Publication

The Swiss Federal Office of Energy wants to strengthen the Social Sciences and Humanities in energy research

SFOE / SAGW (Christina Graf)

To achieve Switzerland’s energy and climate targets in 2050, both technical/scientific research and social/humanistic research are indispensable.

For a variety of reasons, existing technologies that would serve decarbonisation are either not yet or only partially used. Research in the Social Sciences and Humanities can provide important insights into these reasons and thus contribute decisively to achieving Switzerland’s net zero targets.

Every four years, the Federal Energy Research Commission (CORE) establishes a Federal Energy Research Masterplan. In the current «Federal Energy Research Masterplan for the period from 2021 to 2024», the interdisciplinary development of new, technically feasible and socially accepted energy technologies is considered the most important goal. The increasing importance of cross-sectional technologies urgently calls for a strong cooperation between the technical disciplines and the Social Sciences and Humanities.

In May 2021, the International Energy Agency (IEA) published the report «Net-Zero by 2050: A roadmap for the global energy sector». The report lists the most important pillars for the decarbonisation of the global energy system (in that order).

  • (1) Energy efficiency
  • (2) Behavioural changes
  • (3) Electrification
  • (4) Renewable energy
  • (5) Hydrogen and
  • (6) hydrogen-based fuels
  • (7) Bioenergy and 
  • (8) CCUS

The report also concludes that for 2030, most of the global CO2 reductions can be achieved with technologies that are already available today. For 2050, however, nearly half of the reductions will come from technologies that are currently being tested in demonstration projects or are available as prototypes. While further technical innovation is needed, existing and future technologies must also be widely adopted and used. To achieve this, social issues, such as acceptance and adoption of new technologies, legal issues and ethical questions must be addressed by researchers from the Social Sciences and Humanities.

Register for the SWEET Newsletter of the Swiss Federal Office of Energy

The SWEET newsletter is published by the SFOE and provides information about the SWEET (Swiss Energy Research for the Energy Transition) funding program. The aim of SWEET is to promote innovations that contribute significantly to the successful implementation of the Energy Strategy 2050 and the achievement of Switzerland's climate targets.

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Joint events to promote energy research in the Social Sciences and Humanities

To involve the Social Sciences and Humanities more intensively in research activities in the energy sector, the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE), with its various funding programmes, will organize several events together with the Swiss Academy of Humanities and Social Sciences (SAHS/SAGW).

25 June: Webinar on Energy and Climate Policy: Contribution of the Social Sciences and Humanities

Together with the SFOE, the SAGW offers a webinar on 25 June 2021, 10:00–11:00 am on the Swiss energy and climate targets, particularly in the buildings and mobility sectors. Besides an overview of the challenges, the webinar will focus on the inclusion of the Social Sciences and Humanities to attain the energy and climate targets. Subsequently, the SFOE’s various funding instruments will be presented. Language: English

Agenda and registration


Agenda

  • 05' Welcome (Dr. Markus Zürcher, SAGW)
  • 15' Challenges in achieving the energy and climate targets (Dr. Luca Castiglioni, SFOE)
  • 10' Significance of the Social Sciences and Humanities for the energy and climate strategy (Prof. Michael Stauffacher, ETHZ)
  • 10' Experience report (Prof. Isabelle Stadelmann, University of Berne)
  • 10' Presentation of SFOE funding instruments (Dr. Andreas Haselbacher, SFOE)
  • 05' Examples of SFOE research projects (Dr. Wolfgang Elsenbast, SFOE) 
  • 10' Q&A
  • Conclusion and next events (Dr. Markus Zürcher, SAGW)

Registration

The webinar is free. Registration is required before 23 June via e-mail to: marie.steck(at)sagw.ch (please indicate name, first name, institution). You will receive the link shortly before the webinar.

2 July: Workshop on energy research in the field of mobility

On 2 July 2021, 9:00–12:00 am, the SFOE offers an interdisciplinary workshop in Berne. Researchers from the Social Sciences and Humanities, together with researchers from the technical and scientific disciplines, will develop research questions and project ideas on the subject of mobility. Language: English

Format: interdisciplinary working groups

At the workshop, four working groups will be formed. Each working group includes four researchers from the Social Sciences and Humanities and two researchers from the technical and natural science disciplines. The SFOE is especially interested in researchers from the fields of communication, media, politics, law, economics, sociology, and social psychology who intend to expand their research activities in the energy field.

The 16 spots for the Social Sciences and Humanities researchers and 8 spots for researchers from the technical and scientific disciplines will be assigned on a first come, first served basis. The SFOE will assign the participants to the groups.

The four working groups will develop suggestions to help the SFOE better address the Social Sciences and Humanities in its future calls for proposals and to strengthen the latter’s interaction with technical and scientific disciplines.

Draft schedule and registration


Draft Agenda

  • 09:00–09:10 am: Welcome, workshop information and goals (SFOE) 
  • 09:10–09:50: Key notes: Challenges of the Swiss transport sector, mobility behaviour (tbd)
  • 09:50–10:50: Discussion groups
  • 10:50–11:00: Break
  • 11:00–11:30: Plenary discussion
  • 11:30–11:40: Wrap-up & outlook (SFOE)

Registration

The time stamp of your registration on Survey Monkey is decisive. The same form on Survey Monkey also offers the possibility to subscribe to the newsletter, which will regularly inform you about calls for proposals from the SWEET funding programme.

Titelbild: Pixabay