A core aim of hosting IST 2019 in North America is to bring sustainability transitions studies to a wider audience and to encourage fruitful dialogue with broader communities of sustainability research and practice. In order to facilitate this, the organizing committee has developed the following reading list to help IST delegates familiarize themselves with prominent perspectives on sustainability transitions.
This is not an exhaustive list and is only meant as a small entry point into a rich literature. Please consider taking advantage of this resource in order to help promote shared understanding and productive discussion at the event. Presenters, in particular, are encouraged to demonstrate the relevance of their work for the core approaches, ideas, and debates surrounding the field of sustainability transitions.
What are sustainability transitions and why are they ‘socio-technical’?
- Geels, F.W., Sovacool, B.K., Schwanen, T., Sorrell, S., 2017. The Socio-Technical Dynamics of Low-Carbon Transitions. Joule 1, 463–479.
What are the key perspectives used to study sustainability transitions?
- Markard, J., Raven, R., Truffer, B., 2012. Sustainability transitions: an emerging field of research and its prospects. Research Policy 41, 955–967.
- Fuenfschilling, L. Multi-level perspective. IST 2019 NEST Session.
- Truffer, B. Introduction to technological innovation systems research. IST 2019 NEST Session.
- Kern, F. (2019) Transitions governance: A ‘crash course’. IST 2019 NEST Session.
How might sustainability transitions be accelerated?
- Kern, F., Rogge, K.S., 2016. The pace of governed energy transitions: Agency, international dynamics and the global Paris agreement accelerating decarbonisation processes? Energy Research & Social Science 22, 13–17.
What are the key research strands and directions in this field of study?
- Köhler, J., Geels, F.W., Kern, F., Markard, J., Wieczorek, A., Alkemade, F., Avelino, F., Bergek, A., Boons, F., Fünfschilling, L., Hess, D., Holtz, G., Hyysalo, S., Jenkins, K., Kivimaa, P., Martiskainen, M., McMeekin, A., Mühlemeier, M.S., Nykvist, B., Onsongo, E., Pel, B., Raven, R., Rohracher, H., Sandén, B., Schot, J., Sovacool, B., Turnheim, B., Welch, D., Wells, P., 2019. An agenda for sustainability transitions research: State of the art and future directions. Sustainability Transitions Research Network.
What about transitions from a Canadian perspective?
- Meadowcroft, J., 2016. Let’s get this transition moving! Canadian Public Policy 42, S10–S17.