Les villes sont au cœur de l’urgence climatique et elles sont fondamentales pour accélérer la transition vers un monde ‘carboneutre’. Aujourd'hui, les municipalités ne sont plus que de simples fournisseurs de services; elles doivent catalyser des transitions urbaines durables. La réalisation de villes durables est un défi extrêmement complexe car les exigences et le contexte changent constamment, plusieurs interdépendances dynamiques jouent un rôle crucial et il y a peu de possibilités d'apprendre par essais et erreurs. La signification même de ce qu'est une ‘ville durable’ est très vaste et basé sur des débats sociétaux très contesté. Bien que la société civile et les ‘entrepreneurs politiques’ jouent déjà un rôle important dans le contexte urbain et façonnent considérablement la façon dont les gens perçoivent la crise climatique; on ne sait pas encore comment ils peuvent répondre à des défis ‘super vicieux’ telle que l’urgence climatique dans le contexte urbain et comment les acteurs de la société civile peuvent contribuer à accélérer la transition vers des villes carboneutre. Souvent caractérisés par leur désir de maintenir une certaine indépendance vis-à-vis des institutions publiques, la question est de savoir comment les acteurs de la société civile occupent différentes positions vis-à-vis les institutions qu'ils cherchent à transformer, et les effets que ces différentes positions ont sur leurs contributions aux transitions urbaines durables. Si de nombreuses recherches ont été menées sur les entrepreneurs politiques ‘puissants’ associés aux systèmes dominant de nos sociétés, les ‘régimes’, on en sait beaucoup moins sur les entrepreneurs politiques issus de la société civile. Il est nécessaire d'améliorer notre compréhension de la manière dont ces derniers encadrent l'urgence climatique dans le contexte urbain et de la manière dont ils mettent à l'échelle leurs actions pour parvenir à une profonde et rapide décarbonisation du contexte urbain. La question de la thèse est: Comment est-ce que les entrepreneurs politiques issue de la société civile encadrent le problème de l'urgence climatique et comment mettent-ils à l'échelle leurs actions pour rapidement décarboniser le contexte urbain et accélérer la transition vers des villes carboneutres? La recherche est une étude de cas unique longitudinale et approfondie, sur une période cinq ans (2015-2020), qui reconstruit l'émergence de la Coalition climat Montréal; un organisme à but non lucratif qui vise à ce que Montréal atteigne la carboneutralité d'ici 2042, année du 400e anniversaire de la ville. La thèse mobilise le champ de recherche des théories de transition (Transition Theory) et des études en politiques publiques, pour mieux comprendre les efforts, actions et stratégies de la Coalition climat Montréal depuis sa création, au moment de l'accord de Paris COP21 de 2015. Basé sur un cadre théorique qui revisite la perspective multi-acteurs (MaP), l'accent est mis sur une meilleure compréhension des ‘actes’ des acteurs de la société civile qui visent à ‘gagner’ dans le champ d’action stratégique de la carboneutralité dans lequel ils opèrent à Montréal. La recherche met en relief leurs stratégies, comment elles ont émergé et se sont structuré à travers les années, ainsi que leurs capacités à influencer les processus d'élaboration des politiques publiques urbaines pour la carboneutralité et les processus de transition urbaine en général. Une attention particulière est portée au contexte; examinant comment (et dans quelle mesure) la nature ‘polycentrique’ de la gouvernance climatique et les caractéristiques des institutions municipales locales facilitent et contraignent les efforts des acteurs. Adoptant une stratégie d'analyse processuelle et abductive, la recherche révèle les stratégies entrepreneuriales des acteurs de la société civile qui cherchent à perturber le statu quo en faisant progresser des politiques publiques ambitieuses pour la carboneutralité urbaines, et le potentiel que de telles actions au niveau micro puissent provoquer des changements au niveau macro. Adoptant le rôle engagé d'un ‘chercheur-activiste’, j'explore les formes d'entrepreneuriat qui ‘tiennent tête’ aux acteurs et secteurs les plus puissant de notre société; enrichissant notre compréhension du rôle actif que certains acteurs de la société civile jouent afin d’ancrer la carboneutralité dans l’agenda des politiques publiques. Ce faisant, la thèse contribue à enrichir une notre compréhension nuancée de l’influence que certains acteurs de la société civiles ont sur la direction et la vitesse des transitions urbaine pour la carboneutralité, et la durabilité en général. D'un point de vue pratique, la recherche contribue à mieux informer les actions et les stratégies de la société civile concerné par l’urgence climatique, ainsi que le types de processus de politique publique climatique au niveau municipal qui peuvent effectivement accélérer les transitions urbaines vers la carboneutralité; contribuant au développement de ‘sagesse pratique’ pour l’action climatique locale. Fondamentalement, le potentiel des villes n'est pas de tout simplement adopter les cadres politiques internationaux, mais aussi de montrer comment d'autres voies alternatives venant des ‘marges’ sont possibles. Impliquant un important potentiel émancipateur, la ville en tant que site d'expérimentation socio-écologique radicale doit être encouragée et catalysée, plutôt que d’être simplement laissé au mirage d'une ‘économie verte’. / Cities are at the heart of climate emergency, and they’re fundamental if we are to accelerate the transition to a ‘carbon-neutral’ world. Today, municipal governments are no longer just service providers; they need to be catalysts for sustainability transitions. Achieving sustainable cities is a vicious problem as requirements are always changing, complex and dynamic interdependencies play a crucial role, there is no absolute right or wrong solution, and little opportunities exist to learn by trial and error. The very meaning of what is a ‘sustainable city’ is a very contested societal debate. Although civil society and policy entrepreneurs are already central actors in the urban context and considerably influence the way by which people think about the climate crisis; it’s not clear yet how they can respond to challenges of such magnitude as the climate emergency, and how they can contribute to accelerating the transition to a carbon-neutral world. While often characterized by their desire to sustain a certain form of independence from governments, it’s not yet clear how civil society actors occupy different positions vis-à-vis the institutions they try to transform, and the effects that these diverse positions have on their contributions to urban sustainability transitions. For instance, while much has been researched about powerful ‘regime’ policy entrepreneurs, much less is known about policy entrepreneurs emanating from civil society. There’s a need to enhance our understanding of how such actors frame the climate emergency in the urban context and how they scale their actions in order to achieve deep urban decarbonisation. The thesis question is: How do civil society’s policy entrepreneurs frame the climate emergency problem and scale their actions to quickly decarbonise the urban context and accelerate the transition to carbon-neutral cities? The research is a five-year in-depth longitudinal single case study that reconstructs the emergence of the Montreal Climate Coalition; a non-profit organization that aims for Montreal to achieve carbon-neutrality by 2042, year of the city's 400th anniversary. The thesis mobilizes the research fields of sustainability transitions and public policy studies to better understand the Coalition’s efforts, actions and strategies since the 2015 COP21 Paris agreement. Based on a conceptualised theoretical framework that revisits the Multi-actor perspective (MaP), the focus is to shed light on the ‘acts’ of civil society actors that aim to ‘punch above their weight’ in the strategic urban carbon-neutrality action field in which they operate, the way that they develop and deploy their strategies, and how this contributes to (and shapes) policymaking processes for urban carbon-neutrality; as well as overall urban sustainability transition dynamics. Particular attention is paid to context, examining how (and to what extent) the ‘polycentric’ nature of climate governance and local municipal institutions facilitate and/or frustrate the efforts of actors. Adopting a processual, abductive and transformation-based strategy of analysis that aims to generate ‘practical wisdom’ knowledge for urban sustainability science, the research reveals civil society’s entrepreneuring strategies that seek to disrupt the status quo by advancing ambitious urban carbon-neutrality policies, as well as the potential for such micro-level acts to bring about changes at the macro level. In this way, and by taking on the role of an engaged climate ‘researcher-activist’, I explore the forms of entrepreneurship that stand up to powerful actors and sectors in our society, enriching our knowledge of the active role that some civil society actors (can) play in setting the urban carbon-neutrality agenda. In doing so, the thesis contributes to enriching an ever more nuanced understanding of the influence that civil society actors can have on the speed and direction of urban sustainability transitions. From a practice-based perspective, the research contributes to better informing civil society’ actions and strategies, as well as the kind of municipal climate policy processes that can catalyze deep decarbonisation and accelerate the urgently needed urban sustainability transitions to carbon-neutral cities. Fundamentally, the potential of cities is not just to simply associate themselves with current international climate frameworks; but more critically, to show how other alternative pathways from the fringes of society are possible. Involving considerable emancipatory potential, the city as a site of radical socio-ecological experimentation needs to be fostered, and not just handed over to the mirage of a ‘green economy’.

The phenomenon of climate change is widely recognized and declared as the single most threatening issue of the 21st century (UN Environment, 2018). In this context, the presented study is aligned with scientific research on the domain of sustainable development and sustainability transitions aiming to counterbalance climate change and its impact on this planet as much as possible. This research focuses on Green Bonds as a financial tool to promote this kind of climate-resilient transition. Professionals from the financial sectors of the Swedish Green Bond market were interviewed, reflecting current opinions and strategies of one of the most developed and progressive nations in the world. The goal is to understand the dynamics behind the development of the Green Bond market using the Multi-Level Perspective framework and to find out to what extent these experts view Green Bonds as a tool in the process of sustainability transitions. The findings firstly point out the role of the different actors of the Green Bond market, describing the interactions between investors, issuers banks, politics and advisors. In addition, the results show that the opinions on drivers and barriers amongst the interviewees and between the interviewees and literature differ somewhat.  In particular, greenwashing, lacking transparency and missing standardization are seen by some of the different interviewed stakeholders to be less barriers but rather as opportunities. In conclusion, this study points out the particular influence that politics, as representant of the strongly environmentally aware people of Sweden, occupy in steering the market’s development and describes its importance as regulatory drivers of Green Bonds as a tool for sustainability transitions and sustainable development. / Mänskligheten står inför en global utmaning; att kollektivt bekämpa den mänskligt orsakade klimatförändringen (UN Environment, 2018). Det är från detta sammanhang som denna studie ursprungar, där teorier inom vetenskaplig forskning för området hållbarhetsutveckling och hållbarhet förändringar används för att bekämpa klimatförändringens inverkan. Denna forskning fokuserar särskilt på gröna obligationens roll för en hållbar klimatrelaterad utveckling i det svenska samhället. För att utvärdera den svenska marknaden för gröna obligationer intervjuades experter inom området utvalda på basis av post och sektor. Målet med en kvalitativ forskningsmetod är att förstå de bakomliggande faktorerna för den progressiva utvecklingen i Sverige. Detta görs ytterligare genom ”The Multi-Level Perspective framework” för att kontextualisera experternas insyn på hur gröna obligationer kan användas som verktyg för hållbarhetsutveckling. Kartläggningen användes för att beskriva dynamiken mellan obligations utfärdaren, investerare, banker samt rådgivare i Sverige. Intervjuerna visade på nyanser inom dagens teori och praktik avseende hur man utvärderar tillväxten på den gröna obligationsmarknaden och framförallt gällande integritet faktorer som standardisering och transparens. Ett bristande ramverk kan ses som en möjlighet för tillväxt istället för ett hinder. Sammanfattningsvis understryker undersökningen politikernas inflytande för att kunna omvandla gröna obligationer från en nisch till en standardprodukt i samhället. Detta påvisar effektiviteten inom den svenska gröna obligationsmarknaden, där hög grad av miljömedvetenhet hos befolkningen blivit representerad i politiken.

Purpose: The purpose of the study is to explore and explain the role of women- oriented communities as grassroots innovators operating in niches and supporting gender equality in the STEM industry. Special attention is given to the noticeable dual function of the communities, as on one hand exclusive and protected spaces operating within market niches and, on the other hand, as arenas for gaining momentum to accommodate social change.  Design/Methodology/Approach: This study uses a qualitative approach with a feministic perspective on reality. The collected data consist of six in-depth Zoom interviews with women engaged in women-oriented communities from four European countries.  Findings: Women-oriented communities’ mission is heavily driven by their individual motivations to bridge the gender gap in the STEM industry. They contribute to a more gender equal industry by empowering and educating women. The findings also illustrate that more actors need to be involved to achieve change towards equality.  Research limitations/implications for future research: This study has some limitations that warrant further research. First, the study had time constraints and a limited number of respondents. Second, the interviews were conducted over Zoom. Due to these limitations, the authors suggest further research directions that could provide more information about the current investigation.  Originality/value: There is a lack of research regarding the role of women-oriented communities and the issue of gender inequality in the STEM industry. The main value of this thesis is to fill in this research gap and contribute to a possible solution to gender inequality in the STEM industry. / Syfte: Syftet med studien är att utforska och förklara kvinnoorienterade forum i rollen som gräsrotsinnovatörer som verkar inom nischer och stödjer jämställdhet i STEM- branschen. Särskild uppmärksamhet ägnas åt forumens duala funktion som på ena sidan är exklusiva och skyddade utrymmen som verkar inom marknadsnischer och på andra sidan som arenor för att få drivkraft för att hantera en social förändring. Design/Metodik/Strategi: Den här studien har ett kvalitativt tillvägagångssätt med ett feministiskt perspektiv på verkligheten. Den samlade informationen består av sex djupgående Zoom-intervjuer med kvinnor som är engagerade i kvinnoorienterade forum från fyra europeiska länder.  Resultat: Kvinnoorienterade forums mission drivs starkt av deras individuella motivation för att överbrygga könsgapet i STEM-branschen. De bidrar till en mer jämställd bransch genom att stärka och utbilda kvinnor. Resultaten illustrerar också att fler aktörer behöver involveras för att uppnå förändring mot jämställdhet. Forskningsbegränsningar/implikationer för framtida forskning: Denna studie har vissa begränsningar som motiverar ytterligare forskning. För det första hade studien tidsbrist och begränsat antal respondenter. För det andra genomfördes intervjuerna över Zoom. På grund av dessa begränsningar, föreslår författarna ytterligare forskningsriktlinjer som kan ge mer information om den nuvarande undersökning.  Originalitet/värde: Det finns en brist på forskning om kvinnororienterade forums roll och om frågan gällande ojämlikhet mellan könen i STEM-branschen. Det huvudsakliga värdet av denna avhandling är att uppfylla denna forskningsklyfta och bidra till en möjlig lösning på ojämlikhet mellan könen i STEM-branschen.

A radical shift in consumption and production of food is necessary to combat climate change. This has sparked interest in diets and their implications on the environment, both among researchers and among consumers. Plant-based dairy substitutes is one field of products that is experiencing significant growth. The dynamics in the market have created many opportunities for startups to enter the market with new products. However, because of the novelty of the topic, business models for sustainable food startups is a lacking area of research. Further, in order to successfully enter the market, it is essential for startups to fully understand the market dynamics from a holistic perspective. To investigate the mechanisms driving the transformation, as well as the potential windows of opportunity for startups, a survey and interviews were conducted. The survey had the aim of understanding the drivers of change among the consumers. The interviews were conducted with multiple startups and related organizations, which aimed to discuss the survey results while looking at the supply side of the market. The survey results presented interesting insights such as potential target consumers, consumer preferences in the plant-based dairy space, and potential gaps in the market. This was followed by the interviews where the business models, industrial dynamics and challenges were explored. The results were analyzed by theoretical frameworks such as the multi-level perspective. This study concluded that a transition towards plant-based dairy substitutes is occurring and is mainly driven by concern for veganism/animal welfare and climate change in combination with R&D efforts which are rapidly improving the products’ taste, price and convenience. This transition has raised new windows of opportunity for startups to capture the market share with viable business model innovation. However, changing diets takes a large amount of time and many political institutions work to protect the dairy industry. / Radikala förändringar i hur mat/dryck konsumeras och produceras är nödvändigt för att motverka klimatförändringar. Det här har lett till ett ökat intresse för olika dieters påverkan påmiljön. Det ökade intresset syns både inom forskning och bland konsumenter. Växtbaserade mejeri-substitut är ett sortiment av produkter som just nu växer kraftigt. Intresset på marknadenhar skapat många möjligheter för startups att etablera nya produkter. Eftersom det här är en ny och växande marknad så är forskningen kring hållbara mat/dryck-startups mycket begränsad. Vidare så måste startups förstå marknaden ur ett helhetsperspektiv för att framgångsrikt kunna etablera sig med nya produkter. För att undersöka vilka mekanismer som driver transformationen mot växtbaserademejeri-substitut, och vilka möjligheter som finns för startup, så har en enkätundersökning och intervjuer utförts. Enkäten syftade till att förstå vilka faktorer hos konsumenter som driver den här förändringen. Intervjuerna utfördes med olika startups och andra relevanta organisationer och syftade till att diskutera enkätresultaten samt att förstå marknaden ur producenternas perspektiv. Enkätresultaten innehöll intressanta insikter, såsom potentiella målkunder, kundpreferenser inom växtbaserade mejeriprodukter samt potentiella möjligheter på marknaden. Intervjuerna diskuterade startups affärsmodeller, dynamiken på marknaden och de största utmaningarna. Resultatet analyserades med hjälp av ett teoretiskt ramverk bestående av bland annat multi-level perspective. Slutsatsen i studien var att det just nu sker en övergång till växtbaserade mejeri-substitut och att detta främst är drivet av ökad hänsyn för veganism/djurskydd samt klimatförändringar i kombination med R&D-utveckling som snabbt förbättrat produkternas smak, pris och bekvämlighet. Den här övergången har skapat nya möjligheter för startups att ge sig in på marknaden genom nya innovativa affärsmodeller. Men det tar lång tid för ett samhälle att ändra sina kostvanor, och många politiska institutioner arbetar aktivt för att skydda mejeriindustrin.

Diese Doktorarbeit untersucht die Rolle die Bürgerinitiativen an der Schnittstelle zwischen städtischen und digitalen Räumen spielen können. Sie folgt drei Untersuchungslinien. Zunächst wird untersucht, wie die Forschung zu aus Graswurzelbewegungen entstandenen Alternativen für nachhaltige und gerechte Städte von einer besonderen Art des digitalen Gemeinguts profitieren kann: des kollaborativen kartografischen Mappings. Zweitens wird die Verflechtung von digitalen Gemeingütern mit physischen städtischen Gemeingütern untersucht, um zu verstehen, wie die gemeinsame Nutzung zu transformativen Effekten in der Stadt führen kann. Drittens wird versucht, das transformative Potenzial der Gemeingüter als ein Narrativ des Wandels für nachhaltige und gerechte Städte im digitalen Zeitalter zu bewerten. Methodisch stützt die Arbeit sich auf Aktionsforschung, primäre Einzelfallstudien sowie eine vergleichende Fallstudienanalyse. Ein vorläufiges Ergebnis ist die Identifizierung von basisgeleiteten kollaborativen Mappings – hier betrachtet als Initiativen des gemeinsamen Wirkens (Commoning) – als wertvolle Wissensquellen zu alternativer Stadtökonomik. Die Hauptergebnisse zwingen uns dazu, das klassisch-naturalistische Verständnis des Gemeinguts in Frage zu stellen, welches dazu neigt, ein Gemeingut als gegeben zu betrachten. Stattdessen wäre es für die Forschung von Vorteil, einen gemeinsamen Prozess zu untersuchen: die Rückgewinnung, Schaffung und Nutzung gemeinsamer städtischer Ressourcen. Über die künstliche Trennung zwischen materiellen und immateriellen Facetten des Gemeingutes hinaus lässt sich (urbanes) Commoning am besten als eine relationale Praxis in Pflege und Aufbau von Partnerschaften für die Reproduktion von Leben in der Stadt definieren. Dies ist umso wichtiger, dass digitale Werkzeuge zwar neue Potenziale eröffnen können, aber im Gegensatz zu anderen Diskursen (Sharing Economy, Smart Cities) für das Commoning der Stadt nicht von zentraler Bedeutung sind. / This doctoral research investigates the role that citizen-driven initiatives can play at the intersection of the urban and digital spaces. It follows three lines of investigation. First, it explores how research about grassroots alternatives for sustainable and just cities may benefit from a particular type of digital commons: collaborative cartographic mappings. Second, it investigates the intertwin of digital commons with physical urban commons to understand how commoning may lead to transformative impacts in the city. Third, it seeks to evaluate the transformative potential of the commons as a narrative of change for sustainable and just cities in the digital age. Methodologically, it relies on action research, primary individual case-studies as well as a comparative case-study analysis. A preliminary result is the identification of grassroots-led collaborative mappings – seen as commoning initiatives – as valuable sources of knowledge about alternative urban economies. Main results compel us to question the classical/naturalist understanding of the commons that tends to consider it as a given. Instead, research would benefit to investigate a commoning process: the reclaiming creation, and use of shared urban resources. And, further, transcending artificial divides between the tangible and intangible facets of the commons, (urban) commoning is best defined as a relational practice of caring for and building partnerships for the reproduction of life in the city. This is all the more important that another significant result of the present work is that, while they may open new potential, digital tools are not central to commoning the city, in contrast other discourses (Sharing Economy, Smart Cities). Epistemologically, the author recommends aligning the effort of researching urban commoning to the Diverse/Community Economies research agenda which calls for performative studies of more-than-human urban commoning-communities.

We have dealt with the problem arising from the incongruity between the evolution of the electricity system for meeting the objectives of economic growth, and the human/societal requirements of inclusive and affordable development, and environmental compliance, within the purview of sustainability. We conceive and define the concept of sustainability in the context of national electricity system and adopt an indicator-based hierarchical framework to assess, measure and track its sustainability. The approach necessitates prioritization, quantification and aggregation of multi-dimensional indicators of sustainability. We evaluate the Indian electricity system using this framework by benchmarking the actual dimensional indicator values against upper and lower threshold levels to compute a national electricity system sustainability index (NESSI) for India. The estimated NESSI value for India in 2013 is a low 0.377 (benchmark value is 1), which suggest that India has a substantial sustainability gap to bridge. The approach and the results imply that India or any other emerging/developing country needs to have a serious relook at (i) the goals and targets set for the electricity system, (ii) the set of prioritized technology and policy interventions, and (iii) the models and approaches adopted for strategic electricity planning. The findings from our research clearly indicate that countries like India need to adopt “minimizing sustainability gap” rather than “increasing GDP growth” as the sole criterion for deciding about the challenges raised above for the electricity system. We strongly believe that this approach will not only meet the economic development objective set for the electricity system but also help achieving the societal aspirations as well as environmental compliance. We establish that Indian electricity system is poised for an imminent transition into a sustainable system. What constitutes the inputs, the processes and the outcomes of this transition are of immense interest and have been widely debated in the literature. We motivate and implement an electricity system generation expansion model with multi-attribute technology characterization to model the sustainability transition of electricity system and understand the feasibility, cost and carbon emission implications of generation augmentation. We build on the state of the art resource and technology characterization. We obtain the expansion planning requirements for Indian electricity system by superimposing the projected incremental increase in demand with the retirement schedule. Further, building on the recent advances in power system modelling, we formulate the electricity system transition problem as a grouped integer generation scheduling and generation expansion planning model. This formulation accounts for plant startups, minimum loads, operating reserves, ramping limits and plant life. We run multiple experiments by varying the system configurations for a planning horizon of 18 years till 2032 and characterize the system on select indicators under three dimensions of sustainability for each year. Within the select scenarios, NESSI value in the terminal year varies from 0.481 to 0.51 relative to the base year value of 0.377.We throw some light on how the important questions concerning technology pathways for electricity system sustainability transition can be queried. The approach adopted for this research is two pronged. First is to formulate and subsequently answer the question: What is and what should be the electricity system of India? The second is to answer: what are the prospects for transition of electricity system into a sustainable state? How do probable technology pathways manifest in terms of national electricity system? Can renewable energy deliver? Our proposition –which we validate through this research – is to formulate and subsequently answer the questions in two phases. The two phases are briefly detailed below: In the first phase, the question we have attempted to first formulate and subsequently answer is: what is and what should be the electricity system for India? We propose to employ an indicator based approach for this part of the research, which attempts to evaluate India’s electricity system using the sustainability framework. The analysis of the indicators belonging to economic, social, environmental and institutional dimensions of sustainability will provide a deeper understanding of the system, identify and quantify the prevailing sustainability gaps and develop specific targets for interventions. We begin with a survey of literature in the domain of sustainability assessment. We identify and briefly discuss the essential concepts, ideas and methods used in sustainability assessment. We observe the emergence of electricity related concerns in the wider sustainability discourse. Next, we survey the literature on electricity systems and discuss the intersection of energy systems with development. Than we define the sustainable national electricity system and bring out the synergies between measurement of sustainable development and assessment of objectives of electricity systems. We observe cross country variations in electricity system planning objectives. While focus for developed nations has historically been economic and has subsequently included environmental concerns of climate change and pollution. In addition to economic and environmental aspects, the low levels of access as well as consumption are a reality for India and other developing nations. This adds another dimension to the status assessment and subsequent planning of national electricity system of India. Synthesis of sustainability assessment and objectives of electricity system planning in this phase culminates with conception and evaluation of National Electricity System Sustainability Index (NESSI) for India. The underlying theme throughout this phase is our attempt to first formulate and subsequently answer: What is and what should be the electricity system for India? In the second phase, a modeling approach has been developed to optimally prioritize the interventions (energy-technology supply chains) in response to the specific targets (from Phase 1) for planning a sustainable electricity system for India. All the possible supply chain interventions tracking the transitions from energy resources to electricity in the bus bar on grid (as modeled by a Reference Energy System) form the inputs for the mathematical model. The output is the optimal set of interventions as trade-off solutions, which meet the targets set by the sustainability goal. The criteria like cost, efficiency of transformation, emission coefficients and energy resource availability form the basis for developing the optimal plan. We begin this phase with survey of literature on power system modelling. Electricity system planning has been undertaken in academic and planning domains for several decades. It is only recent that, driven by the imminent challenges of de-carbonization, affordability, equity and security- which has resulted in coevolution of several possible technological, behavioral and policy intervention proposals-there is demand for coherent assessment of these propositions for electricity system transition. In our work, we have focused on supply side technology interventions. Supply side technology intervention propositions for electricity system transition more often than not involve variable renewable energy, i.e., solar and wind. Variable renewable energy technologies pose significant modelling challenges because of their characteristic intermittency which induces complex dynamics in the complimentary system, i.e., electricity generating technologies other than renewable energy. We identify tremendous activity in the domain of electricity system modelling with focus on model representation of electricity system constituents which has significant implications for the outcomes of the planning exercises undertaken with these models. Literature synthesis in this phase culminates with our attempt at mathematical modelling of generation technology pathways for electricity system in transition. Undertaking this exercise has involved preparation of model feeds: energy resource supply profiles, generation technology specifications and demand projections. We have done a series of numerical experiments to establish validity of the model. Subsequently we have validated various scenarios for Indian electricity system representing different levels of transitions, which provides insights which we expect will be useful for the stakeholders. The underlying theme throughout this phase is our attempt to answer the questions: How does one understand electricity system transition? How do electricity generating technologies interact amongst each other to yield certain set of system outputs? Can renewable energy deliver? In our pursuit of finding answers to several questions raised at various points in this thesis and alluded to above, we have done a systematic systemic diagnosis of Indian electricity system. We have developed a multi-dimensional and multi-hierarchical indicator based framework to measure national electricity system sustainability. We have assessed Indian electricity system with this framework, to understand if Indian electricity system is sustainable and how it can transition towards a more sustainable state. Based on this understanding, we have investigated electricity generation technology pathways for a transitioning electricity system. We have modelled India as a single region with aggregate temporal profiles of resource availability and hourly loads. Building on the recent literature on power system modelling and their application, this thesis is a systematic exposition of how the important questions of supply side technology portfolio concerning electricity system sustainability transition can be queried. The results are based on several instances of data inputs. Main contributions from our work are: 1. Introducing the concept of sustainability of national electricity system and defining it comprehensively for the first time. 2. Conceptualizing, developing and validating a multi-dimensional and multi-hierarchical indicator-based framework for assessing and benchmarking national electricity system sustainability. This framework is generalizable and applicable to the electricity systems of all the countries for assessing the sustainability status. 3. A composite measure of National Electricity System Sustainability Index (NESSI), which can be used to identify and quantify prevailing sustainability gaps in the national electricity system and provide a goal for sustainability transition of the electricity system through higher NESSI target values. The constituents (dimensions, themes and indicators) of NESSI can enable identification of interventions and fixing of targets for such a transition. 4. Conceptualized, developed and validated an integrated mathematical model of generation expansion planning (supply augmentation) and generation scheduling with extensive operational details for electricity system in transition. This included: Enumeration and characterization of reference electricity system (energy resources, electricity generating technologies and demand for electricity). Demand profiling which involved estimating annual peak demand and demand for electricity, consideration of annual retiring capacity and computation of representative demand profiles (load curves) for past and future years using time-series load data. Modelling variable renewable energy (wind, solar and hydro) by developing representative energy resource availability profiles using time-series data. Harmonizing the extracted temporal energy resource availability and load profiles to preserve the chronological correlations. Explicit modelling of capacity utilization by proposing and implementing unit profile inversion. Effectively, it implies that generation from the variable generation capacity, e.g., solar capacity is upper bounded by the representative profile corresponding to that capacity. Optimally selected generation technology interventions for planning sustainable electricity system for India under select scenarios. 5. Juxtaposition of indicator-based macro model of electricity system sustainability assessment with bottom-up mathematical model of generation expansion planning and generation scheduling to evaluate official Indian scenarios of electricity system planning for sustainability transition. In summary, we have developed and demonstrated an empirical instance of an integrated methodology, beginning from a systematic diagnosis of the national electricity system to a meaningful solution. Through this thesis, we have attempted to understand the alternate future electricity supply transitions, their implications for society and environment and how they are influenced by the planning decisions. In conclusion, there is substantial activity in all stakeholder domains: research activity, actions by NGOs and the government but given the long term nature of probable interventions, sustained efforts will be required to reach the desired outcomes. Future of grid is the biggest system level problem, which we believe we have illuminated to some extent and which could benefit from further research. While planning exercises using complex models are useful in their own right given the complexities of real world close monitoring and scrutiny of the evolving electricity system and timely course corrections will be critical

A fundamental change in societal values and economic structures is required to address increasing pressures on ecosystems and natural resources. Transition research has developed in the last decades to analyze the co-dynamics of technological, institutional, social and economic elements in the provision of key functions such as energy, water and food supply. This doctoral dissertation provides conceptual and methodological contributions to the pro-active governance of sustainability transitions. Three research gaps are identified that are addressed in this dissertation. First, a comprehensive conceptualization of learning in sustainability transitions is currently missing that comprises learning at multiple societal levels (ranging from individuals to policy-actors). Learning concepts are often not explicitly discussed in transition research even though learning is considered as fundamental for innovation processes, niche formation and development as well as breakthrough and diffusion of innovations. Second, methods for the analysis and design of transition governance processes are lacking that specify case-specific intervention points and roles of actors in the implementation of innovations. Third, participatory modeling approaches are only applied to a limited extent in transition research despite a high potential for supporting communication and learning. The conceptualization of multi-level learning developed in this doctoral research conceptualizes learning at different societal levels as specific learning contexts ranging from individual and group contexts to organizational and policy contexts. The conceptual framework further differentiates between learning processes, intensity, objects, outcomes, subjects and factors, allowing for a more detailed analysis of learning within and across learning contexts. Thus, learning contexts can be linked by processes that involve actors from different learning contexts (e.g., community groups and policy-makers), as well as exchanges of physical aspects, institutions and knowledge (in the form of ‘learning factors’). This research has also provided a classification of model uses in transition research that supports a purposeful discussion of the opportunities of modeling and promising future research directions. The methodology developed in this doctoral research aims at the analysis and design of transition governance processes by specifying the various opportunities to contribute to sustainability transitions through purposeful action at different societal levels, as well as related roles of stakeholders in implementing such processes of change. The methodology combines different streams of previous research: 1) a participatory modeling approach to identify problem perceptions, case-specific sustainability innovations as well as related implementation barriers, drivers and responsibilities; 2) a systematic review to identify supportive and impeding learning factors from the general literature that can complement case-specific factors; and 3) a method for the analysis and design of case-specific transition governance processes. Three case studies in Canada (topic: sustainable food systems), Cyprus (water-energy-food nexus) and Germany (sustainable heating supply) have been selected to test and iteratively develop the methodology described above. The results for each case study reveal that there are learning objects (i.e., learning requirements) in all learning contexts, which underscores the importance of multi-level learning in sustainability transitions, ranging from the individual to the group, organizational and policy levels. Actors have various opportunities to actively facilitate societal transformations towards sustainable development either directly through actions at their particular societal levels (i.e., context-internal learning) or indirectly through actions that influence learning at other societal levels. In fact, most of the learning factors require cooperation across learning contexts during the implementation process. The comparing of learning factors across case studies underline the importance of several factor categories, such as ‘physical a ‘disturbance or crisis’, ‘information and knowledge’. Of the 206 factors identified by stakeholders, 40 factors are case-specific and not contained in the general, review-based factor list. This underscores the value of participatory research, as general, top-down analyses might have overlooked these case-specific factors. The methodology presented in this dissertation allows for the identification and analysis of case-specific intervention points for sustainability transitions at multiple societal levels. The methodology furthermore permits the analysis of interplay between individual, group, organizational and policy actions, which is a first step towards their coordination. The focus on sustainability innovations links the broad topic of sustainability transitions to a set of opportunities for practical interventions and overcoming their implementation barriers. The methodology presented allows for the analysis and design of these interlinkages between learning contexts. While the methodology cannot provide any ‘silver bullets’ for inducing sustainability transitions, it is flexible enough to identify an appropriate abstraction level for analyzing and designing transition governance processes. The methodology developed in this doctoral research also provides several contributions for the development of participatory modeling methods in transition research. Thus, the participatory method supports an integrated analysis of barriers and drivers of sustainability innovations, and allows application in practice and education. The concepts and methods developed in this research project allow for reflection on transition governance processes from a systemic viewpoint. Experiences in the case studies underline the applicability of the concepts and methods developed for the analysis of case-specific transition governance processes. Despite substantial differences in the geographic location, culture and topics addressed, all case studies include promising sustainability innovations and the engagement of multiple actors in their implementation. The diversity and multitude of initiatives in the case study regions provides an optimistic outlook on future opportunities for large-scale sustainability transitions.