Changing how international policy organizations understand and manage environmental problems

Narrative

Professor Geels’ research on socio-technical transitions has transformed how reducing greenhouse gas emissions is understood and addressed. The traditional approach focused on taxes and regulations. In contrast, Geels’ research frames environmental problems in terms of underlying unsustainable socio-technical systems, leading to new debate and policies focused on sustainable energy, food and mobility systems. This new framing and Geels’ multi-level perspective have transformed how the European Environment Agency (EEA), the EU and the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) approach policies concerning energy, decarbonisation, and biodiversity loss.