## 1 Introduction  
Rapid development of the global economy in the past century has brought along growing environmental risks in many parts of the planet. The global community responded to these risks with concerted efforts towards adopting international treaties (e.g., the Paris Climate Agreement and some others [1]) to prevent further degradation of the natural environment and work out the actions for transition to more environment friendly technology, particularly in the energy sector. Meanwhile, the environmental risks are especially pronounced in Northern Arctic and sub-Arctic regions, where natural ecosystems are highly susceptible to human impacts [2, 3]. The greatest risks for Russia's Arctic ecosystems today are accidents at fuel and energy facilities [4]; use of dirty fuels (heavy oil, diesel fuel, etc.) in cargo transport and heating [5]; prevalence of extraction industries in the economy of Arctic regions [6]; and the obsolete energy systems [5]. The latter are highly centralized, and their infrastructure is growing outdated and is poorly developed in remote Arctic areas, which often suffer from power supply failures [7]. Another noteworthy factor is the poor development of standby and standalone energy generating sources in the said areas. Resolution of these issues is crucial for the vitality of local communities and normal operation of emergency services and social infrastructure in the Arctic [8]. At the same time, trying to handle these problems in the framework of the obsolete energy system and inefficient institutional procedures characteristic of the energy sector of the Russian Arctic would entail aggravation of pressure that is already high on local ecosystems. These risks grow even greater as economic activities in the Russian Arctic region are gaining pace, and a preferential economic regime is instated to attract more investments to industrial projects, including energy-related ones [9]. A key challenge in this situation is to tackle multiple local problems of Russia's Arctic energy systems arising from their instability and unsustainability by reforming them in line with modern agreements on transition to greener energy. As demonstrated by the experience of countries with well-developed energy systems, the process of energy transition and greening of the economy should involve all key economic actors [10; 11; 12], but an increasingly important role in green innovations and promotion of green energy belongs to local communities, associations of green activists and households as end consumers of energy [13; 14; 15; 16]. The significance of grassroots green initiatives is incontestable. They can take a wide range of forms--from public events and campaigns to personal pro-environmental routines and consumer preferences [17; 18]. Our study is particularly topical in the absence of previous papers with an integrated approach to the questions of green practices, awareness of renewable energy matters and willingness to pay more for it among residents of Arctic regions of European Russia and considering local communities as a potential key actor in the economy's transition to sustainable energy and the reform of the region's energy systems. It is no secret that the special conditions in Arctic territories, such as the extreme natural environment, the highly polarized settlement system, high costs of operating machines, buildings and facilities and the vulnerability of northern ecosystems, shape the local lifestyles and the use of green practices by people. Meanwhile, this is the region exposed to exceptionally heavy anthropogenic pressure [19]. What is noteworthy is the study area--northern sub-Arctic territories with extremely sparse population require customized approaches to renewable energy transition policies and should, therefore, be studied specifically.