Sustainability Transitions: Past, Present and Future

Climate change, resource scarcity, and environmental degradation urge us to make a transition to a more sustainable society. This affects all sectors of the economy, but especially the nexus of energy, water, and food systems that is crucial for human subsistence. Think about CO2 emissions in energy production, increasing scarcity of drinking water, or the use of fertilizers and pesticides in agriculture. Such transitions, however, involve more than just changing production technologies; they require associated changes in infrastructure, consumer behavior, and market regulation as well. Solar panels on roofs, for example, redefine how people provide in their energy needs, the operation of the electricity grid, and energy prices. The myriad actors and factors, drivers and barriers, pathways, and policy options involved, makes them a complex challenge to study and realize.

To better understand and effectuate societal transitions towards more sustainable practices, this course dives into the core concepts and frameworks of 'sustainable development' and 'societal transitions' from the perspectives of social science, policy, and history and applies them to assess the current situation, analyze past transformations, and discuss technological developments in energy, water, and food systems. As such, it provides core competences in the environmental sciences: knowledge of sustainability transitions and the capability to influence them.

The course begins with a foundational week of theoretical and historical lectures on the key concepts and frameworks of 'sustainable development' and 'societal transitions' underpinning the course. It then delves deeper into sustainability transitions in the energy, water, and food systems in three thematically structured weeks. Each of these systems will be explored from the angles of Environmental History and Environmental Policy/Sociology and involve Dutch and international cases and examples. This approach allows students to gain a multidisciplinary perspective of the workings of these interrelated systems, their main challenges, and their past and future transitions.

• Understand different concepts, frameworks, and dilemmas of sustainability transitions from policy, historical, and technological perspectives

• Recognise the temporary dynamics of industrialized societies, particularly concerning past and future transitions in energy, water, and food sectors

• Critically evaluate and apply course concepts and frameworks to appraise visions and strategies towards sustainability in energy, water, and food system transitions

• Write a scientific paper on a chosen subject covered in the course

• Conduct critical reviews and provide feedback through participating in peer review and learning activities

• Assignment report (50%) Individual research paper including peer review.
• Written test with open and closed questions (50%)

• Mandatory literature for the course is a variety of scientific articles, titles and links available in the course guide and on Brightspace (per lecture).