Let's focus more on negative trends: A comment on the transitions research agenda
Miklós Antal, Giulio Mattioli, Imogen Rattle
Abstract
Much has been written on sustainability transitions, yet all around us unsustainable developments remain rife, and threaten to offset the progress made in other areas. This viewpoint argues that transitions scholarship should widen its scope to consider unsustainable trends, which it has tended to neglect to date. We argue that there is merit in applying the transitions lens to these developments, not least because of its systemic approach, which could help highlight the dynamic relationships between sustainable and unsustainable trends. We sketch some high-level questions for future transitions research including: how unsustainable trends emerge, who drives them, and how research could help to curtail harmful socio-technological changes before they become entrenched. We conclude by arguing that investigating unsustainable trends would benefit transitions research by making it more plural and more radical.