Sustainability Transitions and the Problem of Governance

Abstract

There remain only a few contrarians to the notion that the human-environment relationship requires signifi cant changes, that we require some sort of ‘transition’. The transition to a ‘green economy’, ‘clean tech’, ‘green urbanism’ and sustainable development represent a few of these proposals. We can readily observe transitions toward the fi rst three concepts. Many countries have promoted greening their economies through direct government investment and incentives for fi rms to adopt energy saving measures or green their supply chains. Similarly, ‘clean tech’ clusters have been promoted to imagine and develop a new generation of environmentally friendly technology. Finally, cities are following suit, or leading in some ways, greening campaigns (e.g. Beatley, 2000). Congestion charges, cleaner running publ ic t ranspor t, bicycle lanes, and green space are key areas of interest for urban planners and developers alike. The ‘green’ transition is a needed step forward, to be sure. However, it also represents some of the easiest of wins because the ‘market’ can now ‘recognize’ the value of these interventions. Sustainabil ity transitions, true sustainability transitions, are in a different category altogether. This Regional Survey examines the tension between green and sustainable in the context of governance. For many, ‘sustainability’ and ‘green’ have become synonymous. We see it differently. As we alluded to above, greening represents one form of transforming the human-environment relationship. It’s about using less electricity, which has a direct impact on a fi rm’s bottom line, or a consumer’s purse. It’s about substitution of materials, from using less toxic materials in the supply chain (sometimes) to using ‘ubiquitous’ bamboo for fl ooring rather than oak or cherry, for example. Finally, it’s about urban regeneration through green retrofi ts, densifi cation, and building more bike paths and creating green spaces. Greening is a line of products from an LED light above your oven to a 75m2 uber designed, energy effi cient fl at in the transition neighbourhood of Zurich West. While these are ‘green’ they are not sustainable in the Brundtland sense. Brundtland, and the policy processes and proscriptions that followed in its name, require that we consider a tripartite set of concerns: economic prosperity, ecological integrity, and social equity. Green might capture two of the three. It almost certainly leaves out the social equity piece. Governance is a process where various stakeholders come together to accomplish a goal. However, governance is also about power, and who has it. It determines who qualifi es as a stakeholder and how they can represent themselves. Governance defi nes who makes the fi nal decision. It also determines the offi cial account of the issue it was trying to resolve. With these factors in mind, one can imagine how the social equity piece might get left out of the concept of ‘greening’. Yet, how do greening and sustainability become synonymous? One way is through governance. Greening is good for an economic activity, but sometimes, especial ly in the case of local and regional development, sustainability is better. As many people have pointed out: who can be against sustainability? Governance is the complex and power-laden process through which these issues are adjudicated. Governance can make what is ‘green’ appear ‘sustainable’. Explicit sustainability transitions research, as van den Bergh and Bruinsma state, “shifts the attention from a vague end goal to stimulating transition processes as a more concrete step” (2008). The main idea in this sense is “that a system-wide approach is needed, which takes into account sector interactions as well as the complex relations between the technologies, inst itut ions and behaviour of fi rms and consumers” (van den Bergh and Bruinsma, 2008). In this vein, for example, Truffer and Coenen (2012) examine the regional dimension of the sustainability transitions mapping out the contours of a geography of transitions.