A social perspective on sustainable transport policy. A case study on car road pricing in Austria

The current transport system in industrialised countries is far from being sustainable, partly due to the negative impacts of motorised individual transport. Car road pricing would present a policy instrument to reduce the transport volume and to change the modal split. However, its effects go beyond the transport system itself and influence the different dimensions of sustainability, especially the social dimension. In the present paper the impacts of different car road pricing scenarios in Austria are discussed. It aims to present the operationalisation of the social dimension and its significance in relation to the other dimensions of sustainability, often represented by a trade-off. Results concerning the impacts of car road pricing on the Austrian population are discussed with regard to the feasibility and acceptance of such a measure. Different options to overcome the negative acceptance of road pricing or to reduce the trade-offs are suggested

Do community currencies enhance sustainable quality of life?

Community currencies and their contribution to a sustainable development have been quite widely discussed. In contrast, their potential to raise the personal quality of life of their members and users has been less noted. Combining these two strands, we argue that community currencies enhance an individual sustainable quality of life. We underpin this by analysing data of an online survey of members and users of community currencies in Austria and Germany. The theoretical foundation of our analysis is the Capability Approach and its notion of quality of life, saying that a high quality of life is characterized by high freedom of choice of valuable doings and beings. A sustainable high quality of life would then be characterized by a high freedom of choice within the limits given by planetary boundaries and further sustainability criteria. This perspective allows inferringthat community currencies do not just contribute to sustainable development via their often emphasized effects in the field of regionalization and local value added, but in a much more encompassing way

Ökologische Konzepte in der europäischen Politik

Die Umweltbranche boomt und ökologische Innovationen sind in aller Munde. Doch finden diese theoretischen Konzepte und innovativen Technologien wirklich Eingang in die politische Praxis? Und wie können diese Ansatzpunkte zur politischen Ausgestaltung einer nachhaltigen Entwicklung beitragen

Der österreichische Klimarat - ein Beitrag zur Weiterentwicklung von Demokratie und Politik?

Zu Beginn des Artikels geben wir einen vertiefenden Einblick in die Rolle und Funktion von Partizipation innerhalb der sozial-ökologischen Transformation. Dabei liegt der Fokus auf Argumenten, die eine bessere Entscheidungsfindung versprechen - im Sinne von mehr Transparenz, Repräsentativität, Legitimität und Akzeptanz von politischen Prozessen. Nach Darstellung der Struktur und Organisation des österreichischen Klimarats gehen wir auf die damit zusammenhängenden Erwartungen, den Prozess selbst sowie die Resultate ein. Anschließend wird das Framing des Prozesses in öffentlichen Debatten, Medienberichterstattung und politischen Auseinandersetzungen analysiert. Zudem thematisieren wir, welche politischen Wirkungen nach dem offiziellen Ende des Klimarats zu beobachten sind. Auf Basis dieser Analyse ziehen wir erste Schlussfolgerungen und stellen Hypothesen zur Diskussion, die für die kritische Reflexion und Weiterentwicklung partizipativer Instrumente in demokratischen Systemen relevant sind.At the beginning of the article, we provide an in-depth insight into role and function of participation within the socio-ecological transformation. The focus is on arguments that promise a better decision-making - in terms of more transparency, representativeness, legitimacy and acceptance of political processes. Following an outline of structure and organisation of the Austrian Climate Citizens' Assembly, we address related expectations, the process design and output. Then we analyse the framing of the process in public debates, media coverage and political disputes. In addition, we discuss potential political impacts af ter the official end of the Climate Assembly. Based on this analysis, we draw initial conclusions and present hypotheses that are relevant for the critical reflection and further development of participatory instruments in democratic systems

Linking transitions and sustainability: a study into social effects of transition management

Sustainability transitions as processes of fundamental change in societal systems are open-ended, nonlinear and uncertain. Respective research and governance approaches, e.g. transition management, propose a reflexive way of governing, aiming for a number of social effects to help facilitating a transition. Effects include empowerment, social learning and social capital development. Jointly mentioned social effects shall allow for reflexivity and innovation in developing socially robust and contextualized solutions to sustainability challenges that work in practice. Still, understanding mentioned social effects and their interplay more in depth is needed to design and assess transition management processes. While such understanding and related assessment framework is under development in transition management literature, transdisciplinary sustainability research can provide a rich body of tools and experiences. Building on a review of respective literature, this article develops an evaluation framework focusing on social effects as important and hitherto under conceptualised aspects of sustainability transitions literature. This framework is used to empirically investigate the effects of two specific transition management processes at local scale. Doing so, the article provides a conceptual and empirical understanding of how social effects contribute to a transition towards sustainability. Results highlight the importance and possibilities of addressing sustainability as an inherent quality of social effects aimed for

Understanding actor roles in sustainability initiatives: an exploratory study in five European countries

Several strands of literature have developed around the ambition to influence or bring about transitions toward greater sustainability. In this context researchers have come to be interested in the types of actors involved in sustainability transitions and the roles these actors play. However, there is a lack of clear definitions of actors, and their roles. Our research takes an exploratory approach and is designed to describe and analyse the actors concerned and to identify their roles in sustainability initiatives. Our aim in doing so is to contribute to the body of scientific knowledge on transitions and to provide sustainability initiatives themselves with helpful information. Data were collected using the Net-Map tool, a well-established method in actor and stakeholder analysis. In our results we identify and define six actor roles: catalysts, opponents, intermediaries, frontrunners, drivers and visionaries. In the literature, particular roles are connected to common actor categories (civil society, governmental actors, private sector, etc.). Our results imply that sustainability initiatives are neither necessarily hindered by the absence of certain actors, nor are they hindered per se by the presence of an actor - rather, a broad mix seems to be helpful

Linking transitions to sustainability: A study of the societal effects of transition management

Sustainability transitions as processes of fundamental change in societal systems are open-ended, nonlinear and uncertain. Respective research and governance approaches, e.g., transition management, propose a reflexive way of governing, aiming for a number of societal effects to help facilitating a transition. Effects include empowerment, social learning and social capital development. Jointly mentioned effects shall allow for reflexivity and innovation in developing socially robust and contextualized solutions to sustainability challenges that work in practice. But, understanding the mentioned societal effects and their interplay in more depth is necessary to design and assess transition management processes. While such understanding and related assessment framework is under development in the transition management literature, transdisciplinary sustainability research can provide a rich body of tools and experiences. Building on a review of the literature, this article develops an evaluation framework focusing on social learning, empowerment and social capital as important and hitherto under-conceptualised aspects of the sustainability transition literature. This framework is used to empirically investigate the effects of two specific transition management processes at the local scale. In doing so, the article provides a conceptual and empirical understanding of how social learning, empowerment and social capital contribute to a transition towards sustainability. The three effects are shown to be interrelated, mutually supportive and bridging different scale levels from individuals to groups, niches and beyond. Results highlight possibilities to facilitate and assess societal effects, addressing sustainability as their inherent quality

Lokale Energiesysteme der Zukunft

Gemeinden, die ihren Beitrag für ein nachhaltiges Energiesystem leisten wollen, müssen ihre Optionen anhand einer Reihe von Nachhaltigkeitskriterien abwägen. Eine partizipative Bewertung von Energieszenarien kann als innovatives Instrument dazu beitragen