What is energy citizenship and how does it change the way we think about energy? How can we co-create sustainable energy solutions with local communities and citizens? How can we mainstream energy communities to speed up energy transition? EU Member states have an obligation to create an enabling environment for active citizen involvement in the energy transition. This extends beyond democratic participation and access to energy, to also include co-creation and ownership of different forms of production and consumption. This has resulted in the emergence of innovative practices for local authorities and community leaders to engage with energy citizens.
The Introduction-module provides you with
- a definition of energy citizenship,
- examples of how community energy can help mainstream transition to renewable energy, and
- the benefits and potentials of the energy citizenship approach for improving the inclusiveness of local energy initiatives.
The instructors in this module are
Yu-Yi Huynh is a Just Transition Officer at ICLEI Europe, a network of local governments for sustainability. She focuses on how participatory democracy, intersectional approaches and bottom-up initiatives, paired with enabling governance structures, can help in implementing European sustainability goals efficiently and inclusively. She leads the work on policy recommendations and capacity building in the EC²-project.
Elisabeth Unterfrauner heads the “Technology & Knowledge” department at the Center for Social Innovation (ZSI) in Vienna. ZSI is a non-profit social science research institution with an interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary approach. Elisabeth is very interested in the interactions between technological developments and societal needs, anticipating potential benefits and risks for diverse groups. Together with Judith Feichtinger and Daniela Fuchs, she coordinates the EC² project.
