Governing Uncertainties in Sustainable Energy Transitions—Insights from Local Heat Supply in Switzerland

Basil Bornemann, Stephan Schmidt and Susanne Schubert
Additional contact information
Basil Bornemann: Department of Social Sciences, University of Basel
Stephan Schmidt: Department of Social Sciences, University of Basel
Susanne Schubert: Institute IWAR, Technische Universität Darmstadt

Urban Planning, 2016, vol. 1, issue 3, 38-54

Abstract: The governance of sustainable energy transitions (SET) is facing multiple technological, economic, societal and political uncertainties. In practice, these energy-related uncertainties play a role not only at the level of “major politics,” but also in the policymaking of local decision makers and planners. This paper seeks to attain a more differentiated understanding of how uncertainties concerning the energy transition play out and are dealt with in policymaking and planning “on the ground.” To do so, the paper combines conceptual reflections with an explorative empirical study on local heat supply policy in Switzerland. In conceptual regards, it proposes some distinctions of types of uncertainties related to energy transitions, and a typology of strategic decision options for dealing with uncertainty. On this basis, the paper reveals similarities and differences regarding the perception of uncertainties and ways of dealing with them in a number of Swiss cities. These insights evoke further questions about the causes and effects of different sensitivities to uncertainty and ways of dealing with them.

Keywords: energy transition; governance of uncertainty; sustainability; sustainability governance; uncertainty; urban heat supply (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.cogitatiopress.com/urbanplanning/article/view/673 (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:cog:urbpla:v1:y:2016:i:3:p:38-54

DOI: 10.17645/up.v1i3.673

Access Statistics for this article

Urban Planning is currently edited by Tiago Cardoso

More articles in Urban Planning from Cogitatio Press
Bibliographic data for series maintained by António Vieira () and IT Department ().