An Energetic Odyssey

Understanding ‘Techniques of Futuring’ in the transition towards renewable energy

Bibliographic Data

ID13067775
AuthorsMaarten A Hajer (0000-0001-9212-645X, Utrecht University, corresponding author), Peter Pelzer (0000-0002-8618-5469, Utrecht University)
Year2018
Volume44
Pages222-231
Publication date2018-05-24
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueEnergy Research & Social Science (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2214-6296 • E-ISSN: 2214-6326
PublisherElsevier BV (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1016/j.erss.2018.01.013
OpenAlexW2804572912
LanguageEN
Citations received135
References cited39

After the Paris agreement on climate change (2015) climate change politics is no longer about raising awareness but about shaping the sustainability transition itself. It requires us to rethink the role of scientific knowledge, shifting from a tradition of “expected futures” to an approach focusing on “desirable futures” and ways to get there. We argue the sustainability transitions scholarship tends to see constructions of the future (visions, scenarios, predictions etc.) as explanans (that what explains) while constructions of the future are rarely seen as explanandum (that what should be explained). The article introduces the concept of ‘Techniques of Futuring’ defined as practices bringing together actors around one or more imagined futures and through which actors come to share particular orientations for action, to get a grip on the actual acts of ‘futuring’. The empirical focus is on ‘2050—An Energetic Odyssey’, a process centred around an elaborate multimedia installation, introducing large scale exploitation of the North Sea for harvesting off shore wind energy taking place in 2015 and 2016. We examine the Odyssey as example of a Technique of Futuring. We conclude with a reflection what the Odyssey teaches us about effective Techniques of Futuring to further the sustainability transition

Business · Climate change · Engineering ethics · Environmental ethics · Futures contract · Futures studies · Political science · Politics · Scholarship · Sociology · Sustainability · Transition (genetics · Vision · Climate Change Communication and Perception · Computer Science · Engineering · Social Acceptance of Renewable Energy · Sustainability and Climate Change Governance

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