Rethinking the sustainability of transitions: An illustrative case of burden-shifting and sociotechnical dynamics of aviation fuel in Sweden

Abstract

The literature on socio-technical transitions has advanced our understanding of transitions toward sustainability but sometimes overlooks the sustainability consequences of such transitions. A case in point is the burden-shifting phenomenon, a consequence that can occur when efforts to minimize a problem in one context have unintended negative impacts on another. In this article, we adopt a life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology to quantitatively assess the burden-shifting potential of a transition case toward sustainable aviation fuel in Sweden. Our assessment demonstrates how an emerging sustainability transition can result in unintended spatiotemporal impacts, taking into account complex relationships between multiple socio-technical systems. By doing so, we provide an alternative way to study the sustainability of transitions, complementing the mainstream transition studies that have mostly studied the transitions toward sustainability. In addition, we propose collaborative research approaches, which introduce LCA methodology into transition studies, transcending disciplinary boundaries when engaging questions of environmental sustainability of ‘sustainability’ transitions.