Energy transitions are now a common aim in policy and planning. Yet in the 1970s, the concept was barely in use. As today’s energy decision-makers weigh choices about strategic and unanticipated change, insights can be gained from early leaders in low carbon energy shifts. Building on new research and her book Low Carbon Energy Transitions: Turning Points in National Policy in Innovation, Dr. Kathleen Araújo outlines critical junctures that have shaped energy development in Denmark, Iceland, Brazil, and France over nearly five decades.
Dr. Kathleen Araújo is Associate Professor of Energy Systems and Policy at Boise State University, and Director of the Energy Policy Institute, the policy arm for Center for Advanced Energy Studies, a consortium of public universities plus Idaho National Laboratory.
Dr. Araújo’s work focuses on critical decision-making relating to safety, sustainability and security amidst regional development. This includes national cyber and drone policies in relation to nuclear plants, wildfire-grid risk, electric vehicles, and energy jobs. Her book Low Carbon Energy Transitions: Turning Points in National Policy and Innovation (Oxford University Press) provides an in-depth look at four country-level shifts that occurred since the global oil crisis of 1973. Dr. Araújo’s approach considers early vs. late adopters, science and technology policy, and industrial cluster or innovation system development. Dr. Araújo is also Book Series Editor for Routledge’s Studies in Energy Transitions. She earned her Ph.D. at MIT, and completed post-doctoral research at the Harvard Kennedy School in science-technology policy and international nuclear safety.
**Note special start time of 5:00 pm**
