ABSTRACT
Although we have discussed them separately, the propositions developed in the preceding chapters cannot be taken in isolation. All relate to the project of conceptualising demand, whether for resources, goods or services, as an outcome of historical and situated connections between things and practices of consumption and provision. The chapter reflects on the policy implications of this position, expanding on cases referred to in previous chapters, including refrigeration, a four-day working week and online shopping. Rather than identifying easy policy solutions it shows that conceptualising demand in this way helps identify opportunities that are simply not on the radar in energy and transport research and policy, not as it is currently framed and formulated. In working through the conceptual and practical implications of our approach we hope to persuade those who take demand for granted, who take it to be logical the partner to supply, or who treat it as an expression of consumers’ needs and desires to think again about the assumptions they make.
