Energy Research & Social Science

Energy transition requires frameworks that not only optimise technical and economic performance but also critically interrogate assumptions, boundaries, and legitimacy at the outset of project planning. The application of Critical Systems Heuristics (CSH) to energy transition planning is presented, demonstrating its value as both a diagnostic and developmental framework, and highlighting the role…

The skilled worker shortage in the installation trades constitutes a critical challenge to implementing low-carbon transitions globally, but the scientific attention to installers and their perspectives remains limited. This paper studies perspectives of craft entrepreneurs in four installation trades in Germany: roofers, electricians, heating installers, and painters. For this, it takes a novel …

The energy transition is a complex process, involving multiple interconnected pathways. Therefore, understanding citizens' perceptions of this transition requires a systems thinking approach—one that recognises the interdependencies among these pathways and their collective role in achieving the energy transition. Mental models offer a valuable lens into such perceptions, as they capture individu…

The future of global trade and international transport depends on maritime shipping. Yet maritime shipping accounts for 3% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and is fossil fuel-dependent. The International Maritime Organization aims for net-zero GHG emissions around 2050. Finland and Sweden are front-runners in sustainable energy transitions to decarbonize maritime shipping. This paper pres…

Decarbonizing iron and steel production in emerging industrial regions depends not only on the availability of low-carbon technologies but also on the institutional, market, and governance conditions that enable their deployment. Despite increasing global attention to industrial decarbonization, Latin America remains underexamined, even as its steel sector faces mounting pressures from trade expo…