Introduction to a volume of RCC Perspectives, edited by V. Taylor and H. Chappells. The volume offers case studies of energy transitions within everyday environments over the last two centuries, from Europe to South Asia, to North and Latin America. Together, the contributions in this issue address the spatial, material, and social dimensions of energy transitions and foreground energy users as meaningful agents of change. But energy transitions have typically proved to be a slow and uneven process, often fraught with contention, and there is still much to learn about how “energyscapes” are politicized and culturally nuanced. This volume proposes that an understanding of domestic energy transitions of the past will better equip us to navigate the uncertainties of a lower-carbon future
