“There is a danger that the energy transition will result in even greater inequality.”
Research focus: social impact of energy transition, political science, futuring, energy poverty, civic participation
Dr. Jesse Hoffman is Assistant Professor at the Urban Futures Studio and the Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development. Jesse studies how societal and political groups may become more imaginative and creative in addressing climate change and related issues like the global transition to a post-fossil society.
Futuring and politics
Jesse is fascinated by the way in which images of the future guide societal transformation. The waves of protests around the globe in the past years signal that societal change is bound to run into resistance and intertia, but also raise the question whether a different, more hopefull kind of politics is possible. A core notion in Jesse's work is futuring, defined at the Urban Futures Studio as "attempts at shaping the space for action by identifying and ciruclating images of the future, a process by which relatonships between past, present and future are enacted" (Hoffman et al. 2021; explained by prof. dr. Maarten Hajer in the video at the bottom).
Parade for the new era at the exhibition Places of Hope, Leeuwarden Cultural Capital 2018.
Research: Futuring, hope and democracy
A core idea in Jesse's research is the idea that fighting climate change may also enable a future that is more democratic and socially equitable. In his PhD research he demonstrated that the global energy transition may decentralize power and become a source of hope and empowerment, but that this is often not the case as renewable energy is often realised megaprojects, once again centralising political power (Hoffman, 2013).
Jesse is one of the lead scientists of the international consortium Reconfiguring Energy for Social Equity (ReSET). ReSET aims to illuminate how the transition from fossil to renewable energy can be leveraged to address the Sustainable Development Goals, specifically SDG7 (transition to renewables) and, while doing so, deliver on SDG5 & SDG10 (reducing inequalities) and SDG16 (inclusive and just institutions). The consortium, consisting of leading institutions from South Africa, Germany and India, investigates how investments in the energy transition can improve on social equity in diverse rural and urban contexts. Fore more information click here.
To investigate the relationship between the future and democracy a core notion in his reseach is the concept of techniques of futuring, defined at the Urban Futures Studio as "practices bringing together actors around one or more imagined futures and through which actors come to share one or more orientations for action. (Oomen et al. 2021; explained by Lisette van Beek in the video at the bottom).
Transdisciplinary education
In the past years Jesse and his colleagues have experimented with new forms of education that try connect 'the classroom' to societal developments. Two examples are 'Techniques of Futuring: A Mixed Classroom' and the summerschool 'Futuring for Sustainability'. One of the main innovations of these initiatives is that students and professionals are part of the same classroom and learn together about the future. The mixed-classroom concept is nominated for one of the three Dutch Higher Education premiums 2021 (for more information, in Dutch, click here). See the testimonial by Isabel Liedtke, student of the Mixed Classroom in 2017.
Testimonial of alumni Isabel Liedtke (2017-2018)
Core concepts explained
Futuring explained by prof. dr. Maarten Hajer
Techinques of futuring explained by researcher Lisette van Beek
Areas of interest:
- Social impact of energy transition
- Political science
- Futuring
- Energy poverty
- Citizen participation