Week 2: just transitions; online lecture and pre-reading

Question 1

Wha do socio-technical system consist off?

Lecture

Answer 1

-technologies
-markets
-user practises
-cultural meanings
-infrastructures
-policies
-industry structures,
-supply and distribution chains

Question 2

A transition is a change of X , X and X within a system.

Lecture

Answer 2

• practises: rules, routines and habits
• Culture: *prevailing perspectives and values *
• Strucutres: institutional and physical setting

Question 3

What is a regime change?

Lecture

Answer 3

Radical, structural changes of societal (sub)systems:

Question 4

What are the characteristics of a sustainability transition?

Lecture

Answer 4

• Long term process
• Multidimensional *(changes in whole value chains, infrastructure, culture) *
  knowledge and politics
• Highly contested
• normative directionalty (values influence direction)
• Diverse actors
• complex, open-ended, uncertain

Question 5

What can drive transitions ?

Lecture

Answer 5

• Social pressure
• Consumer behaviour
• Geopolitics
• Climate
• Technology
• Economy and markets

Question 6

What does the multilevel perspective of transitions framework say how transitions emerge?

Lecture

Answer 6

1. transitions start with niche innovations (entrepreneurs, start-ups, etc)
2. these then have to interact with already established socio-technical pachwork of regimes
3. Which make up the landscape (: long-term trends such as demographics, political ideologies, shocks )

> main message is that transitions emerge from niche innovations

Question 7

What What does the multphase perspective of transitions framework say how transitions emerge?

Lecture

Answer 7

1) Pre- development: changes start at the individual level
2) Take-off: process of change starts to build up
3) Acceleration: rapid structural changes occur at all levels
4) Stabilization: new ‘normal’ is reached.

breakdown: when a transition fails to accelerate due to lack of resources.
lock-in: makes it difficult for changes to occur

Question 8

What is the historical background of the term “just transition”?

Lecture

Answer 8

1980s : Trade unions, groups that protect workers’ rights. > These unions realized that while it’s important to protect the environment, it’s also essential to protect workers in fossil fuel industries. They used “just transition” to argue for fair policies that would create new, green jobs as old industries declined.

Question 9

How does the article (Just transition: Integrating climate, energy and environmental justice. Energy Policy, by Bennett et al) propose combining different types of justice?

Answer 9

Three types of justice: distributional, procedural, and restorative justice

Question 10

What is distributional justice ?

Give an example

Answer 10

• Ensuring the benefits (like job opportunities and clean air) and the burdens (like pollution and job loss) of energy production are shared fairly.

**example: **Right now, communities near coal plants often suffer more pollution, while wealthier areas enjoy the energy without the downsides.

Question 11

What is procedural justice ?

Give an example.

Answer 11

Procedural justice is about making sure that people have a real say in decisions that affect them.

Many energy decisions are made by big companies or governments without much input from local communities, especially poorer or minority groups.

Question 12

What is restorative justice?

Give an Example

Answer 12

Restorative justice focuses on** fixing or making up for past harm**

Fossil fuel industries have caused pollution and health problems, especially in low-income areas. Restorative justice would mean repairing these harms, like cleaning up polluted areas and helping people who’ve been affected by poor health due to pollution.

Question 13

What are the main challenges in a just energy transition

Answer 13

• trade-off: avoiding energy poverty but don’t increase the environmental impacts
• Fossil fuels are related to conflict war and human rights violations
• Private sector has a major power in the energy sector

Question 14

How do neoliberal policies affect the energy transition?

Answer 14

Neoliberal policies, which prioritize free-market and corporate interests, often favor big companies rather than local communities. For example, large corporations may receive subsidies or special deals, while local people bear the costs of pollution. This makes it harder to achieve justice during the transition since policies often focus on profit rather than people’s wellbeing.