Paper short abstract:

The paper argues that the nascent discipline of Energy Humanities can help us ‘translate’ natural science knowledge about climate change and energy transition into a more understandable and more accessible narrative by employing techniques from ethnology, folkloristics, and (cultural) anthropology

Paper long abstract:

The aim of this paper is to contribute to the new interdisciplinary area of Energy Humanities, which places emphasis on energy-related aspects of climate change, especially energy transition from the largely fossil fuel-based current system to one based on renewable energy. The energy sector plays a crucial role in global warming as it is the major greenhouse gasses emitter, which is why an energy transition towards carbon-free (or at least neutral) economies of the future is paramount for climate change mitigation. Moreover, Energy Humanities highlights the fact that all aspects of our everyday lives and societies are deeply energy-dependent, so that an energy transition is not just a matter of substituting one form of energy with another, but a complex process with far-reaching social, economic, cultural, and political consequences. Finally, it is interested in the transfer of knowledge and the role the different disciplines within the humanities and social sciences – including ethnology, folkloristics, and (cultural) anthropology have in “translating” scientific facts into narratives accessible to broad public. The paper explores how Energy Humanities can contribute to our better understanding of processes, risks, and possibilities of climate change mitigation. It also invites discussion on the potential of ethnology, folkloristics, and (cultural) anthropology to contribute to the discussion on energy-related matters, and how their tools can be used to broaden our knowledge about energy transition and climate change.