The role of energy democracy and energy citizenship for participatory energy transitions: A comprehensive review

Wahlund, Madeleine; Palm, Jenny

doi:10.1016/j.erss.2021.102482

Cited by 130 publications

(60 citation statements)

References 65 publications

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“…The document Climate Change and Energy Renovation Wave by the European Commission for the Environment provides a map of the different opportunities for the specific and local strategies in each country in the European Green Deal: each contest asks for a specific approach to the energy transition. Citizens can be an active part by giving their contributions with behaviors and lifestyles that favor energy savings: they can build or renovate homes and workplaces following sustainability criteria so as to reduce the need for energy in thermal regulation; influence the energy policies of local administrations and the energy industries by asking for transparency on the energy sources negotiating for a fair mix; participate in the co-production of energy, exploiting local resources; contribute to culture change by their advocacy on the value of the energy transition [26].…”

Section: Citizens Are the Main Actors In Sustainable Developmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Embracing Human Complexity in Service Design for Inclusive and Sustainable Smart Cities

Pillan¹

2023

Sustainable Smart Cities - A Vision for Tomorrow

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According to the UN Agenda 2030, the sustainable development of cities is aimed at innovation for social, environmental, and economical progress. The goal is the development of services and socio-technical systems apt to conjugate inclusivity) with economical and ambient sustainability. To produce social progress, the innovation of infrastructures and services should match the diversified needs of the contemporary multicultural environments and be designed to favor the change of behavior of citizens toward more convenient and sustainable lifestyles. The chapter discusses the importance of the active contribution of citizens to achieving the objectives of the UN Agenda 2030. It argues the opportunity to include scientific theories on human complexity in university training for sustainable service design and proposes the theories of Design for Behavior Change as a valuable conceptual tool. Finally, the chapter focuses on the general value of considering gender perspectives in the design of smart services and systems to optimize satisfaction and adherence to services.

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Section: Citizens Are the Main Actors In Sustainable Developmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Embracing Human Complexity in Service Design for Inclusive and Sustainable Smart Cities

Pillan¹

2023

Sustainable Smart Cities - A Vision for Tomorrow

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“…It conveys a promise of greater participation and pluralistic control over power production and distribution (Becker and Naumann 2017;Szulecki 2018). ED projects hold the potential to establish and strengthen local decision-making processes and democratic institutions (Islar and Busch 2016;Szulecki and Overland 2020;Wahlund and Palm 2022). They instill a notion of ecological citizenship (Kenis 2015) as they are usually related to a range of public, nonprofit and community-based efforts (Kunze and Becker 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Rise and Fall of Energy Democracy: 5 Cases of Collaborative Governance in Energy Systems

Berthod

Blanchet

Busch

et al. 2022

Environmental Management

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A wide range of actors are seeking to democratize energy systems. In the collaborative governance process of energy system transitions to net zero, however, many energy democracy concepts are watered down or abandoned entirely. Using five renewable energy case studies, we first explore the diversity of energy democratizing system challengers and bottom-up actors. Secondly, we analyze the role of conflict and challenges arising from the subsequent collaborative governance process and identify what appear to be blind spots in the CG literature. Our case studies on Berlin (GER), Jena (GER), Kalmar (SWE), Minneapolis (US) and Southeast England (UK) include different types of policy processes and actors. They suggest that actors championing energy democracy principles play an important role in opening participation in the early stages of collaborative energy transition governance. As collaborative governance progresses, participation tends to be increasingly restricted. We conclude that collaborative processes by themselves are insufficient in maintaining energy democracy principles in the energy transition. These require institutional embedding of participative facilitation and consensus building. The Kalmar case study as our only successful example of energy democracy suggests that a more intermediated and service-oriented approach to energy provision can create a business case for democratizing energy provision through collaborative governance.

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“…Even so, there remains a shortage of assessments that are backed by real-life data from multiple demonstration projects in the UK to help establish the intrinsic value of local community energy structures. Recent systematic reviews of community energy research and its agendas undertaken in 2016 [17], 2018 [18],…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Socio-Economic Benefits in Community Energy Structures

Kiamba

Rodrigues

Marsh³

et al. 2022

Sustainability

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In this paper, the authors examine how a community energy group in the Meadows area of Nottingham in the UK adopted a model of local energy generation and storage as a means of combatting climate change, improving energy efficiency, enhancing energy security, and reducing fuel poverty. By prioritising local needs and managing expectations, this approach was seen to unite community members in acting on energy challenges while increasing knowledge, understanding, and awareness of energy issues in general. The results of the survey indicated that the respondents had a significantly high level of climate awareness (94%) and support for community energy (90%). Furthermore, evidence of the impacts and efficiencies of community energy and subsequent socio-economic benefits were identified, including 89% of respondents reporting a reduction in energy costs and 67% of respondents increasing their self-consumption. Importantly, the barriers experienced when trying to maximise the identified socio-economic benefits are highlighted and general recommendations given.

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The role of energy democracy and energy citizenship for participatory energy transitions: A comprehensive review

Cited by 130 publications

References 65 publications

Embracing Human Complexity in Service Design for Inclusive and Sustainable Smart Cities

Embracing Human Complexity in Service Design for Inclusive and Sustainable Smart Cities

The Rise and Fall of Energy Democracy: 5 Cases of Collaborative Governance in Energy Systems

Socio-Economic Benefits in Community Energy Structures

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