Research on sustainability transitions has expanded rapidly in the last ten years, diversified in terms of topics and geographical applications, and deepened with respect to theories and methods. This article provides an extensive review and an updated research agenda for the field, classified into nine main themes: understanding transitions; power, agency and politics; governing transitions; civil society, culture and social movements; businesses and industries; transitions in practice and everyday life; geography of transitions; ethical aspects; and methodologies. The review shows that the scope of sustainability transitions research has broadened and connections to established disciplines have grown stronger. At the same time, we see that the grand challenges related to sustainability remain unsolved, calling for continued efforts and an acceleration of ongoing transitions. Transition studies can play a key role in this regard by creating new perspectives, approaches and understanding and helping to move society in the direction of sustainability.

An agenda for sustainability transitions research: State of the art and future directions

A series of weaknesses in creativity, research design, and quality of writing continue to handicap energy social science. Many studies ask uninteresting research questions, make only marginal contributions, and lack innovative methods or application to theory. Many studies also have no explicit research design, lack rigor, or suffer from mangled structure and poor quality of writing. To help remedy these shortcomings, this Review offers suggestions for how to construct research questions; thoughtfully engage with concepts; state objectives; and appropriately select research methods. Then, the Review offers suggestions for enhancing theoretical, methodological, and empirical novelty. In terms of rigor, codes of practice are presented across seven method categories: experiments, literature reviews, data collection, data analysis, quantitative energy modeling, qualitative analysis, and case studies. We also recommend that researchers beware of hierarchies of evidence utilized in some disciplines, and that researchers place more emphasis on balance and appropriateness in research design. In terms of style, we offer tips regarding macro and microstructure and analysis, as well as coherent writing. Our hope is that this Review will inspire more interesting, robust, multi-method, comparative, interdisciplinary and impactful research that will accelerate the contribution that energy social science can make to both theory and practice.

Promoting novelty, rigor, and style in energy social science: towards codes of practice for appropriate methods and research design

The most critical question for climate research is no longer about the problem, but about how to facilitate the transformative changes necessary to avoid catastrophic climate-induced change. Addressing this question, however, will require massive upscaling of research that can rapidly enhance learning about transformations. Ten essentials for guiding action-oriented transformation and energy research are therefore presented, framed in relation to second-order science. They include: (1) Focus on transformations to low-carbon, resilient living; (2) Focus on solution processes; (3) Focus on ‘how to’ practical knowledge; (4) Approach research as occurring from within the system being intervened; (5) Work with normative aspects; (6) Seek to transcend current thinking; (7) Take a multi-faceted approach to understand and shape change; (8) Acknowledge the value of alternative roles of researchers; (9) Encourage second-order experimentation; and (10) Be reflexive. Joint application of the essentials would create highly adaptive, reflexive, collaborative and impact-oriented research able to enhance capacity to respond to the climate challenge. At present, however, the practice of such approaches is limited and constrained by dominance of other approaches. For wider transformations to low carbon living and energy systems to occur, transformations will therefore also be needed in the way in which knowledge is produced and used.

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Ten essentials for action-oriented and second order energy transitions, transformations and climate change research

Renewables, nuclear, or fossil fuels? Scenarios for Great Britain’s power system considering costs, emissions and energy security

Background, aim, and scope
Lightweight design is a common means of reducing a passenger car's fuel consumption. In order to calculate the resulting fuel savings, one has to estimate the total energy that is needed to move a certain weight over a defined distance in a distinct way, and express this energy in liter of gasoline or diesel. This can be accomplished by the so-called fuel reduction value (FRV) and based on a standardized driving cycle, e.g., the New European Driving Cycle (NEDC). The aim of this paper is to explain the theoretical background of the calculation of fuel savings in automotive lightweight life cycle assessments (LCAs) of internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles in greater detail than it has been done before, to describe the resulting factors and their different applications, and to point out some notable particularities that need to be taken into account when conducting this type of LCA study.

On the calculation of fuel savings through lightweight design in automotive life cycle assessments

https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/ws/files/58104318/Luederitz_et_al._2016_JCP_.pdf

Learning through evaluation: A tentative evaluative scheme for sustainability transition experiments

https://epub.wupperinst.org/files/6498/6498_Samadi.pdf

Sufficiency in energy scenario studies: Taking the potential benefits of lifestyle changes into account

Analysis of the EU's energy roadmap 2050 scenarios

Der Verkehrssektor ist keineswegs der einzige, jedoch ein wesentlicher Verursacher der Klimaprobleme. Der Automobilverkehr als traditioneller Hauptbelaster im Verkehrsbereich zeigt zwar vergleichsweise positive Tendenzen, trotzdem ist auch hier noch erheblicher weiterer Handlungsbedarf gegeben. Das Wuppertal Institut hat hier in ubersichtlicher und systematischer Form Stand und Perspektiven zusammengetragen. Nach einer ausfuhrlichen Einbettung in den Klimadiskurs erfolgt die schrittweise Konzentration auf den PKW-Verkehr Deutschlands. Fur diesen Bereich werden im Detail die denkbaren technischen Ansatze und die moglichen Umsetzungsmasnahmen erortert.

/pdf/klimawirksame-emissionen-des-pkw-verkehrs-und-bewertung-von-3huw4092zv.pdf

Johannes Venjakob

Papers

Learning through evaluation: A tentative evaluative scheme for sustainability transition experiments

Sufficiency in energy scenario studies: Taking the potential benefits of lifestyle changes into account

Analysis of the EU's energy roadmap 2050 scenarios

Klimawirksame Emissionen des Pkw-Verkehrs und Bewertung von Minderungsstrategien

Decarbonisation scenarios leading to the EU energy roadmap 2050