Professor of Economics and Policy of Technological Innovation
Accelerating the energy transition, a systems view including the role of social processes
9:00 – 10:00
Abstract
Staying within a maximum global warming of 1.5 degrees requires an acceleration of the transition to a low-carbon society. Current theory views such sustainability transitions as inevitably slow, as they require interdependent changes throughout socio-technical systems. The observation that energy transition scenarios systematically underestimate the diffusion of key technologies challenges this view.
Existing models that form the basis for energy transition scenarios do not include the positive feedbacks resulting from the interactions between civil society and energy transitions. Yet these interactions have been identified as important drivers and barriers of energy transitions and as crucial in triggering the social tipping dynamics that can accelerate the energy transition. Social tipping dynamics in energy transitions occur when a small change or intervention has a large effect on emission reductions. In the lecture, I will discuss the potential of social tipping to accelerate the energy transition.
Bio Floor Alkemade
Floor Alkemade is Professor of Economics and Policy of Technological Innovation at Eindhoven University of Technology. Together with her research group, she researches the energy transition from a socio-technical systems perspective. Floor has an MSc in Artificial Intelligence and previously worked at Utrecht University and the Centre for Mathematics and Computer Science.