The UK Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) wanted to examine the future using scenarios to consider what social science research related to sustainable energy will be most important. The central objective of the Scenario Exercise on Moving Toward a Sustainable Energy Economy was to develop recommendations on economic and social research priorities. Another objective was to recommend improvements in how such research should be carried out and how the research can be communicated and utilized most effectively.

The project used an innovative methodology in which alternative scenarios of how a sustainable energy economy might emerge served as a framework for discussions of research priorities. The scenarios explored widely different ways in which the energy system might evolve between now and 2050. This approach was based on the assumption that looking at a wide “possibility space” of plausible future conditions provides a more creative perspective than thinking that is confined to current conditions, outlooks and assumptions.

Research was carried out by the Institute for Alternative Futures (IAF) and the Institute of Innovation Research (IoIR) at the University of Manchester/UMIST. The project was sponsored by the Towards a Sustainable Energy Economy Programme (TSEC), a joint effort of the UK’s Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC); however, the contents do not necessarily represent the views of the funders.

Due to the size of the report, you have the option to either download the complete report, or download it by section.

Download Complete Report – Scenario Exercise on Moving Toward a Sustainable Energy Economy (1.11 MB)

Download sections of the report below:

Executive Summary (320 KB)
1. Scenario Workshop Results: Research Priorities (322 KB)
2. Scenario Workshop Results: Recommendations on Methods (206 KB)
3. Scenario Development (720 KB)
4. Appendix 1 (169 KB)
5. Appendix 2 (237 KB)
6. Appendix 3 (163 KB)
Report Images (1.15 MB)