Mobilizing Low Carbon Transition: Transnational Practice of Energy Efficiency in the Urban Building Sector

Abstract

In many countries worldwide, low carbon sustainable transition has been planned and implemented through decoupling the economic growth from GHG emissions. Some nations are leading the scene by developing corresponding low carbon development strategies and policy measures to encourage socio-technical innovations. One of the key areas for low carbon urban development is the energy efficiency in buildings. The tendency of the rapidly growing population and urbanization asks for better narratives and practices improving the built environment. Cities and countries are keen on learning from best practice. Through international joint development projects, the “knowledge resources” - transnational, governmental, NGOs, practitioners, and academic actors - are disseminating the low carbon urban development ideas globally. What drives a successful translation of knowledge emerged from one social, economic, cultural, political, climatic and geographical context into a new one needs better clarification. This study explores the process of global circulation of sustainable innovation from a mobility and transition perspective. A conceptual framework is explored and tested through analysing the Passive House concept transferred from Germany to China. The study shows how the succinct form, co-evolving and re-contextualising attributes are key factors in circulating urban sustainability across context. Acknowledging the notion of adaptation and mutation in the translation process is a first step to address the discrepancies between the knowledge lending and receiving side, and further to foster the transformative learning.