Transition pathways to a low carbon economy: Linking governance patterns and assessment methodologies

This paper describes work being undertaken as part of an interdisciplinary project on transition pathways to a low carbon economy, bringing together insights from engineers, social scientists and policy analysts. The project is examining the plausibility of different transition pathways for a low carbon energy system in the UK, under different governance patterns, in relation to both centralised and decentralised systems for meeting energy service demands. It uses a conceptual and analytical framework combining the multi-level transitions perspective of landscape, regime and niche levels, with more detailed analysis of the technological feasibility and social acceptability of the pathways. The research uses an interpretative frame based on an „action space‟ of governance patterns relating to the mix and balance of actions led by three sets of actors in central government, in liberalized markets and in civil society. In order to evaluate these pathways, the project team is employing a „toolkit‟ of techniques to explore and evaluate specific implications of the selected transition pathways to a highly electric, low carbon economy. These aim: to provide a transparent sustainability appraisal framework (economic, social, environmental and technical benefits) for the transition pathways; to explore and evaluate the „whole system‟ implications of the selected transition pathways. This paper highlights how these assessment tools will be used to explore the implications of different governance patterns in relation to the transition pathways.