The politics of accelerating low-carbon transitions:Towards a new research agenda

Roberts, Cameron, Geels, Frank W, Lockwood, Matthew, Newell, Peter, Schmitz, Hubert, Turnheim, Bruno and Jordan, Andy (2018) The politics of accelerating low-carbon transitions:Towards a new research agenda. Energy Research & Social Science, 44. pp. 304-311. ISSN 2214-6296

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Abstract

Meeting the climate change targets in the Paris Agreement implies a substantial and rapid acceleration of low-carbon transitions. Combining insights from political science, policy analysis and socio-technical transition studies, this paper addresses the politics of deliberate acceleration by taking stock of emerging examples, mobilizing relevant theoretical approaches, and articulating a new research agenda. Going beyond routine appeals for more ‘political will’, it organises ideas and examples under three themes: 1) the role of coalitions in supporting and hindering acceleration; 2) the role of feedbacks, through which policies may shape actor preferences which, in turn, create stronger policies; and 3) the role of broader contexts (political economies, institutions, cultural norms, and technical systems) in creating more (or less) favourable conditions for deliberate acceleration. We discuss the importance of each theme, briefly review previous research and articulate new research questions. Our concluding section discusses the current and potential future relationship between transitions theory and political science.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	socio-technical transitions,political science,temporality,accelerated transitions,coalitions,policy feedback,context dependency,sdg 13 - climate action ,/dk/atira/pure/sustainabledevelopmentgoals/climate_action
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Science > School of Environmental Sciences University of East Anglia Research Groups/Centres > Theme - ClimateUEA
UEA Research Groups:	University of East Anglia Schools > Faculty of Science > Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research Faculty of Science > Research Centres > Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research
Depositing User:	LivePure Connector
Date Deposited:	12 Sep 2018 10:31
Last Modified:	28 Mar 2025 08:53
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/68242
DOI:	10.1016/j.erss.2018.06.001

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