Experts play a significant role in shaping norms on how societies should respond to sustainability crises such as climate change, biodiversity loss, and plastic pollution. However, social science has not fully addressed recent shifts in the nature of expertise. There are indications of a rise of more policy-oriented and implementation-focused forms of›transition expertise‹ which combines lay and scientific knowledge and operate through state and corporate networks (Frandsen & Hasselbalch, 2024). Likewise, sustainability consulting has become a significant business sector for advisory firms (Christensen & Collington, 2024). At the global level, concepts such as›mega expertise‹highlight new epistemic practices in global environmental assessments that aim to influence policy action (Lidskog, 2025). These developments reflect an increasing emphasis on making science policy-relevant and actionable to large scale societal transformations (Lidskog & Sundqvist, 2022; Sundqvist & Linke, 2024) while retaining democratic sensitivity (Blok, 2019).
To advance research on expertise in the green transition, we invite environmental and critical social science scholars to explore how experts shape action across sectors and scales. Our ambition is to outline a research agenda that transcends disciplinary boundaries by reexamining traditional assumptions about experts and advancing novel conceptual frameworks and analytical tools. We invite scholars to develop an agenda that incorporates a three-pronged approach to examining emerging configurations of climate and environmental expertise: (1) Expert actors: Who is recognized as a legitimate green transition expert over time and across different contexts; (2) Expert content: What constitutes environmental expertise today, and what forms of knowledge are marginalized; and (3) Expert context: Which institutional conditions shape the role and authority of expertise in sustainability transformation?
Papers may address, but are not limited to, the following themes:
• Emerging forms of climate and environmental expertise and their role in shaping how states and organizations prioritize mitigation, adaptation and transformation efforts.
• Shifts in the authority and legitimacy of expertise, including whether environmental expertise is in decline, or is taking new forms.
• The significance of spatial, political, and cultural contexts in conditioning the role and influence of environmental experts.
How to submit
Please structure your submitted abstract as follows: Introduction, (planned) methods, (expected) results, (potential) conclusions (max. 350 words). We are aware that it is likely that your study is not yet completed when you submit this abstract. Nevertheless, please try to make your submission as specific as possible to allow screening for suitability to the workshop.
If your abstract is accepted, you will be required to submit a fully drafted manuscript to the workshop convenors in May 2026. Discussion of full papers is a widely-appreciated feature of the NESS conferences.