Sovacool-et-al-NHB-Equity-100721-Clean.pdf (413.91 kB)
Equity, technological innovation and sustainable behavior in a low-carbon future
journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-10, 01:41 authored by Benjamin SovacoolBenjamin Sovacool, Peter NewellPeter Newell, Sanya Carley, Jessica FanzoThe world must ambitiously curtail greenhouse gas emissions to achieve climate stability. The literature often supposes that a low-carbon future will depend on a mix of technological innovation—improving the performance of new technologies and systems—as well as more sustainable behaviours such as travelling less or reducing waste. To what extent are low-carbon technologies, and their associated behaviours, currently equitable, and what are potential policy and research implications moving forward? In this Review, we examine how four innovations in technology and behaviour—improved cookstoves and heating, battery electric vehicles, household solar panels and food-sharing—create complications and force trade-offs on different equity dimensions. We draw from these cases to discuss a typology of inequity cutting across demographic (for example, gender, race and class), spatial (for example, urban and rural divides), interspecies (for example, human and non-human) and temporal (for example, future generations) vulnerabilities. Ultimately, the risk of inequity abounds in decarbonization pathways. Moreover, low-carbon innovations are not automatically just, equitable or even green. We show how such technologies and behaviours can both introduce new inequalities and reaffirm existing ones. We then discuss potential policy insights and leverage points to make future interventions more equitable and propose an integrated research agenda to supplement these policy efforts.
History
Publication status
- Published
File Version
- Accepted version
Journal
Nature Human BehaviourISSN
2397-3374Publisher
Nature ResearchExternal DOI
Department affiliated with
- International Relations Publications
Full text available
- Yes
Peer reviewed?
- Yes
Legacy Posted Date
2021-11-12First Open Access (FOA) Date
2022-08-01First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date
2021-11-12Usage metrics
Categories
No categories selectedKeywords
Licence
Exports
RefWorks
BibTeX
Ref. manager
Endnote
DataCite
NLM
DC