Discourses around decline : comparing the debates on coal phase-out in the UK, Germany and Finland

To accelerate sustainability transitions, policymakers have to set clear targets for the decline and phase-out of unsustainable technologies. As such decisions are contested, many different actor groups engage in the politics and discourse around decline. This chapter compares the debates surrounding coal phase-out in three countries: the UK, Germany and Finland. Despite major differences, e.g. in the relevance of coal for energy supply and jobs, we find many similarities in discourse dynamics, key arguments and the actor groups engaged. Our findings can therefore inform debates about coal and other unsustainable technologies in places where phase-outs are still pending. Our analysis advances the repertoire of comparative studies in transitions research, and shows how the technological innovation systems framework can be mobilized to also explore processes of technology decline

Power to, over and with: Exploring power dynamics in social innovations in energy transitions across Europe

This paper explores how power relations are manifested, altered and/or reproduced in processes of social innovations in energy transitions (SIE). We explore this research question by developing an interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary power heuristic building on different dimensions of power: power to, power over and power with. This conceptual framework helps us analyse the power dynamics in multiple types of SIEs that aim to contribute to sustainable energy transitions across three different national contexts: Germany, Poland, and the United Kingdom (UK). Our findings show how social innovation involves different dimensions of power to/over/with, and how power relations are both altered and reproduced. The cases under study also lead us to argue that understanding how power dynamics develop requires the analysis of the interplay between different power dimensions across the multiplicity of actors within different SIE-fields and their initiatives

Power to, over and with:Exploring power dynamics in social innovations in energy transitions across Europe

This paper explores how power relations are manifested, altered and/or reproduced in processes of social innovations in energy transitions (SIE). We explore this research question by developing an interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary power heuristic building on different dimensions of power: power to, power over and power with. This conceptual framework helps us analyse the power dynamics in multiple types of SIEs that aim to contribute to sustainable energy transitions across three different national contexts: Germany, Poland, and the United Kingdom (UK). Our findings show how social innovation involves different dimensions of power to/over/with, and how power relations are both altered and reproduced. The cases under study also lead us to argue that understanding how power dynamics develop requires the analysis of the interplay between different power dimensions across the multiplicity of actors within different SIE-fields and their initiatives.</p

Energy Transition and Coal Phase-Out in Germany : Analysis of Public Discourse

Effective responses to climate change cannot be achieved without the transition away from fossil-fuel-based electricity systems towards low-carbon systems of power generation. Such sustainability transitions are highly complex and require deep structural changes along different dimensions: technological, economic, political, infrastructural or socio-cultural. The transitions literature has so far very much focused on the diffusion of (radical) sustainable innovations like wind or solar, while the destabilisation and decline of unsustainable technologies such as coal has received much less attention. The decline of established systems is of particular importance to reduce greenhouse gas emissions effectively. It also creates space for sustainable innovations, thereby accelerating ongoing transitions. Decline processes in general, and of fossil-fuel-based systems in particular, are value-laden and often highly conflictual. They usually involve a broad range of powerful actors trying to influence the pace and direction of the transition. How these different actors affect the transition is an open issue. So far, only few studies have targeted the role of politics and power in decline processes. The goal of this study is to contribute to the understanding of the ‘politics of decline’ by looking into the public discourse on the coal phase-out and energy transition in Germany. This research is based on a discourse analysis of 345 newspaper articles published between 2000 and 2019. The study explores how actors struggle to build or challenge the legitimacy of coal-fired power generation through storylines and elucidates how they form discourse coalitions based on those storylines. The research also aims to uncover broader discursive developments with the potential to influence the pathway of the energy transition. The discourse analytical approach is qualitatively driven, but also entails quantitative coding with NVivo to record how frequently certain categories appear in the data set across time. The study reveals two antagonist actor coalitions. The anti-coal coalition, comprising NGOs, activists, the Green party, the Ministry for the Environment, think tanks and researchers, challenges the legitimacy of coal primarily due to its vast environmental and climate impact. Led by electric utilities, the pro-coal coalition mainly build legitimacy by pointing to the economic role of coal for the national economy, the lignite mining regions and the coal workers. The analysis finds an extensive and sudden discursive shift which accelerates the discursive destabilisation of coal-fired power. The discursive patterns reveal a strong dominance of coal-delegitimising storylines as well as high media attention on the future role of coal resulting from the discursive shift. Moreover, the discourse shows clear signs of disruption of the actor coalition in support of coal. Traditional coal allies such as the Ministry of the Economics, the political parties CDU/CSU and SPD, as well as some of the utilities withdraw from the legitimising discourse. However, as pressure on the coal regime increases, other influential actors such as the labour unions, industry representatives and the minister presidents of the coal states enter the discourse, enacting severe resistance to the decline of coal-fired power. The research concludes that the German coal phase-out provides a range of valuable insights for countries in similar situations. Nevertheless, for future research, systematic cross-country comparisons of destabilisation discourses are needed to be able to generate more generalisable insights into the ‘politics of decline’

Analyzing transitions through the lens of discourse networks: Coal phase-out in Germany

Discourse analysis is gaining attention in transition studies. This paper uses discourse network analysis (DNA) to study how discourse coalitions, and the storylines they mobilize, change over time. Drawing from archival data of two daily newspapers, we analyze the struggle over coal phase-out in Germany (2000–2020). We identify an anti-coal discourse coalition, which was stable and ideationally congruent over time. It used climate change as the dominant storyline to delegitimize coal. The phase-out policy decision in 2020 can be interpreted as the success of this coalition. The pro-coal coalition, in contrast, was more dispersed and less consistent in their arguments. Nonetheless, it was able to institutionalize some of its key storylines in the final policies. We argue that DNA is a powerful tool we can mobilize in sustainability transitions research for the study of politics and beyond.ISSN:2210-422

Making sense of power through transdisciplinary sustainability research: insights from a Transformative Power Lab

If transdisciplinary sustainability research is to contribute to sustainability transitions, issues of power dynamics need to be understood and accounted for. However, examples of concrete methods that put this into practice are sparse. This paper presents a conceptual and methodological framework that develops a better understanding of the power phenomenon, while providing actionable knowledge. By focussing on the context of social innovation in energy transitions, we demonstrate how different theoretical conceptualisations of power can be translated into a collaborative, transdisciplinary research design. In a facilitated process, researchers, policy workers and practitioners from diverse social innovation fields developed and tested the Transformative Power Lab approach and co-wrote a ‘Power Guide’ as a strategic exploration of power dynamics in sustainability transitions, specifically regarding social innovation in energy transitions. Based on the insights that emerged during this process, we discuss how transdisciplinary and action-oriented approaches in sustainability transition studies might benefit from this approach and, potentially, develop it further

Power to, over and with: exploring power dynamics in social innovations in energy transitions across Europe

This paper explores how power relations are manifested, altered and/or reproduced in processes of social innovations in energy transitions (SIE). We explore this research question by developing an interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary power heuristic building on different dimensions of power: power to, power over and power with. This conceptual framework helps us analyse the power dynamics in multiple types of SIEs that aim to contribute to sustainable energy transitions across three different national contexts: Germany, Poland, and the United Kingdom (UK). Our findings show how social innovation involves different dimensions of power to/over/with, and how power relations are both altered and reproduced. The cases under study also lead us to argue that understanding how power dynamics develop requires the analysis of the interplay between different power dimensions across the multiplicity of actors within different SIE-fields and their initiatives