The extraordinary growth of Transition

'Transition' - the process of preparing societies for life without readily available cheap oil - officially began in Totnes, a small market town in South Devon, towards the end of 2006. People from other communities in the UK and beyond heard about the project, were excited about its potential and contacted the founders to find out how they too could start something similar.... and so the Transition Network was born.

Now established as a charity, the Transition Network's mission is to inspire, encourage, network, support and train communities as they prepare for life without cheap oil and consider, adopt, adapt and implement the transition model.

Now, as of August 2010, there are 321 official transition initiatives spread across England (majority), Scotland, Ireland, Wales, Australia, Canada, Chile, Finland, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand and the USA among others. Over a thousand more places are 'mulling over' the idea and have registered their interest. Key transition documents have already been translated into over 10 other languages.

Communities have encouraged government at all levels to join the network - in England, Somerset and Leicestershire County Councils have both passed resolutions committing themselves to support local Transition initiatives. What underpins these responses is the idea that meeting our climate emissions responsibilities and preparing proactively for the end of the age of cheap oil can either be seen as enormous crises, or as tremendous opportunities. Brixton Council in London have even agreed to accept residents' council tax payments in a local currency devised by their local transition initiative! Central governments are also taking note - the previous Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, Ed Milliband, attended the 2009 Transition Conference as a keynote listener and the TN were recently invited to contribute to the very first DECC talks on peak oil.

The Transition Network is now taking its approach to businesses and other organisations, believing that they have a particularly critical role in withstanding short term energy shocks, and in developing more sustainable societies and economies over time.

Underpinning this phenomenol growth is the recognition that while climate change makes carbon reduction essential, and peak oil makes transition inevitable - it's the Transition Approach that makes a low-carbon future feasible, viable and appealing for individuals, public sector organisations and businesses.