Editing IPCC:AR6/WGIII/Chapter-17 (section)

=== 17.4.2 Technological and Social Innovation ===

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Individuals and organisations, like institutional entrepreneurs, can function to build transformative capacity through collective action ( [[#Brodnik--2018|Brodnik and Brown 2018]] ). The transition from a traditional water-management system to the Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD) model in Melbourne offers an illustration of how whole systems can be changed in an urban system.

Private-sector entrepreneurs also play an important role in fostering and accelerating transitions to sustainable development ( [[#Burch--2016|Burch et al. 2016]] ; [[#Ehnert--2018a|Ehnert et al. 2018a]] ; [[#Dale--2017|Dale et al. 2017]] ). Sustainable entrepreneurs (SEs), for instance, are described as those who participate in the development of an innovation while simultaneously being rooted in the incumbent energy-intensive system. SE actors who have developed longer-term relationships, both formal and informal, with the public authorities can have considerable influence on developing novel renewable-energy technologies ( [[#Gasbarro--2017|Gasbarro et al. 2017]] ). Institutions and policies that nurture the activities of sustainable entrepreneurs, in particular small- and medium-sized enterprises ( [[#Burch--2016|Burch et al. 2016]] ), can facilitate and strengthen transitions toward more sustainable development pathways, as can more fundamental adjustments to underlying business models, rather than relying only on incremental adjustments in the efficiency with which resources are used ( [[#Burch--2021|Burch and Di Bella 2021]] ).

The creation and growth of sustainable energy and clean-tech clusters enable economic development and transformation on regional scales. Such clusters can put pressure on incumbent technologies and rules to accelerate energy transitions. Successful clusters are nurtured by multi-institutional and multi-stakeholder actors building institutional support networks, facilitating collaboration between sectors and actors, and promoting learning and social change. Notably, regional economic clusters generate a buzz, which can have a strong influence on public acceptance, support and enthusiasm for socio-technical transitions ( [[#McCauley--2012|McCauley and Stephens 2012]] ).

In Norway, many incumbent energy firms have already expanded their operations into the alternative-energy sector as both producers and suppliers (who often follow the lead of producers). Producers are responding to perceptions of larger-scale changes in the energy landscape (e.g., the green shift), along with uncertainties in their own sectors, and innovation can spill across actors in multiple sectors ( [[#Koasidis--2020|Koasidis et al. 2020]] ). While these firms are expanding out of self-interest, the expansion provides more legitimacy to new forms of technology and enables transfers of knowledge and resources to be introduced within this developing niche ( [[#Steen--2017|Steen and Weaver 2017]] ). Many large, well-established firms are pursuing sustainability agendas and opting for transparency with regard to their greenhouse gas emissions ( [[#Kolk--2008|Kolk et al. 2008]] ; [[#Guenther--2016|Guenther et al. 2016]] ), supply-chain management ( [[#Formentini--2016|Formentini and Taticchi 2016]] ) and sustainable technology or service development ( [[#Dangelico--2016|Dangelico et al. 2016]] ).

Experiments with the transition open up pathways that can lead to energy transitions on broader scales. Experiments can build capacity by developing networks and building bridges between diverse actors, leveraging capital from government funds, de-risking private- and public-sector investment, and acting as hubs for public education and engagement ( [[#Rosenbloom--2018|Rosenbloom et al. 2018]] ).

Material barriers and spatial dynamics ( [[#Coenen--2012|Coenen et al. 2012]] ; [[#Hansen--2015|Hansen and Coenen 2015]] ) are other critical obstacles to innovation: often, infrastructure and built environments change more slowly than policies and institutions due to the inherently long lifespans of fixed assets ( [[#Turnheim--2019|Turnheim and Nykvist 2019]] ). The example of transport infrastructure in Ontario, Canada, illustrates the need to integrate climate change into these infrastructural decisions in the very short term to combat the risk of being left with unsustainable planning features long into the future, especially combustion engines, significant road networks and suburbanisation ( [[#Birch--2016|Birch 2016]] ).

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