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

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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 and 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
Keywords: Socio-technical transitions, political science, temporality, accelerated transitions, coalitions, policy feedback, context dependency.
Schools and Departments: School of Global Studies > International Relations
School of Business, Management and Economics > SPRU - Science Policy Research Unit
Research Centres and Groups: Centre for Global Political Economy
Subjects: J Political Science > JA Political science (General)
Depositing User: Peter Newell
Date Deposited: 01 Jun 2018 11:56
Last Modified: 27 Jun 2018 15:00
URI: http://srodev.sussex.ac.uk/id/eprint/76278

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