This chapter delves into the role of power in sustainability transitions, addressing the limited attention power dynamics have received in the field despite their centrality to lasting societal change. Drawing on theories of power from various disciplines, this chapter introduces two conceptual frameworks to analyse power: (1) ‘power to, over, and with’, which examines how and which power relations change over time, and (2) ‘three relations of power, which focuses on how power relations are constituted and shape societal change. These frameworks are applied to a case study of community-supported agriculture (CSA) in Portugal, showcasing grassroots efforts to address socio-political and ecological challenges while striving for sustainable agri-food systems. The analysis reveals how power influences opportunities and barriers for transitions, emphasising the interplay between individual and collective agency, human and non-human interactions, and historical structures of social relationships. The chapter concludes by emphasising the need for more power-aware research that integrates diverse perspectives, including non-Western and Indigenous epistemologies, to deepen the understanding of power in sustainability transitions.

Paleomagnetic measurements of relict dusty olivine-bearing chondrules in LL3.01 Semarkona reveal that >1.22 Ma after CAI formation, the region of the solar nebula between ~1 and 3 AU from the Sun had a magnetic field strength of ~54 µT. This is comparable to the current geomagnetic field at the Earth’s surface.

Sustainability transitions require systemic change, yet socio-technical systems are complex and interdependent, making transitions non-linear and path-dependent. This chapter explores how systems thinking and complexity science enhance our understanding of transition dynamics, particularly feedback loops, emergent behaviour, and lock-in effects. It reviews key frameworks, including the Multi-Level Perspective (MLP) and Technological Innovation Systems (TIS), and discusses how system dynamics modelling and complex systems approaches can identify leverage points for policy interventions. Case studies illustrate how these methods improve transition research and policymaking. The chapter concludes by highlighting methodological challenges and the need for hybrid models to integrate diverse analytical scales and approaches.

Meteorites constitute the most abundant source of extraterrestrial material. They formed under a wide range of redox conditions and contain many minerals not found on Earth. Their study extends the range of known petrological and geochemical processes; they serve as concrete examples of shock metamorphism of natural materials. They contain the most ancient examples of organic compounds and aqueously altered minerals that can be studied in the lab. Calcium-aluminium-rich inclusions (CAIs) yield the age of the Solar System and CI chondrites provide the cosmic abundances of most elements. Meteorites can provide information about the interactions between cosmic rays and solid materials. They likely delivered raw materials to the early Earth, possibly facilitating the origin of life. Impact-crater formation by asteroids is the main geomorphological process in the Solar System; it changed the course of biological evolution on Earth. Meteorites provide clues to the geological history of asteroids, the Moon, and Mars, and many iron meteorites provide samples of planetesimal cores. Presolar grains permit the in situ examination of materials from other stars that existed long before the Solar System.

Meteorites are classified using a hierarchical scheme based on the degree of relatedness of samples. Chondrite groups are typically from a single parent body; clans and classes are clusters of related groups that accreted in similar regions of the solar nebula. Classification of a new meteorite requires visual observation of macroscopic characteristics, microscopic examination of textures, and analyses of minerals. Isotopic or bulk compositional data may also be acquired.

Transitions research has gained traction in sustainability studies for its systemic approach to environmental challenges. A central tenet is that the persistence of these challenges can be attributed to ‘system failures’, and that system innovation is needed, i.e. a multitude of innovations that co-evolve into system-wide transformations. However, many contrasting views of ‘systems’ and ‘systemic frameworks’ are seemingly always clamouring for attention, whilst it is not always clear what they’re referring to. Taking a reflexive methodology approach, this chapter addresses recurring questions: Transforming ‘systems’: Which? How? Whose? Why? Whither? Whence? For instance, is transitioning the ‘mobility system’ a matter of electrification or of unlearning car dependency? In transitioning the ‘energy system’, is importation of rare minerals a central part or an externality? The chapter presents a methodological overview of systems analysis in transitions research. It brings out how transitions research has developed a fine sense of Critical Systems Thinking. On the other hand, it also shows the need for further methodological reflection on the study of transitioning ‘systems’.

In socio-technical transitions research, growing attention is given to politics and governance. However, there remains significant scope to deepen analyses of power relations to understand who wins, who loses, how, and why under prevailing governance arrangements and socio-technical configurations. Political economy approaches can be refined to reveal how dominant socio-technical systems reflect broader social and economic structures, while disruptions from transitions reshape power dynamics. Using India’s energy transition, we examine jurisdictional power struggles, resource conflicts, and producer coalitions that influence transition speed and inclusivity. The chapter concludes by outlining future research directions, emphasizing the need to account for different forms of state power, justice implications, global-local political economies, ecological perspectives, and the everyday expressions of power in knowledge, cultures, and ideologies.

This chapter explores the multi-level perspective (MLP), a key framework in sustainability transitions research. It highlights how the MLP bridges social science dichotomies (e.g. stability-change, agency-structure) by integrating insights from evolutionary economics, innovation sociology, and institutional theory. The chapter outlines the MLP’s three levels - niche innovations, socio-technical systems, and landscape developments - and their interactions across four transition phases: experimentation, stabilisation, diffusion, and institutionalisation. An empirical case study of Germany’s electricity transition (1986-2022) illustrates these dynamics. The chapter also examines developments such as four transition pathways (substitution, transformation, reconfiguration, de-alignment/re-alignment) and evolving actor roles. It concludes by identifying seven key research topics: niche-regime interaction, regime destabilisation and phase-out, diffusion and acceleration, multi-system interaction, whole-system reconfiguration, incumbent reorientation, and trade-offs between transition speed and depth.

In the past decade, the geographical and conceptual breadth of sustainability transitions has expanded, especially in Asia, Africa and Latin America. Increasing attention is paid to social, economic and environmental issues in the ‘Global South’, where decades of colonial rule have shaped infrastructures and institutions. In recent years, the literature has taken a ‘decolonial turn’, underlining the risks of reproducing colonial ways of control, power, privilege, domination, and disassociation with Nature. This chapter reviews this emerging literature, articulating why and how contexts differ between Global South and North and how sustainability transitions theories could be more meaningful in Global South contexts. The central research question is: how could we analyse and enact sustainability transitions in the Global South in a way that transcends historical challenges of colonial modernity and undesired development while pursuing just futures? The review is organised around five themes: niches, regimes, change, justice, and knowledge diversity. The chapter proposes ways to go deeper into these themes in setting a research agenda for future sustainability transitions in the Global South.

The number ratio of carbonaceous to ordinary chondrites (the CC/OC ratio) is mass dependent. It is somewhat high for large meteorites (0.20), very high for the largest fireball-producing meteoroids (30), low for most meteorite falls (0.04-0.05), and extremely high for micrometeorites (86) and interplanetary dust particles (IDPs) (>>100). The high CC/OC ratio among small particles reflects the predominance of C asteroids beyond 3 AU; these particles spiral into the Inner Solar System (and reach the Earth) via the Poynting-Robertson effect. The high CC/OC ratio among large objects results from the seasonal Yarkovsky effect, which transfers asteroids (mainly the abundant C asteroids from the Outer Solar System) into Near-Earth Asteroid (NEA) orbits.

Just as the purloined letter in Edgar Allan Poe's celebrated detective story was hidden in plain sight, so too can ordinary chondrites hold vital clues to the nature of the Solar System. Even highly weathered equilibrated samples, seemingly unworthy of a second look, may bear the markings of thermal metamorphism, shock metamorphism, and post-shock annealing. To study the heavens, we need only keep our eyes open; the rocks beneath our feet may conceal the secrets of the cosmos.

Transition governance explores how societal transitions can be accelerated towards just and sustainable futures. This chapter presents an explorative and engaged approach, helping actors navigate complex, uncertain ‘transitions in the making’. It highlights the interplay between analytical and action-oriented, transdisciplinary methods. The chapter first outlines diverse analytical perspectives on actor interactions in transitions, from resistance to transformation. It introduces the X-curve framework, which identifies key actors and roles in both build-up and phase-out dynamics. The chapter then explores transformative and transdisciplinary approaches under Transition Management, a cyclical process involving strategic, tactical, operational, and reflexive activities. Methods such as transition arenas, reflexive monitoring, backcasting, and transition experiments facilitate social learning in multi-actor settings. The chapter concludes by reflecting on the challenges and opportunities for advancing transition governance amid growing resistance and the urgent need for transformative change.

Innovation systems take a holistic approach to understanding innovation dynamics, emphasizing the role of actors, institutions, and networks as key structural components. These interact to create feedback loops that can either accelerate or hinder innovation. Initially, innovation systems focused on national competitiveness and remained technology-neutral. The introduction of technological innovation systems (TIS), the focus of this chapter, shifted attention to the emergence of specific technologies, particularly sustainable ones that face market barriers. This made TIS a foundational framework in sustainability transitions research. A major milestone in its development was the introduction of TIS ‘functions’, which capture key system dynamics. Over time, TIS has evolved, incorporating factors like geography, policy, and system interactions. Scholars continue to expand the framework, exploring missions, life cycles, and destabilisation. These advancements increasingly integrate technological and social innovation, offering insights into the transition towards more sustainable futures.

This chapter focuses on issues of justice in sustainability transitions. Although there is an increasing focus in academia, policymaking and practice on the importance making sustainability transitions not only environmentally and economically sustainable, but also just and fair so that costs and benefits are shared equally, this chapter illustrates that social inequities can often be exacerbated rather than alleviated in the context of sustainability transitions. Indeed, people who are vulnerable and marginalised do not often benefit from sustainability transitions: they may have limited opportunities to actively participate as citizens and suffer from negative consequences of climate and energy policies and projects. Such injustices are often the reason for contestations of developments, projects, policies and initiatives that are part of sustainability transitions. This underlines the importance of considering questions of distributional, recognition, procedural, restorative, cosmopolitan, spatial, postcolonial, intergenerational and multispecies justice when designing, developing, and implementing sustainability transition policies and projects across all socio-technical systems.