5.2 Sustainability transitions in industrial sectors

 I see a considerable potential for research questions that help to better understand preconditions, mechanisms and dynamics associated with the reorientation of industrial sectors towards highly more (energy, water, resource, etc.) efficient trajectories. Or put as a question:

How can sustainability concerns become endogenized in socio-technical transition processes?

More specific research questions: What do we know about fundamental transformations of major activity domains (energy provision, urban water management, agriculture, housing, …) in industrialized societies associated with major efficiency leaps? What are time constants for transforming culturally embedded preference structures, dominant manufacturing paradigms, physical infrastructures, governance regimes? How do these processes interrelate? Can we assess the strength of path dependencies that derive from these interdependencies? What implications have to be derived for policy frameworks that envision sustainability transitions? Are current policy frameworks adopting adequate time perspectives? Under which conditions would prices be sufficient indicators for individual decision makers to invest into the required innovation and transformation processes? In how far will sustainability oriented policy have to overcome its strong bond with environmental policy and reach out far into industrial, regional as well as science and innovation policy?

Relates to core questions: 5.2.2; 5.2.4