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New challenges of sustainable energy transformations? Ambiguity, contingency, and politics (Section Number S46)
Section-Chairs: Cornelia Fraune/Michèle Knodt (Universität Darmstadt, Germany)
We call for Papers analyzing challenges of sustainable energy transformations as well as the impact of these challenges on sustainable energy transformation processes. The overarching aim of the Section is for all Panels to draw together conceptual expertise and rigorous empirical analysis in order to explore if and how changes of the socio-institutional environment affect sustainable energy transformation processes or if and why these processes are resilient. Please find a detailed description of the section’s panels below.
For more information about the section as well as about paper submission please visit:
https://ecpr.eu/Events/
The deadline for the call for papers is February 15, 2018.
Panel “Climate and energy policy revisions in Europe”
Chairs: Merethe Dotterud Leiren, CICERO Center for International Climate Research, Norway/Sebastian Oberthür, Institute for European Studies, Belgium
Extensive revisions of EU climate and energy policy is going on. To what extent has the Paris agreement influenced such EU revisions? What are the effects on the development of national renewable energy policies embedded in a European order? How does policy development at the global and European level affect national policies in different or similar ways?
Panel “Energy transition(s) in the countries of central and eastern Europe”
Chair: Filip Černoch, Masaryk University, Czech Republic
The environmental goals of the European Union reflect the growing consensus on the necessity to limit the energy usage of coal, oil, and natural gas in order to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases significantly. In this panel the case studies of energy sector transformation processes from the CEE region are provided, shedding some light on how the low-carbon technologies breaks through to the conventional energy systems, changing the way the energy is handled in this area.
Panel “Sustaining and entrenching energy transitions. The challenge of sector coupling and sector integration”
Chair: Jörg Kemmerzell, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Germany
Sector coupling (i.e. interconnection of electricity, heat, and transport & mobility) represents a specifically intricate challenge for the prospective governance of energy transitions. Sector coupling causes specific problems of sectoral integration, since it requires the conjunction of different policy arenas constituted by different actors, institutions and logics. The panel invites empirical case studies and comparative analyses that describe the various ways of dealing with the challenge and provide an insight into both country-specific and general perspectives on the issue.
Panel “Political and social divisions over the energy issue”
Chairs: Lorenz Kammermann, Eawag, Switzerland/Clau Dermont, University of Bern, Switzerland
Political parties, interest groups as well as ordinary citizens play a central role in regulating and implementing more sustainable energy production and consumption. We are interested in factors that drive these actors’ attitudes towards the transformation of the energy system. We welcome contributions that illustrate (e.g.) the effects of beliefs and values, party heuristics, regional and social affiliations on policy-making and implementation and/or how they vary among actors.
Panel “The social acceptance of energy and climate policy: cultural and economic explanations”
Chairs: Tomas Maltby, King’s College London, United Kingdom/ Kacper Szulecki, University of Oslo, Norway
The objective of this panel is to bring together research that explains the role that social acceptance (and the lack of) plays in facilitating/undermining energy transitions, including work conceptualising the link between populism and climate scepticism and exploring the role that scientific experts have on public opinion towards climate and energy policy.
Panel „Energy transition and the social question: Conflicts, participation and populist forces. Does the idea of sustainability threaten to be lost in the whirlpool of events?“
Chairs: Jörg Radtke, University of Siegen, Germany/ Stefan Wurster, Technical University Munich, Germany
While the solution of the climate change problem is urgently required, the energy transition in some welfare nations is being put under increasing pressure by social, political and economic counter-movements. The planned panel will examine the following questions in more detail: At local level, which examples of concrete conflict situations based on social inequality can be found? At national level, where can we prove that contrary situations lead to standstill and paralysis? At international/regional level, where can we point out that international and supranational efforts are failing?