Including local communities in decision making vital to successful energy transition, researchers say
Clean Energy Wire
Local communities should be involved in making decisions about the energy transition in order for the shift to clean energy to be successful, concluded researchers from the Research Institute for Sustainability (RIFS), Potsdam, in a recently published report. “Since implementation ultimately takes place at the local level, where conflicts arise and compromises have to be negotiated locally, focusing on municipalities is the most promising solution to the dilemmas of the energy transition,” said Jörg Radtke, lead author of the report.
Radtke and his coauthors looked at different types of governance and how they related to the stakeholders involved in the energy transition like businesses, politicians and citizens. They found that more autocratic approaches – where governments enforce policies in a top-down way – were unlikely to garner public support for the energy transition. Bottom-up strategies, on the other hand, were found to be more suitable.
The authors highlighted four principles for their suggested policy style: establish discussion groups in local communities so issues of justice and impact can be addressed; flexible and inclusive formats like a citizens’ council to bring experts and locals together; share the benefits of the energy transition with the local community; and engaging communities in a broader concept of sustainability with a focus on the common good.
Earlier this year, a report by the German Advisory Council on Rural Development (SRLE) found that convincing those living in rural areas of the importance of the energy transition is a “basic requirement” for transforming the energy system successfully. Many environmental NGOs, unions, and consumer organisations have long championed the concept of a "just transition", while Germany's controversial debated around the phase-out of fossil fuel heating systesm in the summer of 2023 highlighted the importance of social acceptance for the effective implementation of energy transition measures.
