'Keep challenging our understanding of sustainability transitions'
Transition studies is evolving into a dynamic research field with its own institutions. There are several examples. 2009 saw the ‘First international conference on sustainability transitions' in Amsterdam and the establishment of the ‘Sustainability Transitions Research Network' (STRN). In August 2010 STRN launched its website and in September a special track on system innovations and sustainability transitions is organized at the EASST conference in Trento.
.jpg "'Economical and efficient, but yet more use of energy")
'Economical and efficient, but yet more use of energy
‘Change of values can also result in rising use of energy. In the fifties airconditioning was only used in offices; nowadays in each car an airco is standard. Our electrical appliances and machines have become more and more efficient and economical but because we buy so many of them the use of energy only rises. Our behaviour has become a strong force for unstainability.'
'There is no simple transition from a bad to a good system'
‘It is interesting to try and see whether in agriculture we may link up economics and sustainability with a set of new rules for consumers and producers. There is a cluster of criteria that all revolve around sustainability, such as climate, energy, pesticides, and animal well-being. Which of these criteria will be guiding is still unsure. There are no simple solutions. Nor is there a simple transition that leads one from a bad to a good system. However, the transition narrative provides an effective framework within which all the various aspects pertaining to sustainability can be addressed.'
.jpg "'Can you trigger of accelerate desired transitions?'")
'Can you trigger of accelerate desired transitions?'
‘Transitions in the past teach us that transitions are unpredictable and cannot be fully planned. There are elements of chance to them. Still, you can try to adjust and speed them up by carefully looking to various aspects of transitions at different levels. At the so-called ‘landscape level' you can track down the options for establishing links with specific larger trends and developments. At the level of ‘niche experiments' (innovative practices) you may seek to collaborate and exchange experiences with similar initiatives. Likewise, it is important to consider how you hook up with the so-called ‘regime', or dominant practice.
.jpg "'Transition research has made a name, but not yet a school'")
'Transition research has made a name, but not yet a school'
‘This book is unique because different kinds of expertise are brought together. This is also the strength of the transition perspective: to make visible an array of aspects visible, in their mutual coherency. There is little attention in science for transitions as layered, interrelated processes of transformation. As a researcher you have to be a jack of multiple trades, which most researchers are not. To the extent that transition research has made a name, it has not become a school thus far. Universities tend to be organizations of specialists, specialized within their own specialism. The end result is partial understanding, of which we have too much.'
Transitions to Sustainable Development
This recent study, published by Routledge, presents and combines three perspectives on transitions to a sustainable society: complexity theory, inn
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