-sector applications and provides practical guidance for policymakers and practitioners navigating complex system transitions. As global challenges increasingly transcend traditional sector boundaries, this cross-sector resilience framework offers a timely approach to building more robust, adaptive, and equitable systems. • Introduces a unified cross-sectoral resilience framework that integrates resilience theory, nexus thinking, and social justice. • Demonstrates how sectoral interdependence causes risks and opportunities in energy transition systems. • Explicitly centers equity, inclusion, and distributional impacts as core dimensions of resilience analysis. • Shows through energy-focused case studies how siloed approaches underestimate systemic vulnerabilities. • Provides actionable guidance for policymakers to design adaptive, just, and system-aware resilience strategies.