Managing energy and climate transitions in theory and practice

Ambitious goals for reducing carbon emissions require a rapid and extensive deployment of low-carbon technologies throughout the economy, with far-reaching implications for infrastructures, institutions, social practices and cultural norms. Transitions frameworks for understanding the pathways by which these changes occur have emerged in response to universal and localised energy challenges, including the coupled threats of climate change, fossil fuel depletion and fuel poverty. This chapter focuses on new technological innovation, the destabilisation of dominant energy regimes and the reframing of transitions goals through one such framework: Strategic Niche Management (SNM). In this chapter, we provide an updated, confirmatory analysis of the 10-year literature review of the SNM literature. Moreover, we present a synthesis of lessons learnt for both academic studies and policymakers working towards low-energy transitions. Specifically, we ask: what insights do 15 years of SNM literature offer for how to manage, or accelerate, low-carbon energy transitions?