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Obduracy and Change in Urban Transport: Understanding Competition Between Sustainable Fuels in Swedish Municipalities
Linköping University, Department of Thematic Studies, Technology and Social Change. Linköping University, Faculty of Arts and Sciences.
2019 (English)In: Sustainability, E-ISSN 2071-1050, SUSTAINABILITY, Vol. 11, no 21, article id 6092Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Within the renewable transport transition, a number of alternative technologies have emerged creating competing visions of how to reduce fossil fuel dependence. This paper examines the dynamics of competing fuels in two Swedish municipalities where electric buses have emerged, threatening incumbent biogas-based bus systems. While in Linkoping, actors are resistant to the promise of electrification, in Malmo the shift to electrify urban buses has already begun. Here, the theoretical perspectives of obduracy and sociotechnical imaginaries are used to analyze obduracy and change in Linkoping and Malmo, showing how the local contexts of these two municipalities influence obduracy or willingness to change. In Linkoping, perceived connections between the biogas-based bus system and local infrastructures of renewable waste management and organic food production cause actors to place biogas buses at the center of a sustainable future region, while in Malmo linkages to the gas network (which also distributes natural gas) cause actors to question the sustainability of the fuel in use and opens up the city to welcome new electric vehicle tests. These examples show how fuel alternatives interact with each other in the wider renewable energy transition.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
MDPI, 2019. Vol. 11, no 21, article id 6092
Keywords [en]
obduracy; sociotechnical imaginaries; urban public transport; electric vehicles; biogas
National Category
Energy Systems
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-162889DOI: 10.3390/su11216092ISI: 000501205200219Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85074853894OAI: oai:DiVA.org:liu-162889DiVA, id: diva2:1382231
Note

Funding Agencies|Swedish Energy Agency, Linkoping University

Available from: 2020-01-02 Created: 2020-01-02 Last updated: 2022-02-10Bibliographically approved
In thesis
1. Multiple Imaginaries of the Fossil Fuel Free Future: Biogas and Electricity in Swedish Urban Transport
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Multiple Imaginaries of the Fossil Fuel Free Future: Biogas and Electricity in Swedish Urban Transport
2020 (English)Doctoral thesis, comprehensive summary (Other academic)
Alternative title[sv]
Flera Föreställningar av den Fossilfria Framtiden : Biogas och El i Svensk Stadstrafik
Abstract [sv]

I kölvattnet av klimatkrisen har det blivit allt tydligare att det fossilbaserade transportsystemet måste genomgå en global omvandling. Många alternativ för förnyelsebara drivmedel har föreslagits, alla omgivna av föreställningar om hur dessa tekniker kommer att bidra till en bättre framtid. Dessa föreställningar påverkar utvecklingen eftersom implementeringen av varje alternativ teknik kräver uppbyggnad av mångfaldiga socio-tekniska ensembler som stöder dess användning. Som ett resultat av detta är det troligt att processen för att ersätta fossila bränslen med dessa förnybara alternativ kommer bli komplex. Avhandlingen betraktar uppkomsten av två av dessa föreställningar om förnybara bränslen och studerar visioner om biogas och el i ett svenskt sammanhang. Biogas har en lång historia som transportbränsle i Sverige där, även om den utgör en liten andel av den totala bränsleanvändningen, utgör den ändå grunden för många kommunala kollektivtrafiksystem. Elektriska fordon har blivit alltmer attraktiva när fler aktörer anammar en föreställning som ser en framtid där fordon är delade, autonoma och elektriska. Denna interaktion exemplifieras i kollektivtrafik i städer eftersom många kommuner börjar implementera elbussar i ett försök att öka energieffektiviteten och minska föroreningarna. Denna avhandling följer tre fallstudier där föreställningarna om biogas och elfordon samverkar: kollektivtrafik i städerna Linköping respektive Malmö samt en analys av det omfattande nationella policydokumentet Fossilfrihet på väg. Avhandlingen bidrar till en bredare förståelse för hur visioner kan påverka tröghet och förändring av transportalternativ inom den bredare omställningen till en fossilfri framtid.   

Abstract [en]

In the wake of the climate crisis, it has become increasingly evident that the fossil fuel-based transport system must undergo a global transformation. Numerous renewable fuel alternatives have been suggested, accompanied by imaginaries of how these technologies will contribute to a better future. These imaginaries have a wide-ranging impact because the implementation of each alternative technology will require the build-up of multifarious socio-technical ensembles that support their use. As a result, replacing fossil fuels with these renewable alternatives is likely to be a complex process. This dissertation considers the emergence of two such visions of renewable fuels studying imaginaries of biogas and electricity in the Swedish context. Biogas has a long history of use as a transport fuel in Sweden, where although it makes up a small percentage of total fuel use it also forms the basis of numerous municipal public transport systems. Meanwhile, electric vehicles have become increasingly attractive as more actors subscribe to an imaginary that sees the future of vehicles as shared, autonomous, and electric. This interaction is exemplified in urban public transportation as many municipalities begin to implement electric buses in an attempt to increase energy efficiency and reduce pollution. This thesis follows three case studies where the imaginaries of biogas and electric vehicles interact: urban public transport in the municipalities of Linköping and Malmö, and analysis of a comprehensive national policy document Fossil fuel freedom on the road. It contributes to a wider understanding of how visions can influence obduracy and change of transport alternatives within the wider transformation to a fossil fuel free future.  

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Linköping: Linköping University Electronic Press, 2020. p. 66
Series
Linköping Studies in Arts and Sciences, ISSN 0282-9800 ; 782
Keywords
sociotechnical imaginaries; biogas, electric vehicles, obduracy, sociotechnical change, urban transport, sociotekniska föreställningar, biogas, elfordon, tröghet, sociotekniska förändring, stadstrafik
National Category
Energy Systems
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-163349 (URN)10.3384/diss.diva-163349 (DOI)9789179298999 (ISBN)
Public defence
2020-03-27, TemCAS, T-building, Campus Valla, Linköping, 13:15 (Swedish)
Opponent
Supervisors
Available from: 2020-02-03 Created: 2020-02-03 Last updated: 2020-06-22Bibliographically approved

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