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Cited by 1,144

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 8 of the 8 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

How long will it take? Conceptualizing the temporal dynamics of energy transitions

Open access
Sovacool, Benjamin K.·2016·Energy Research & Social Science

Abstract

Transitioning away from our current global energy system is of paramount importance. The speed at which a transition can take place—its timing, or temporal dynamics—is a critical element of consideration. This study therefore investigates the issue of time in global and national energy transitions by asking: What does the mainstream academic literature suggest about the time scale of energy transitions? Additionally, what does some of the more recent empirical data related to transitions say, or challenge, about conventional views? In answering these questions, the article presents a “mainstream” view of energy transitions as long, protracted affairs, often taking decades to centuries to occur. However, the article then offers some empirical evidence that the predominant view of timing may not always be supported by the evidence. With this in mind, the final part of the article argues for more transparent conceptions and definitions of energy transitions, and it asks for analysis that recognizes the causal complexity underlying them.

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Metadata

Authors
Sovacool, B. K.
Venue
Energy Research & Social Science
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2016-03
Volume
13
Pages
202-215
ISSN
2214-6296 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2278938776
Cited by
1,144
References
8
FWCI
21.19
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
hybrid

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CoChat. (2026). Citation check: How long will it take? Conceptualizing the temporal dynamics of energy transitions. https://app.cochat.ai/papers/10.1016/j.erss.2015.12.020
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Sovacool, B. K. (2016). How long will it take? Conceptualizing the temporal dynamics of energy transitions. Energy Research & Social Science. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2015.12.020

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Contains information from the Semantic Scholar Academic Graph Datasets, made available under the ODC Attribution License (ODC-BY 1.0).

Semantic Scholar’s data is described in: Kinney, R., et al. (2023). The Semantic Scholar Open Data Platform. arXiv:2301.10140.