Imagining sustainable energy and mobility transitions : Valence, temporality, and radicalism in 38 visions of a low-carbon future

Based on an extensive synthesis of semi-structured interviews, media content analysis, and reviews, this article conducts a qualitative meta-analysis of more than 560 sources of evidence to identify 38 visions associated with seven different low-carbon innovations - automated mobility, electric vehicles, smart meters, nuclear power, shale gas, hydrogen, and the fossil fuel divestment movement - playing a key role in current deliberations about mobility or low-carbon energy supply and use. From this material, it analyzes such visions based on rhetorical features such as common problems and functions, storylines, discursive struggles, and rhetorical effectiveness. It also analyzes visions based on typologies or degrees of valence (utopian vs. dystopian), temporality (proximal vs. distant), and radicalism (incremental vs. transformative). The article is motivated by the premise that tackling climate change via low-carbon energy systems (and practices) is one of the most significant challenges of the twenty-first century, and that effective decarbonization will require not only new energy technologies, but also new ways of understanding language, visions, and discursive politics surrounding emerging innovations and transitions.

Medienart:

E-Artikel

Erscheinungsjahr:

2020

Erschienen:

2020

Enthalten in:

Zur Gesamtaufnahme - volume:50

Enthalten in:

Social studies of science - 50(2020), 4 vom: 02. Aug., Seite 642-679

Sprache:

Englisch

Beteiligte Personen:

Sovacool, Benjamin K [VerfasserIn]
Bergman, Noam [VerfasserIn]
Hopkins, Debbie [VerfasserIn]
Jenkins, Kirsten Eh [VerfasserIn]
Hielscher, Sabine [VerfasserIn]
Goldthau, Andreas [VerfasserIn]
Brossmann, Brent [VerfasserIn]

Links:

Volltext

Themen:

7440-44-0
Carbon
Energy discourse
Fossil Fuels
Futures
Imaginaries
Journal Article
Meta-Analysis
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Sociotechnical transitions
Visions

Anmerkungen:

Date Completed 20.04.2022

Date Revised 20.04.2022

published: Print-Electronic

Citation Status MEDLINE

doi:

10.1177/0306312720915283

funding:

Förderinstitution / Projekttitel:

PPN (Katalog-ID):

NLM309589606