Online Conference
December 7-9, 2021
Problems and Solutions for Decarbonisation and Energy Transition: a Cross-National Dialogue
December 7-9, 2021 via Zoom
Time Zones
Aus. = Australian Eastern Daylight Time
India = Indian Standard Time
Germany = Central European Time
US = Mountain Time
This Conference brings together the latest research on energy transitions from across several countries. It involves institutes, researchers and key participants in the process of energy transition, to learn from experience and to reflect on obstacles and possibilities.
It is focused on the following five themes:
- Socio-technical innovation, institutional change and the transition;
- Narratives of transition: technological versus behavioural, centralised versus decentralised, market mechanisms versus direct intervention;
- Models for transition: regulatory, community and business;
- Putting people at centre of energy transition: communities, workers, Indigenous Peoples;
- Visions for transition – energy justice, energy commons, energy democracy.
Organised by
- The Climate Justice Research Centre at the University of Technology Sydney;
- The Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (Potsdam);
- The Climate and Energy Policy Research Lab at the Indian Institute of Technology (Kanpur) and;
- Global Institute of Sustainability and Innovation (Phoenix).
Funded by The Australian Research Council
Through both the:
- ‘Future Fellow’ project
Society and climate change: A social analysis of disruptive technology and the; - ‘Discovery’ project
Decarbonising Electricity: A Comparison in Socio-Ecological Relations.
The Conference will gather papers for a Special Issue of the Journal of Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions.
Program
Download the Full Program (PDF ~375kb)
Aus. = Australian Eastern Daylight Time
India = Indian Standard Time
Germany = Central European Time
US = Mountain Time
1: Welcome + Implications of the Glasgow COP for Global Energy Transition
India (IST): Dec. 7, 10:30am-12:30pm
Germany (CET): Dec. 7, 6-8am
US (MT): Dec 6, 10-12pm
Chair: Devleena Ghosh (UTS)
Paper: Patrick Bond (University of Johannesburg)
Panel: Dominic Boyer (Rice University); Cymene Howe (Rice University); Aarti Khosla (Climate Trends / Carbon Copy, India); Sven Teske (Institute for Sustainable Futures); Nicky Ison (World Wildlife Fund)
Organised by the Climate Justice Research Centre, University of Technology Sydney, Australia.
2: COP26 and India’s Energy Transition?
India (IST): Dec. 7, 1-3pm
Germany (CET): Dec. 7, 8:30-10:30am
US (MT): Dec. 7, 12:30- 2:30am
Chair: Pradip Swarnakar (IIT)
Panel: Kalyani Raj (All India Women’s Conference); Vinuta Gopal (ASAR Social Impact); Nitin Sethi (Reporters’ Collective); Kashish Shah (Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis)
Organised by the Climate and Energy Policy Research Lab, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, India.
3: Social benefits of transition - US perspectives
India (IST): Dec. 7, 9-11pm
Germany (CET): Dec. 7, 4:30- 6:30pm
US (MT): Dec. 7, 8:30-10:30am
Chair: Sander Van Der Leeuw
Panel: Clark Miller, Sonja Klinsky, Lauren Withycombe Keeler (all at the College of Global Futures, Arizona State University), Elizabeth Monoian and Robert Ferry (Land Art Generator.
Organised by Global Institute of Sustainability and Innovation, Arizona State University, USA.
4: Community Power and Community Energy?
India (IST): Dec. 8, 7- 9am
Germany (CET): Dec. 7, 2:30- 4:30am
US (MT): Dec. 7, 6:30-8:30pm
Chair: Linda Connor (University of Sydney)
Panel: Jarra Hicks (Community Power Agency); Gopal Sarangi (The Energy Research Institute); Heidi Norman (UTS); Jon Marshall (UTS); Stuart Rosewarne (University of Sydney)
Organised by the Climate Justice Research Centre, University of Technology Sydney, Australia.
5: Just Transitions, beyond fossil fuels
India (IST): Dec. 8, 9:30am-11:30am
Germany (CET): Dec. 8, 5-7am
US (MT): Dec. 7, 9-11pm
Chair: Gareth Bryant, University of Sydney
Panel: Srestha Banerjee (iForest), Ashwini Swain (CPR), Chris Briggs (ISF), Pradip Swarnakar (IIT), Warwick Jordan (Hunter Jobs Alliance), Souvik Bhattacharya (TERI).
Organised by the Climate and Energy Policy Research Lab, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, India.
6: Transition from Coal and Populism
India (IST): Dec. 8, 2:30-4:30pm
Germany (CET): Dec 8, 10am to noon
US (MT): Dec. 7, 2- 4am
Chair: Gareth Bryant, University of Sydney
Panel: Srestha Banerjee (iForest), Ashwini Swain (CPR), Chris Briggs (ISF), Pradip Swarnakar (IIT), Warwick Jordan (Hunter Jobs Alliance), Souvik Bhattacharya (TERI).
Organised by the Climate and Energy Policy Research Lab, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, India.
7: Anchors of Identity: The Search For Meaning in Times of Transformations
Aus. (AEDT): Dec. 8, 10.30pm- midnight
India (IST): Dec 8, 5.00pm- 6.30pm
Germany (CET): Dec 8, 12.30 -2.00pm
US (MT): Dec. 7, 4:30- 6:00am
Chair: Linda Connor
Paper: Ortwin Renn (IASS)
Discussant: Katja Muller (Martin-Luther U/IASS) and Jon Marshall (UTS)
Organised by the Institute of Advanced Sustainability Studies, Potsdam, Germany.
8: Generating Legitimacy for Renewable Energy
India (IST): Dec. 8, 8:30pm-10:30pm
Germany (CET): Dec. 8, 4- 6pm
US (MT): Dec. 8, 8-10am
Chair: Katja Müller (Martin-Luther U)
Panel: Mareike Pampus (Martin-Luther U), Marco Sonnberger (U Stuttgart, tbc), Dominic Boyer (Rice U), (M-L U), Valentin Leschinger and Florian Müller, Cymene Howe (Rice U).
Organised by the Institute of Advanced Sustainability Studies, Potsdam, Germany.
9: Indigenous Peoples, Climate Justice and Energy
India (IST): Dec. 9, 1:30-3:30am
Germany (CET): Dec. 8, 9-11pm
US (MT): Dec. 8, 1-3pm
Chair: Gary Dirks
Panel: Paloma Mohammed Martin, (Vice Chancellor, University of Guyana), Ka’eo Duarte (Kamehameha Schools, Hawai’i), Melissa Nelson (College of Global Futures, Arizona State U), Chéri Smith, Founder & CEO at Indigenized Energy Initiative.
Organised by Global Institute of Sustainability and Innovation, Arizona State University, USA.
Community Energy Workshop
Aus. (AEDT): Dec 9, 11:00am-3:30pm
India (IST): Dec. 9, 5:30am-10am
Germany (CET): Dec 9, 1:00am-5:30am
US (MT): Dec 8, 5:00pm-9:30pm
Presentations from: Pingala, Clean Energy For Eternity, Energise Gloucester, Geni Energy, Enova Energy Australia, Community Power Agency, RE-Alliance, Cities Power Partnership, and more tba.
Organised by the Climate Justice Research Centre, University of Technology Sydney, Australia.
Refer to separate program (PDF ~105kb).
10: Planning and Participation in Transitions, Substate to Global
India (IST): Dec. 9, 10:30- 12:30pm
Germany (CET): Dec. 9, 6- 8am
US (MT): Dec. 8, 10- 12 midnight
Chair: Tom Morton
Panel: Sven Teske (ISF), Katja Muller (IASS), Tom Morton (Martin-Luther U); Devleena Ghosh (UTS) and Gareth Bryant (USyd); Linda Connor (USyd) and Lisa Lumsden (UTS); Franziska Mey (IASS)
Organised by the Climate Justice Research Centre, University of Technology Sydney, Australia.
Download the Full Program (PDF ~375kb)
Participants
The conference aims to involve a range of academic researchers and non-academic participants who are engaged with energy transitions, across contrasting contexts. The conference aims to pool knowledge and come to a better understanding of the social dynamics of decarbonisation, and its problems and solutions.
Hosted in
- Germany (IASS)
- India (IIT Kanpur)
- Australia (CJRC)
- United States (Arizona State University)
Rationale
Decarbonisation, the lowering of greenhouse gas emissions, and energy transition are among the most important social and technical challenges that humanity currently faces. These challenges mainly arise due to the increasing pressures of climate change, which is largely caused by GHG emissions, most of which arise from the burning of fossil fuels.
However, human problems exist in a social context and the difficulties of transition are not purely technical but are dramatically increased by social factors and processes. ‘Modern’ industrial/post-industrial society has been supported by cheap easily available fossil fuel energy. The social system has encouraged the dumping of pollution, including greenhouse gases, without much care for the ecological consequences. Economic and power structures have grown together with the social formations fashioned around this organisation and use of technology, and those structures appear to resist change, both conceptually and in terms of action; they may even resist recognition of problems.
While change is happening, it is possible to question is whether the change is happening fast enough, or if it is slowing real solutions and the development and use of new technologies. Similarly, old habits may remain, as when corporations install renewable energy in ways that have harmful consequences, even if those consequences are less deleterious than those that come with fossil fuels.
In addition, different narratives about the transition compete for local, national and international recognition. The technocratic narrative assumes that the transition can be managed by technological innovation and replacement of fossil fuel by green alternatives. The behavioural narrative is based on the assumption that lifestyles need to be drastically changed to accommodate the need for less energy and material consumption. Furthermore, some narratives emphasize the need for decentralized locally adapted solutions while others design centralized, global solutions. Finally, there is a debate whether changes can be implemented by market incentives (such as cap and trade) or by direct policy interventions such as setting deadlines for phasing-out coal or prohibiting combustion engines for cars. It is important to investigate how these choices embedded in different narratives impact local communities and in particular social justice and fairness.
This conference aims to specify the problems of transition with greater precision so they may be overcome, and investigate the modes of change in action, the inhibitions to change, possible solutions (from community energy to degrowth) and to gain greater understanding of examples of failed transitions as well as successful ones. Due to the interactions of so many factors: social, ecological, technological, economic, philosophical etc., unintended consequences are likely to arise and disrupt attempts at organised change and may need to be factored-in.
The conference aims to explore the following kinds of questions:
- What are the processes by which renewable energy and other forms of decarbonisation gain the widest possible sense of social, political and economic ‘legitimacy’ and how is that legitimacy undermined?
- In what ways do legitimacy processes work in different social contexts?
- Which of the present narratives have the power to be convincing for whom and what impacts can we expect from each with respect to effectiveness, efficiency, resilience and social justice?
- What new forms of social organisation or action, help the change?
- What are the new conceptions which help change and make that change appear imperative?
- What policies or actions can be recommended for different ‘levels’ of society to help the change?
- What are the specific factors inhibiting change and how can they be overcome?
- How does technology of transformation interact with other social dynamics?
- How does technology of transformation interact with other social dynamics?
This list of questions is not intended to be exhaustive: any account which considers the social dynamics of transition under climate change is welcome.
Contact Us
Podcast: Solar Power Contestation in India
What does renewable energy look like for communities at the frontlines of the transition? In this podcast released via The Conversation, accompanied by a journal article in Globalizations, and policy report, we explore this question through the case of one of India’s, and the world’s, biggest solar parks.
Credits
Narrated by Prof Devleena Ghosh, University of Technology Sydney. Produced by Jake Morcom audio producer for the ABC, Guardian Australia, Radio National, Southern Cross Austereo and more. He was series producer for Guardian Australia's five-part series called 'Australia v the Climate' during the '21 Glasgow COP.