News: It’s pretty certain that everything is uncertain
80 scientists from 20 nations discussed research topics such as transformation processes towards a sustainable society, climate change and sustainable innovation during the 11th IAS-STS Conference on “Critical Issues in Science and Technology Studies”.
„War increases CO2-emissions", declared Verena Winiwarter, dean of the Faculty for Interdisciplinary Studies of Alpen-Adria-Universität Klagenfurt in her presentation. She illustrates her conclusion with data on energy consumption of the American military: The Department of Defense is responsible for 1% of total energy consumption in the United States. Nigeria, with a population of more than 140 million people, consumes just as much energy as the U.S. military alone. The energy consumption per capita of military personnel is 10 times higher than the energy consumption per capita in China, or 30 times as much as that of Africa. Vegetarian diet has a positive effect on greenhouse gas emissions, disarmament and peace would also result in a significant reduction. "However, if one looks at the development of energy consumption from a historical perspective, events such as e.g. the world wars had no significant effects on energy consumption. But they led to more social inequality worldwide.", concludes Winiwarter.
"A system change is imminent," the scientist predicts. "We do not live in stable conditions, but in the midst of the 'great acceleration', a world-historical unprecedented unleashing of energy and material consumption. This explosive transformation process will lead to a new, more stable system, a solar-technology civilization. In its structures and its essential properties, it won’t be a simple extrapolation of present conditions. We can be certain: a sustainable society operates fundamentally different, how exactly no one has convincingly answered. In any case, we will have to deal with the legacy of the fossil-energy lifestyle, whether it be crumbling dams or nuclear waste storage."
It makes a difference where electricity is produced
Does it make a difference to how we use electricity whether it is produced in solar power plants in the Sahara, or whether it comes from small plants in or near the household? This question was raised by Harald Rohracher (IFZ) and Michael Ornetzeder (ITA, Academy of Sciences) in their presentation "Configuring sustainable systems of provision". The answer is yes. "In the first case it is about more hierarchically organized systems of provision, in which consumption and behavior of residents in households must be centrally managed and asymmetric relationships between producer and user countries exist. In the second example studies show that users often develop a keen interest in handling ‘their’ power differently.”, explains Rohracher.
Strategies for sustainable development are often divided into technology-related (e.g. efficiency of products) and behavioral measures (e.g. sustainable lifestyle). The problem is that these strategies alone are often ineffective. Better efficiency is often nullified by ,rebound' effects and lifestyle approaches usually only reach already motivated groups. So how do technical infrastructure and supply systems have to be designed to provide incentives and scope for sustainability practices? Possible answers are offered by the approach of "systems of provision", which highlights the close interaction between (technical) systems of provision (e.g. electricity system) and demand-side behavior.
„Light hours“ as an example for sustainable innovation
„Efficiency is not the answer to everything“, emphasises Ria Müller from the Institute for Ecological Economy Research. Sustainable innovation through new products, services or the reorganization of existing business processes can have positive effects on climate change and resource consumption.", the expert says. As an example she describes the practices of companies which do not buy office lights or electricity, but so called "light hours". Within a contracting agreement a lighting manufacturer installs and maintains the lights and operates them with green electricity. Since the provider is interested in earning as much as possible, he will use the most energy efficient light bulbs on the market.
"In the EU countries, authorities spend 12-19% of the GDP. If all schools, public hospitals and public office building bought light hours, they could save many thousands of tons of C02. Thus, the state can affect markets and promote sustainable innovation by buying innovative products.", says Mueller.
The above mentioned examples are an excerpt of the 50 presentations given during the conference. The conference is organized annually by IFZ in the context of the Institute for Advanced Studies on Science, Technology and Society and has by now become a fixture in the scientific community of science and technology studies.
