RGS-IBG 2015: Transitioning to low-carbon mobilities‏

Organisers: Debbie Hopkins, Centre for Sustainability, University of Otago (NZ) and James Higham, Department of Tourism, University of Otago (NZ)

Sponsor: Transport Geography Research Group 

The 21st Century is ‘on the move’. In industrialised countries, people are becoming more mobile; travelling further to reach everyday activities such as employment and education, and seeking far reaching tourism destinations. These practices of mobility demand faster, carbon-intensive transport modes including private vehicles and air travel. Despite technological efficiency gains, transport related greenhouse gas emissions are continuing to grow. The Fifth Assessment Report from the IPCC highlighted the need for ‘aggressive and sustained’ mitigation policies in order to achieve the required deep GHG reductions. This carbon intensity raises significant questions around the place of mobility and tourism in the Anthropocene, an era requiring transitions towards low-carbon futures. 

The concept of transition provides a conceptual lens through which to examine change across temporal and spatial scales and from wide-ranging inter- and post-disciplinary positions. Low-carbon transitions will need to incorporate behavioural, technological and policy approaches. In this session we seek contributions spanning behavioural, technological and policy insights to transitions towards low-carbon mobilities.  A broad definition of mobilities is applied for this session.

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

§  Examples of historical mobility transitions (e.g. transitions to motorised transport, geographical uptake of new innovations)

§  Theoretical approaches to conceptualising low-carbon mobility transitions

§  Transitions in specific geographic contexts including national and sub-national scales

§  Transitions in car- and aero- mobilities

§  Behaviour, technology and policy transitions.

Mobility

For the Mobile Lives Forum, mobility is understood as the process of how individuals travel across distances in order to deploy through time and space the activities that make up their lifestyles. These travel practices are embedded in socio-technical systems, produced by transport and communication industries and techniques, and by normative discourses on these practices, with considerable social, environmental and spatial impacts.

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We are seeking abstracts (c.250 words) for oral presentations to explore the landscape of transitions to low-carbon mobilities from wide-ranging perspectives. We may seek interest in a journal special issue following on from this session and hope to use this session to develop ongoing dialogue between contributors. 

Timeline:

• Deadline for submission of abstracts: Wednesday 4 ^th February 2015
• Responses from session convenors by: Friday 6 ^th February 2015
• The session convenors will communicate the RGS response as soon as informed by the organisers after the RGS 20th February deadline 

Abstracts and questions should be submitted to Debbie.hopkins@otago.ac.nz