Governing the Energy Transition. Reality, Illusion or Necessity

The Energy Transition, the inevitable shift away from cheap, centralized, largely fossil-based energy systems, is one of the core challenges of our time. This book provides a coherent and novel insight into the nature of this challenge and possible strategies to accelerate and guide such transitions. It brings together prominent European scholars and practitioners from the fields of energy transition research and governance to draw attention to the current complex dynamics in the energy domain, and offer elegant and provocative explanations for current crises and lock-ins. They identify multiple energy transition pathways that emerge and increasingly compete, and emphasize the need and possibilities for novel governance. By analysing the complexity of energy transition processes and the difficulties in shifting to sustainable pathways, this text questions the extent to which actually governing energy transitions is already reality, just an illusion, or a bare necessity

Translation Mechanisms in Socio-Technical Niches. A case study of Dutch river management

This paper makes three contributions to the field of transition research. First, it sheds light on how the concept of translation can contribute to a better understanding of agency in niche development. Second, it articulates how the local-global distinction in the Strategic Niche Management (SNM) approach relates to the levels in the Multi-Level Perspective. Third, the article is empirically novel by presenting a radical sustainable innovation in Dutch water management (‘New Rivers’).Sustainability transitions, translations, strategic niche management, river management

The roles of users in shaping transitions to new energy systems

Current government information policies and market-based instruments aimed at influencing the energy choices of consumers often ignore the fact that consumer behaviour is not fully reducible to individuals making rational conscious decisions all the time. The decisions of consumers are largely configured by shared routines embedded in socio-technical systems. To achieve a transition towards a decarbonized and energy-efficient system, an approach that goes beyond individual consumer choice and puts shared routines and system change at its centre is needed. Here, adopting a transitions perspective, we argue that consumers should be reconceptualized as users who are important stakeholders in the innovation process shaping new routines and enacting system change. We review the role of users in shifts to new decarbonized and energy-efficient systems and provide a typology of user roles

The promise of peer-to-peer trading? The potential impact of blockchain on the actor configuration in the Dutch electricity system

This paper considers the potential of blockchain technology to empower distributed and decentralized local electricity markets. Although blockchain has gained considerable attention in the last few years as a facilitator for new electricity markets, no attention has yet been given to its potential influence on the configuration of the actors in the electricity system and its ability to transform the existing system. Based on a social network analysis, this paper investigates how blockchain can influence the actor configuration of the electricity system in the Netherlands. After describing the Dutch system, we compare the existing with the potential future system’ actor configuration and the corresponding expected shifts in functions and network position of the actors. We conclude that although many functions are likely to remain and new central authorities may be formed, the impact of blockchain does not seem to be as disruptive and decentralizing as may be expected. This study provides first contributions to the ongoing discussion about the potential of blockchain to disrupt and reshape the electricity system

Pathway towards sustainability or motorization?:A comparative study of e-bikes in China and the Netherlands

Faced with globally pressing sustainability challenges, the e-bike provides a potentially sustainable mobility alternative. Yet, a growing consensus among researchers is that the environmental and social impacts of e-bikes are context dependent. Previous studies indicate different e-bike pathways in two major e-bike markets. In China, e-bikes seem to be a stepping stone to further motorization. In the Netherlands, e-bike use partially substitutes car use, thereby advancing sustainability. However, little is known about why e-bikes serve different pathways. We address this research problem by employing social practice theory to unpack e-bike practices according to three interdependent elements of materials, competences, and meanings. In doing so, we shed light on the more complex and nuanced dynamics in everyday mobility practices around e-bikes. The findings suggest that in China hostile cycling conditions and positive cultural associations of automobility feed to a vicious circle toward car-based motorization. In the Netherlands, the e-bike provides a viable option for those locked into car practices. Despite these differences, evidence from the two countries indicates that dissatisfactions with elements of car practices may redirect people to e-bike practices. Policy needs to direct toward overcoming structural barriers in domains where individuals have limited agency. Furthermore, this comparative study illustrates that differentiated focus is needed when applying practice theory. Given that the average carbon footprint per capita is lower in the Global South than in the Global North, the focus should be on maintaining existing sustainable practices in the Global South while substituting unsustainable practices in the Global North