Article
Environmental Sciences
Peter J. Newell, Frank W. Geels, Benjamin K. Sovacool
Summary: This Perspective argues that research on just transitions and energy justice needs to pay more attention to the trade-offs arising from the speed and acceleration of low-carbon transitions. The authors identify two important tensions for policymakers: participatory processes may increase justice but slow down action, and incumbent mobilization can accelerate transitions but entrench injustices. They suggest that acknowledging trade-offs and winners and losers as a first step is crucial for navigating these processes more effectively.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2022)
Article
Sociology
Marie Moran, Eoin Flaherty
Summary: This article discusses the value of the concept of "financial elite" in analyzing inequalities of income, wealth, and power under financial capitalism, and proposes a new concept that emphasizes the financial elite's high income primarily derived from the institutional structures of financialization.
CRITICAL SOCIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Stefan Bouzarovski, Dimitris Damigos, Zoltan Kmetty, Neil Simcock, Caitlin Robinson, Majd Jayyousi, Ami Crowther
Summary: This paper highlights the use of Living Labs as tools for delivering low carbon transformations. Living Labs are stakeholder-centered ecosystems that encourage co-creation and engagement among different actors. Through a pan-European action research study, three Living Labs were established in different European locations, where low-carbon interventions were implemented and the impacts on energy poverty were monitored. The results of these activities are presented and discussed to uncover the effects of Living Labs on energy equity before and during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Xing Yao, Ying Fan, Fan Zhao, Shao-Chao Ma
Summary: This paper explores the role of electric vehicles in reducing economic costs and carbon emissions of the power system, as well as increasing the integration of renewable energy. By constructing a multi-regional power dispatch and expansion model, the study shows that implementing V2G can reduce total costs, carbon emissions, and increase the proportion of wind and photovoltaic power generation by 2030 in China.
JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Harm A. R. M. van den Heiligenberg, Gaston J. Heimeriks, Marko P. Hekkert, Rob P. J. M. Raven
Summary: The transfer of sustainability innovations requires consideration of local and regional conditions, with technological innovations being more easily diffused globally than social innovations. The transfer of innovations often involves translation rather than replication, and local cultural and institutional contexts play a significant role in enabling this transfer.
ENVIRONMENTAL INNOVATION AND SOCIETAL TRANSITIONS
(2022)
Article
Development Studies
Aasim Sajiad Akhtar, Ammar Rashid
Summary: Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, is a rapidly growing city where the majority of residents are laboring poor, including many migrants from rural and war-torn regions living in informal settlements. In recent years, there has been an increase in violent demolitions of these settlements to make way for financial assets like gated housing schemes. Islamabad exemplifies the contemporary processes of urbanization seen across both the Global North and South, with a 'militarised developer state' exacerbating urban land inequality and leading to the construction and destruction of informal settlements housing the working-class population.
THIRD WORLD QUARTERLY
(2021)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Jingliang Jin, Qinglan Wen, Siqi Cheng, Yaru Qiu, Xianyue Zhang, Xiaojun Guo
Summary: This paper discusses the low-carbon power dispatching problem in wind power integrated systems with carbon trading. It proposes a distributed robust optimization model and explores wind power characterization and allocation methods for carbon emission rights. The empirical analysis shows that wind power integration and carbon trading can effectively reduce carbon emissions and operating costs.
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Haein Kim, Tae Yong Jung
Summary: Under the increasing pressure for low carbon energy transitions in Northeast Asia, interconnecting local power grids for interstate power trade allows for shared reserve capacity and redistribution of intermittent renewable energy, contributing to regional sustainability.
RENEWABLE & SUSTAINABLE ENERGY REVIEWS
(2023)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Jingliang Jin, Qinglan Wen, Liya Zhao, Chaoyang Zhou, Xiaojun Guo
Summary: This paper introduces wind power integration and carbon reduction cooperation as low-carbon approaches in the current power dispatching process. A low-carbon power dispatch model for wind power integrated system with carbon reduction cooperation is proposed. Methods related to wind speed prediction, optimization algorithm, and efficiency evaluation are discussed. Empirical analysis shows the superiority of the ARIMA-NARX model for wind speed prediction, the better optimization effect of GA-PSO compared to GA and PSO, and the facilitation of the two low-carbon approaches in achieving system carbon reduction targets with good environmental performance of power dispatch.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Jingliang Jin, Qinglan Wen, Yaru Qiu, Siqi Cheng, Xiaojun Guo
Summary: By considering robustness, economy, and environment, this paper presents a distributed robust optimization model to address the uncertainties of wind power and carbon reduction modes in low-carbon power dispatch. Empirical analysis demonstrates the effectiveness and practicality of the proposed model.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Els Beukers, Luca Bertolini
Summary: Urban experimentation is increasingly used as a tool for urban development to address societal challenges in cities. However, there is a lack of clear learning and reflection in the practice of urban experimentation, leaving room for improvement.
ENVIRONMENTAL INNOVATION AND SOCIETAL TRANSITIONS
(2021)
Review
Psychology, Multidisciplinary
Kenzo Nera, Paul Bertin, Olivier Klein
Summary: Conspiracy theories are not restricted to the beliefs of the relatively powerless, as they can also be promoted by powerful groups to target the powerless. These theories always attribute power to the alleged conspiring parties.
CURRENT OPINION IN PSYCHOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Sergio Tirado-Herrero, Sara Fuller
Summary: Socio-technical transitions have been receiving attention, but concerns have been raised about elitist characteristics in low-carbon transitions. Recent calls to 'decentre' transitions focus on social and spatial dynamics in peripheral areas. Transitioning from the peripheries offers opportunities for low-carbon innovation and deep structural transformations, but also poses risks of creating new core-periphery dependencies and reinforcing elite power.
ENVIRONMENTAL INNOVATION AND SOCIETAL TRANSITIONS
(2021)
Article
Environmental Studies
Thomas Wainwright, Pelin Demirel
Summary: This paper focuses on the role of carbon in real estate finance, particularly in the UK build-to-rent sector. The study finds that global initiatives and pressure from institutional investors are driving developers to adopt low carbon building materials and designs. The paper highlights the diversity of financialization's logics, emphasizing the presence of a carbon logic, and examines how carbon attributes are incorporated into existing asset classes.
ENVIRONMENT AND PLANNING A-ECONOMY AND SPACE
(2023)
Article
Environmental Studies
Lipon Mondal
Summary: This paper explores the history of land expropriation in urban Bangladesh and analyzes how the state and market pursue their class interests, seize land through extra-economic means, and vary in actors, strategies, and purposes of land expropriation under different political regimes. The study shows that state and market actors in different political regimes use extra-economic means to accumulate land, contributing to the development of capitalism.
Review
Psychology, Biological
Benjamin K. Sovacool, Peter Newell, Sanya Carley, Jessica Fanzo
Summary: This review examines the impact of low-carbon technological and behavioral innovations on inequality and discusses how to ensure a sustainable and equitable low-carbon future.
NATURE HUMAN BEHAVIOUR
(2022)
Article
Economics
Benjamin K. Sovacool, Max Lacey Barnacle, Adrian Smith, Marie Claire Brisbois
Summary: This study investigates the inequities associated with household solar adoption, utilizing a mixed methods research design and a novel framework. It aims to make solar energy adoption more sustainable and just, with implications for solar business practices and energy and climate policy.
Article
Economics
Lucy Baker
Summary: Although off-grid solar power has grown rapidly in recent years, ten percent of the world's population, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa, still lacks access to electricity. Standalone solar home systems using pay as you go (PAYGO) mobile money have been proposed as a solution to achieving universal access to energy. This study examines how off-grid solar electricity in sub-Saharan Africa is transformed into a financial asset and a means for consumer debt through the use of PAYGO systems.
NEW POLITICAL ECONOMY
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Benjamin K. Sovacool, Chad M. Baum, Sean Low
Summary: Negative emissions technologies and solar radiation management techniques are increasingly seen as crucial complements to traditional climate change mitigation and adaptation. Some options, such as afforestation and reforestation, ecosystem restoration, and soil carbon sequestration, are seen as necessary, feasible, and affordable, with minimal risks and barriers. However, other options, such as ocean alkalization or fertilization, space-based reflectors, high-altitude sunshades, and albedo management via clouds, are seen as unnecessary risky or costly choices.
MITIGATION AND ADAPTATION STRATEGIES FOR GLOBAL CHANGE
(2022)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Benjamin K. Sovacool, Paul Upham, Mari Martiskainen, Kirsten E. H. Jenkins, Gerardo A. Torres A. Contreras, Neil Simcock
Summary: Tens of millions of households in Europe struggle to afford electricity, heating, and transportation, and recent high fuel prices may lead to more winter deaths. This study examines the causes and experiences of energy and transport poverty in the United Kingdom through focus groups and expert interviews. The findings suggest policies such as mandatory landlord energy efficiency upgrades, increased financial assistance to households, cheaper or free bus and train fares, and the expansion of bus services, which are accepted by both experts and the public. The study also proposes redesigning energy and transport systems to align with principles of energy and social justice.
Letter
Psychology, Biological
Ramit Debnath, Sander van der Linden, R. Michael Alvarez, Benjamin K. K. Sovacool
NATURE HUMAN BEHAVIOUR
(2023)
Review
Chemistry, Physical
Benjamin K. Sovacool, Chad M. Baum, Sean Low
Summary: Carbon removal and net-zero energy technologies have gained attention as options for addressing climate change, but there is ongoing debate on how to effectively use them. This review takes an interdisciplinary approach to examine the social and technical aspects of carbon removal options, exploring modeling, social acceptance, innovation, and policy. The implications for policy and research are discussed.
Editorial Material
Energy & Fuels
David Bidwell, Benjamin K. Sovacool
Summary: Diverse attitudes towards community acceptance of energy technologies can create ambiguity in envisioning energy futures. Recognizing the tensions regarding justice perspectives and the level of desired change can enhance the quality of scholarship and policy dialogue.
Article
Environmental Studies
Benjamin K. Sovacool, Shannon Elizabeth Bell, Cara Daggett, Christine Labuski, Myles Lennon, Lindsay Naylor, Julie Klinger, Kelsey Leonard, Jeremy Firestone
Summary: Justice is not only a moral obligation, but it also plays a crucial role in promoting global decarbonization. However, technological innovations can lead to inequalities and environmental degradation. The concept of energy justice addresses these issues by emphasizing moral justness. Existing scholarship often fails to consider gender, Indigeneity, race, and other intersecting inequalities. Feminist, Indigenous, anti-racist, and postcolonial approaches provide important insights to counter theories of justice based on colonial, liberalist, majoritarian, utilitarian, or masculinist assumptions.
ENERGY RESEARCH & SOCIAL SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Environmental Studies
Benjamin K. Sovacool, Chad M. Baum, Roberto Cantoni, Sean Low
Summary: Institutional theory, behavioral science, sociology, and political science all stress the importance of actors in social change. However, little attention has been given to the actors involved in researching, promoting, or deploying negative emissions and solar geoengineering technologies. This study uses expert interviews to empirically explore the types of actors associated with these climate interventions, investigate knowledge networks and patterns of involvement, and assess social acceptance, legitimacy, and governance.
ENVIRONMENTAL POLITICS
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Mari Martiskainen, Debbie Hopkins, Gerardo A. Torres Contreras, Kirsten E. H. Jenkins, Giulio Mattioli, Neil Simcock, Max Lacey-Barnacle
Summary: Experiences of poverty can have multiple impacts on everyday life, such as the simultaneous occurrence of energy poverty and transport poverty, resulting in difficult trade-offs between essential needs. These decisions can vary in space, time, and among household members, leading to significant differences within and between households. Special attention should be paid to vulnerable populations at risk of experiencing double energy vulnerability. This study provides empirical evidence on the lived experiences of double energy vulnerability in the UK, highlighting the interconnected themes of infrastructure, cost, choice, and missed opportunities. Further research, such as examining double energy vulnerability among refugees and migrants, is recommended. Additionally, the study of lived experiences can inform the development of Net Zero policies by considering the intersectionality of different forms of poverty.
GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE-HUMAN AND POLICY DIMENSIONS
(2023)
Article
Urban Studies
Stephen Essex, Federico Caprotti, Jiska de Groot, Jon Phillips, Lucy Baker, Peta Wolpe, Yachika Reddy
Summary: This paper examines the role of government institutions in promoting change and innovation in urban sustainable energy transitions based on the case of South Africa. The study highlights the uneven transitional pathways caused by variations in capability and the continuing conflicting interests within the system.
URBAN RESEARCH & PRACTICE
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Benjamin K. Sovacool, Heike Brugger, Iska Brunzema, Alicja Dankowska, Devon Wemyss, Anne-Lorene Vernay, Regina Betz, Flor Avelino, Tessa de Geus, Agata Dembek, Elisabeth Duetschke, Sabine Hielscher, Marfuga Iskandarova, Leticia Mueller, Joerg Musiolik, Adelie Ranville, Joachim Schleich, Agata Stasik, Marta Struminska-Kutra, Christian Winzer, Julia Wittmayer, Karoline S. Rogge
Summary: Accelerating sustainable and just energy transitions remains a significant challenge, and social innovation plays a crucial role in this process. Through a comprehensive analysis of expert interviews, document analysis, experiments, surveys, and expert surveys, four key findings on social innovation in energy were identified: understanding the diversity of social innovation by recognizing core social practices and changes in social relations, the impact of governance, policy networks, and national context on social innovation dynamics, the critical role of multidimensional power relations in transformative changes, and the strong social acceptance and benefits of social innovation in energy among citizens and local communities. The analysis concludes that in Europe, social innovation in energy is driven by governance in a national context and receives strong acceptance from citizens.
COMMUNICATIONS EARTH & ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Environmental Studies
Lucy Baker
Summary: Utility-scale renewable electricity generation is crucial for decarbonisation and ensuring affordable and secure electricity supplies, but there has been limited critical thinking on the complexities of finance and ownership. Despite the environmental benefits, evidence from some countries suggests that procurement and financing processes have often failed to benefit individuals and communities living in the vicinity.
ENVIRONMENT AND PLANNING E-NATURE AND SPACE
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Hallie Eakin, Nadine Methner, Gina Ziervogel
Summary: There is a growing need to involve private actors in public adaptation in urban systems. Urban administrators have limited control over urban dynamics, and the actions of private actors have a significant influence. A conceptual framework combining cognitive and behavioral theory, institutional analysis, adaptive capacity, and research on urban adaptation governance is used to understand the potential for private provisioning. The case of Cape Town's response to drought illustrates the complex interactions that shape private actors' willingness to engage in public-oriented adaptation.
GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE-HUMAN AND POLICY DIMENSIONS
(2024)