Household-level energy-saving behaviors help mitigate climate change within the broader energy transition. However, existing studies have primarily emphasized direct economic incentive interventions, with relatively little attention to energy-saving behaviors in the private sphere. This study examines the drivers of private-sphere energy efficiency behaviors in a non-Western context of residential buildings, focusing on social norms, awareness, and perceived personal responsibility in China. Building from previous assertions of social practice theory, we assess whether individuals feel personally responsible for building-related emissions and whether they view occupants as the primary agents to enact operational efficiency. Using an original survey dataset of 1,042 respondents in China, we analyze both ongoing behaviors, such as turning off lights and A/C, and one-off actions, including home energy efficiency upgrades. Hierarchical regression models sequentially examine the effects of demographics, social norms, awareness, and personal responsibility. Results indicate that social normative pressures and awareness predict engagement in energy efficiency behaviors, whereas perceptions of personal responsibility do not. These findings suggest that individuals adopt desirable efficiency behaviors even without strong sense of responsibility or self-efficacy motivation, highlighting the potential of leveraging normative influence and information campaigns to overcome behavioral barriers and advance decarbonization in the residential building sector. 

This study investigates how a suite of nontechnical factors including socioeconomic characteristics, awareness mechanisms, and perceived barriers jointly influence residential energy-efficiency attitudes and behaviors in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Drawing on a nationally representative survey of 1,003 respondents across four regions—Riyadh, Makkah, Eastern Province and the rest of KSA— it examines determinants of energy-saving behaviors, investment decisions, and engagement with energy-efficiency measures. The results indicate that social influences from family, workplaces, and broader societal norms are positively associated with energy-saving behavior, with 42 % of respondents reporting encouragement from family and peers. Results show that energy behavior is shaped by multiple interacting factors rather than any single dominant driver. Economic salience is critical as households with higher utility bills and price pressure are more likely to adopt energy-saving behaviors, while financial capacity strongly influences the decision to invest in energy efficiency. Awareness of energy waste is found to be generally high, with 44 % of respondents strongly agreeing that energy waste is a common issue and 63.6 % reporting awareness of national energy-efficiency programs. Barriers to energy-saving practices are observed to be predominantly practical and informational rather than motivational with almost 35 % respondents citing lack of awareness of available technologies as the primary barrier. The findings signify the need to move beyond technology-centric strategies toward integrated, people-centered energy-efficiency approaches. Policy frameworks should prioritize delivering clear and actionable information tailored to housing types, and addressing structural barriers such as split incentives.

Driven by increased exposure to climate change hazards and energy price reforms, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) is keen to transform its energy-intensive building sector, with air-conditioning (AC) accounting for 70% of the energy used in buildings. While much past research has focused on technological solutions, this study investigates some of the critical AC usage patterns and energy conservation behavior in the Saudi residential sector. Harnessing a novel and original public survey with spatial granularity, this study explores socio-demographic, economic, and behavioral determinants of AC usage, thermostat preferences, and energy conservation attitudes. The study identifies household income and energy expenditure as among the more influential predictors of user behavior. Lower-income households are significantly less likely to use AC extensively, which may indicate potential equity and affordability concerns, while higher-income groups exhibit extended usage patterns, particularly year-round use and daily operation exceeding 18 h. Education, dwelling type, and ownership status are also influential factors, though with a modest effect. Regional differences, particularly in Makkah and Riyadh, reveal further contextual variations in behavior. AC switch-off and thermostat adjustment attitudes reflect a mix of economic constraints and habitual behavior. Drawing from these findings, the study underscores the need for integrated policy frameworks that combine efficiency measures with targeted behavioral interventions.

This article examines how the discursive logic of quasi-markets in Swedish university real-estate management enables depoliticisation while consolidating state control. Sweden is a distinctive case where universities are public agencies, yet most campus property is owned by Akademiska Hus AB, a profit-seeking corporation wholly owned by the state. Using interpretive policy and frame analysis of legislation, government decisions, and public debate, we trace how market rents were introduced and justified. We show that depoliticising narratives portraying academics as fiscally unaccountable and university space as wasteful legitimise New Public Management reforms. Extending the 'ghost in the machine' metaphor, we demonstrate how political logics permeate welfare governance but are rendered less visible. The quasi-market sustains centralised control and fuels distrust between universities and government, risking a cycle of expanding quasi-market instruments and reduced institutional autonomy. Diminished autonomy may in turn have implications for academic freedom.

Within the multi-level perspective (MLP) on sustainability transitions, there has been a rise in research on storylines and discursive framing that have become more central in understanding how competing narratives shape the trajectories of innovation. This paper examines how policy actors and stakeholders construct and frame competing scenario narratives of sustainable aviation futures. Using a scenario narrative framing approach, we analyze empirical data from focus groups and interviews with Swedish aviation sector actors. The findings reveal a discursive split: one set of narratives supports an active state fostering sustainable aviation through niche innovation (aligned with ecological modernism), while another advocates for limiting aviation altogether (reflecting green theory). These national narratives are contrasted by a multilateral, risk-averse discourse calling for international or EU-level decision-making processes. Our results highlight a deeper divide — scenario narratives are polarized and politicized, with transport mode innovations increasingly tied to political identities. Centre-right actors tend to support aviation innovation over rail, while green and Centre-left actors often argue the reverse. This politicization reflects broader discursive struggles, as seen in debates such as the proposed closure of Västerås regional airport and Bromma airport. This includes dissuading tourists who use aircrafts, excluding aviation from approaches to collective traffic and lacking integration in any public transport system. This leads to aviation being perceived neither as private nor collective transport in discourses and as ambivalent in policies.

Residential or household energy use in heating, cooling, and lighting must become more efficient to advance residential decarbonization and meet 2050 global climate targets. This study presents a typology of social impacts and behaviors, emphasizing normative community roles in decarbonization of residential buildings. We examine efficiency-related behaviors in the private sphere including lighting, air-conditioning use, and building upgrades using a nationally representative United States dataset (n = 1002). We analyze social encouragement from friends, family, and workplace. OLS analyses show that these social normative pressures significantly predict ongoing energy-efficiency behaviors, including both developing behaviors (i.e. managing air conditioning, β = 0.220, p < .001) and habitual behaviors (i.e. turning off lights, β = 0.163, p < .001). Logit models further indicate that social influence significantly increases the likelihood of one-off efficiency upgrades in the home (b = 0.336, p < .001). Results additionally distinguish three behavioral profiles characterized by differing levels of awareness of emissions and energy issues and varying degrees of peer influence. Across profiles, contextual factors such as awareness and social encouragement outweigh demographic predictors and independently shape efficiency behaviors. These findings substantiate the importance of social context in household energy management. We conclude with policy recommendations. 

Sweden aims for carbon neutrality by 2045, including a fossil-free transport sector. Radical innovations like civilian drones and eVTOLs offer potential for sustainable, electrified, and integrated transport, but integration is challenged by infrastructure, connectivity, regulation, and public concerns. This paper explores discursive policy leadership in governing drone innovation for sustainable transition, focusing on Sweden. Using a multi-level perspective and narrative discourse analysis, we conducted 18 expert interviews with national, regional, local, and private actors. We examine how drones are narrated within sustainable transport and how accounts reveal the presence or absence of niche leadership. Findings highlight four insights: (1) lack of public-sector leadership risks reinforcing division between private actors and regime lock-in; (2) ideological tensions frame drones as disruptive or conflictual; (3) fragmented responsibilities hindering policy coordination; and (4) new discursive models are needed to reflect complexity. We argue for active discursive policy leadership and inclusive governance to unlock drones’ transformative potential. 

Sweden became an outlier among the Nordic countries in handling the COVID-19 pandemic. While the Nordic countries have historically shared a social democratic welfare state regime, with strong cooperation and harmonization of social policies, their responses to the pandemic showcased fundamental differences to that of Sweden. In particular, Sweden’s prioritization of individual civil liberties over social rights diverged from the more coercive approaches of Finland and Norway, which placed greater emphasis on public health and social welfare. This study examines the media framing surrounding the contrasting Swedish approach and highlights the dichotomy between statist individualism/autonomy and welfare paternalism/interdependence that has been an inherent part of the Swedish welfare state framing. Employing interpretive policy analysis, the study explores the media narratives used by policy actors to frame their pandemic response in terms of individual autonomy and governmental paternalism. We identified two contrasting perspectives on governance regarding the COVID-19 policy strategy. One framing perspective backed the strategy, emphasizing the importance of safeguarding individual autonomy and minimizing central control. The other viewpoint demanded a lockdown and criticized the Swedish response as too lenient. This deviated from usual Swedish political alignments and created a polarized and lively debate around the core values of individual autonomy, agency, and central governmental paternalism.

This paper aims to analyse how the European Union (EU) energy policy has merged social policy concepts with energy efficiency policy. Energy efficiency has increasingly become understood through social policy concepts such as energy poverty, energy inequality, and lack of cohesion. Previous research has shown how the social aspects of energy efficiency have been highlighted by the European Commission when talking about the multiple benefits of energy efficiency increasing efforts, such as renovating buildings. Using a mixed-method approach with material from the European Commission, the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament we review energy policy from a social policy perspective. Our analysis is done in two steps: (i) identifying which of the EU institutions acted as an agenda-setter introducing the social aspects of energy efficiency, and (ii) describing and analysing the framing process of merging social concepts with energy policy. We do this through qualitative and quantitative analysis of EU policy documents. A range of key words are utilized to explore the links between social policy and energy policy as part of the quantitative part of the analysis. We conclude that social aspects are first connected to the energy policy field by the European Parliament. The established connection is then reinforced by the Commission by the inclusion of social policy aspects, mainly in the policy on the transition to energy efficiency and zero-carbon buildings, where concepts such as energy poverty become central.