Energy transitions: Plurality as wickedness and governance as clumsiness

The current energy transition, sustainable in character, is conventionally regarded as a solution to the climate change problem. However, due to its inherent plurality it is useful to regard it as a problem itself, a wicked one. As such, it requires solutions that engage that complexity constructively, referred to as clumsy. To make sense of that plurality and indicate ways to harness it, socio-cultural viability theory is employed. First, applying its typology of four ideal-typical ways of life reveals four energy transition perspectives: market-driven, state-directed, community-led, and the rejection of it. Each entails distinct ends and means for the transition as well as conceptions of the energy trilemma and energy justice. Second, analyzing recent empirical findings in Europe through its clumsy solutions hypothesis suggests clumsier policy mixes lead to better energy transition performance, adding support to the theory. Finally, since each perspective has specific preferences for managing plurality, the concept of messy institutions is explored complementarily to clarify them and bolster this approach.