Sustainability Science: Sustainable Energy for Mobility and Its Use in Policy Making

Abstract

Abstract:Since the 1980s sustainability has clearly become the challenge of the 21st century. In a process toward a sustainable society it is crucial that different stakeholders start collaboration and exchange ideas with technicians and academics. To finalize the policy decisions on important issues such as energy sustainability, collaboration between policy makers, academia and the private sector is important. This work intends to give Italian policy makers concrete advice and solutions to develop energy systems for mobility. The analysis proceeds from the context of Sustainability Science, a new science, which has emerged as one of the most important disciplines of international scientific research. Using a new approach, trans-disciplinary and integrated, this research is oriented to study and understand the complexity of the interactions between economy, society and nature. This broad approach permits proposing concrete solutions to complex problems locally and globally. We propose a scheme of definition of Sustainability Energy, defining five pillars of reference, and we redefine the energy systems for mobility in the context of Sustainability Science. In this paper, we start from the idea that we are living in a crucial passage, we are moving from the era of petroleum to the era of energy vectors. Energy systems, including mobility, should be redefined within this new approach.

Addressing the Complexities of Boundary Work in Sustainability Science through Communication

“…With its commitment to solving complex problems in ongoing cycles of linking knowledge and action, attention to boundaries and boundary work is essential to transdisciplinary sustainability science processes [1,25,27]. Leading theorists in sustainability science propose the following definition of boundary work:…”

“…Clark and Dickson [24] describe this focus on problems addressed, as opposed to the disciplines involved, as one of sustainability science's defining characteristics. Sustainability science represents a response to the increasingly urgent call to recognize and understand these complex interlinked problems and identify novel solutions that effectively move knowledge into action [25].…”

Engineering and Sustainability: Attitudes and Actions

“…Applications of sustainability concepts in engineering have been reported in such areas as energy [40][41][42][43][44], infrastructure [45,46] and manufacturing [37,47]. Investigations in sustainability science, which are related to engineering sustainability, have also been reported [28,[48][49][50][51]. The incorporation of sustainable development and sustainability ideas into engineering education has received increasing attention over the last decade in general [4,8,[52][53][54] and in such areas as design [55][56][57].…”

Using Sustainability Engineering to Gain Universal Sustainability Efficiency

“…The concept should match its prototype in every subsystem of sustainability. Today, the category of sustainability is highly demanding, requiring the adequate appreciation and engagement in science, as well as in practice [6][7][8][9][10][11][12]. The credo of sustainability should be disseminated in the micro level as well.…”