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Time to rethink energy research

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Energy research works with units and concepts forged in an age of fossil fuel, leading to problem formulations that reinforce current societal practices and patterns of consumption. Achieving low-carbon energy goals depends on shifting demand to match supply and reconceptualizing interactions between time and energy.

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Acknowledgements

E.S. gratefully acknowledges support from UK Research and Innovation through the Centre for Research into Energy Demand Solutions, grant reference number EP/R035288/1.

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Correspondence to Elizabeth Shove.

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Shove, E. Time to rethink energy research. Nat Energy 6, 118–120 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41560-020-00739-9

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