Leveraging tensions of the triple transition for future-fit energy pathways: Interdisciplinary analysis and response strategies

Energy transitions operate at the intersection of multiple policy priorities, such as green, digital, and just transitions. While the policy discourse treats those priorities as synergetic, the real-world transition processes may feature tensions among different ideas, demands, or outcomes. Understandings of tensions and ways to address them differ across research fields. Yet, such differences are seldom considered in science-policy interfaces that tend to prioritize a relatively narrow set of methods and vocabularies. This study argues that different assumptions, theories, and methods provide important alternative standpoints for identifying, analyzing and navigating tensions. Building on an analysis of 28 real-world examples from peer-reviewed studies and complementary literature, we present five perspectives on energy transition tensions: constructing realities, governing transitions, negotiating meanings, reasoning by numbers, and reimagining transitions. The paper compares and contrasts insights across those perspectives and outlines their prospects and limitations for informing the design and governance of energy transition pathways. Researchers can benefit from the study by identifying opportunities to expand their theoretical and methodological apparatus for addressing energy transition challenges. Policymakers and practitioners can benefit from the study by considering how to engage productively with various types of knowledge to identify and compare strategic policy options.