XIX ISA World Congress of Sociology (July 15-21, 2018)

440

Global Debates about Our Technoscientific Futures

RC23 Sociology of Science and Technology (host committee)

Language: English and French

This thematic session debates the climate change, technological innovation and energy crisis in contemporary societies.Climate change is a complex, unprecedented phenomenon, that is affecting all societies, north and south of the planet. Among its causes, we highlight the social use of energy, as well  the impact that changes in this sector have caused over the last few centuries. In this context, the technological innovation and its social, economic and environmental impacts are playing an increasingly vital role. Although the number of studies on these impacts are reduced, it’s possible to propose a model of types and impacts of the changes generated in the economy, the environment and lives of people, including changes in the habits of citizens, business, public policies and civil society. Several indicators of the industry and energy policies of countries indicate the development of an energy transition, and the trend appears to be increasing deployment with hybridization of plants based on alternative energy with a gradual shift towards a world of low carbon. In this sense, the session proposes to bring together researchers from different regions of the world,  North-South perspectives, to discuss the transformation process in the energy matrix, with emphasis on socio-technical dimension.