Analyzing the Socio-Technical Transformation of Energy Systems

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harald Rohracher
Keyword(s):  
Technical Change ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Social Science Research ◽  
Resource Depletion ◽  
Science Research ◽  
Energy System ◽  
Sustainability Transitions ◽  
Societal Challenges ◽  
System P ◽  
Sustainable Energy System

Dealing with the immense societal challenges of climate change and resource depletion requires no less than a fundamental transformation of the energy system, comprising not only technological change, but also cultures of energy use and consumption, new regulations, and new types of actors operating on the energy market. A growing field of interdisciplinary social science research on “sustainability transitions” deals with the dynamics and governance of such transformative, systemic, and socio-technical change processes toward sustainability. This chapter gives an overview of concepts used to study energy system transitions, their strengths and shortcomings, as well as new advancements. The chapter also discusses a concrete example of socio-technical change in the field of renewable energy—wind power—and reflects on some of the lessons that can be drawn from this about the interdependence of energy and society and for an understanding of transitions toward a more sustainable energy system.

Institutions Encouraging Competition, Instrumentalism, and Meaningless Research

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mats Alvesson ◽  
Yiannis Gabriel ◽  
Roland Paulsen
Keyword(s):  
Social Science ◽  
Social Science Research ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
Science Research ◽  
Mass Education ◽  
Scientific Institutions ◽  
System P ◽  
Institutional Competition ◽  
State Of Affairs ◽  
The Right

The rise of mass education has led to mass research—quantity dominates quality. A ruthless institutional competition for status, plus academics pushing to get published in the ‘right’, career-enhancing journals, has led to the fetishization of journal outputs even when they are of little meaning or value to society. This situation is now endemic within the system of academic research and publication, and is strongly driven and sustained by academics themselves, even when they are unwilling to admit it. Academics, both individually and collectively, exercise considerable control over the content and nature of social science research, its scrutiny, assessment, and dissemination. They also have considerable control over the practices of various scientific institutions, including universities and their departments, funding bodies, conferences, and publications. Social science researchers underestimate and diminish their own responsibility for this state of affairs and sometimes prematurely adopt a victim position, blaming an impersonal system.

scholarly journals Water impacts and water-climate goal conflicts of local energy choices – notes from a Swedish perspective

2018 ◽  
Vol 376 ◽  
pp. 25-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecka Ericsdotter Engström ◽  
Mark Howells ◽  
Georgia Destouni
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Water Resources ◽  
Water Use ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Water Security ◽  
Energy System ◽  
Local Energy ◽  
Sustainable Energy System ◽  
Liquid Biofuel

Abstract. To meet both the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), nations, sectors, counties and cities need to move towards a sustainable energy system in the next couple of decades. Such energy system transformations will impact water resources to varying extents, depending on the transformation strategy and fuel choices. Sweden is considered to be one of the most advanced countries towards meeting the SDGs. This paper explores the geographical origin of and the current water use associated with the supply of energy in the 21 regional counties of Sweden. These energy-related uses of water represent indirect, but still relevant, impacts for water management and the related SDG on clean water and sanitation (SDG 6). These indirect water impacts are here quantified and compared to reported quantifications of direct local water use, as well as to reported greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, as one example of other types of environmental impacts of local energy choices in each county. For each county, an accounting model is set up based on data for the local energy use in year 2010, and the specific geographical origins and water use associated with these locally used energy carriers (fuels, heat and electricity) are further estimated and mapped based on data reported in the literature and open databases. Results show that most of the water use associated with the local Swedish energy use occurs outside of Sweden. Counties with large shares of liquid biofuel exhibit the largest associated indirect water use in regions outside of Sweden. This indirect water use for energy supply does not unambiguously correlate with either the local direct water use or the local GHG emissions, although for the latter, there is a tendency towards an inverse relation. Overall, the results imply that actions for mitigation of climate change by local energy choices may significantly affect water resources elsewhere. Swedish counties are thus important examples of localities with large geographic zones of water influence due to their local energy choices, which may compromise water security and the possibility to meet water-related global goals in other world regions.

scholarly journals On the Road of Discovery with Systemic Exploratory Constellations: Potentials of Online Constellation Exercises about Sustainability Transitions

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 5101
Author(s):  
Antje Disterheft ◽  
Denis Pijetlovic ◽  
Georg Müller-Christ
Keyword(s):  
Social Science Research ◽  
Science Research ◽  
Exploratory Research ◽  
Sustainability Transitions ◽  
Participatory Action ◽  
The Road ◽  
Strong Sustainability ◽  
Sustainability Research ◽  
Hidden Knowledge ◽  
On The Road

Sustainability transitions are shaped by specific dynamics, dependencies, and influences among the actors and elements that are part of the system. Systemic constellations as a social science research method can offer tangible visualizations of such system dynamics and thereby extract valuable, often hidden knowledge for research. This article builds on two online exploratory system constellation exercises about sustainability transitions, with two major objectives: (i) to introduce and disseminate (exploratory) systemic constellations as a method for (sustainability) research, and (ii) to extract their potential for (online) collaborative and transdisciplinary research, with a focus on sustainability transitions. Our exploratory research design includes participatory action research that took place during the virtual International Sustainability Transitions Conference 2020, Vienna, Austria. Data were analyzed following an interpretative-hermeneutic approach. The main findings consist of visualizations about sustainability transition dynamics between selected actors in Germany and Portugal that are discussed in light of the literature on constellation work and sustainability transitions, triggering new assumptions: (i) a strong sustainability narrative does not (necessarily) lead to action and transformation and (ii) transformation requires integrating narratives beyond weak and strong sustainability. We conclude with a list of potentials of exploratory constellations for sustainability research and online formats that offer novelties such as a constant bird-eye perspective on the system while simultaneously engaging with the system.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document