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The term'transition'is a key term of the fourth National Environmental Policy Plan (NMP4)(Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment, 2001), which puts forward transition management (Rotmans et al. 2001b) as a new policy approach for dealing with persistent and highly complex societal problems such as climate change, loss of biodiversity, overexploitation of resources, and health risks related to the use of dangerous, non-natural substances. The NMP4 selected the energy supply, mobility, agriculture, and the use of biodiversity and natural resources as priority areas for developing transition management activities. The Ministry of Economic Affairs (responsible for energy and innovation policy) has since the NMP4 been the leading actor in what is referred to as the'energy transition'. Several activities have been undertaken, based on the fundamental principles underlying transition management: long-term visions as the framework for short-term action; a multi-actor approach; and a focus on learning and experiments. The approach has stimulated the involvement of a large number of stakeholders and has led to the development of shared visions, ambitions and strategies, experiments and projects. Over and above this, the approach itself has generated questions regarding regular policies, for example, innovation and technology policies, and has stimulated debates on policy integration and barriers in existing regulations. The energy transition is the topic of much deliberation in the Netherlands, both within and outside the Ministries. In a joint report, the governmental advisory boards for energy and environment (Energieraad and …