Report

Sustainability Transitions: Policy and Practice (EEA Report

This report of the European Environment Agency aims to go beyond theoretical discussions to explore the practical implications of transitions research for policy and practice.
 
This report of the European Environment Agency aims to go beyond theoretical discussions to explore the practical implications of transitions research for policy and practice, building on the insights from past assessments. It highlights the growing links to established EU policy frameworks and identifies how transitions thinking is being operationalised at different scales across Europe. 
 
Key messages for policy
The report sets out 10 sets of messages for policy, explored in Chapters 3-12. The first five messages address the policy mixes and other actions needed to stimulate and enable system innovation. They focus on innovation, diffusion, and system reconfiguration, as well as on two important cross-cutting themes: cities and finance. The next five messages address how governments and other actors can coordinate systemic change processes and steer them towards long-term sustainability goals. The chapters focus on visions and pathways, horizontal and vertical coherence of governance, managing risks and unintended consequences, and knowledge and skills for transitions. The key messages:
 

  • Promote experimentation with diverse forms of sustainability innovation and build transformative coalitions
  • : Stimulate the diffusion of green niche innovations
  • Support the reconfiguration of whole systems, phase out existing technologies and alleviate negative consequences
  • Leverage and strengthen the role of cities in sustainability transitions
  • Reorient financial flows towards sustainable and transformative innovations
  • Promote clear direction for change through ambitious visions, targets and missions 
  • Align policies between different domains to improve policy coherence for transitions
  • Promote coherence of actions across EU, national, regional and local governance levels
  • Monitor risks and unintended consequences and adjust pathways as necessary
  • Develop knowledge and skills for transitions governance and practice

 
Co-authored by leading experts in transitions studies, the report has also benefited strongly from interactions with EEA partners in multiple policy areas, in particular, at a workshop co-hosted with the European Commission’s European Political Strategy Centre in July 2018.
 
Lead authors
Frank Geels and Bruno Turnheim (University of Manchester), Mike Asquith (European Environment Agency (EEA)), Florian Kern (Institut für ökologische Wirtschaftsforschung), Paula Kivimaa (Science Policy Research Unit (SPRU), University of Sussex).
 
Contributors
Cristian Matti (EIT Climate-KIC), Sylvia Veenhoff (Umweltbundesamt (UBA), Germany), Niki Frantzeskaki and Julia Wittmayer.
 
Read more
Download the complete report here.


Date
October 7, 2019