Transforming innovation for decarbonisation? Insights from combining complex systems and social practice perspectives

Nicola Labanca*, Ângela Guimarães Pereira, Matt Watson, Kristian Krieger, Dario Padovan, Laura Watts, Mithra Moezzi, Grégoire Wallenborn, Rebecca Wright, Erik Laes, Brian D. Fath, Franco Ruzzenenti, Tine De Moor, Thomas Bauwens, Lyla Mehta

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalShort surveypeer-review

    41 Citations (Scopus)
    62 Downloads (Pure)

    Abstract

    Technological innovations seem to be among the great promises for achieving the urgent modernisation of economies towards carbon-neutrality. Ranging from fusion energy, bio-based fuels, carbon capture and storage to PV panels and so-called smart energy systems, plenty of technologies promise to reduce use or greenhouse gas emissions of carbon based energy sources. This techno-centric view disregards to a great extent that technological change affects and is affected by societal practices and norms. The present paper argues that contemporary methodological approaches informed by complex systems and social practices theories provide urgently needed insights into innovation for decarbonisation. It specifically addresses the following questions: Why are current conceptualisations of innovation narrowly framed and with what consequences? How would a framing of innovation grounded on complex systems and social practice theories improve the understanding of opportunities and challenges at stake with innovation for decarbonisation? How could this framing help uncover and deploy an important and still often neglected social innovation potential? In a nutshell, the authors advocate for research and policy agendas that are firmly grounded in social practices and take complex and dynamic interactions of energy supply and demand as departing point to seriously reflect about the transitions that are put before us.

    Original languageEnglish
    Article number101452
    Number of pages9
    JournalEnergy Research and Social Science
    Volume65
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Jul-2020

    Keywords

    • Complex systems
    • Decarbonisation
    • Energy sustainability
    • Energy transition
    • Social innovation
    • Social practices

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