Achieving and sustaining public legitimacy and acceptance for accelerating the energy transition I

Abstract

This panel invites scholars to take part in a difficult but necessary conversation achieving and sustaining public legitimacy and acceptance for accelerating the energy transition. In the context of tightening climate targets, a fully renewable energy system has become imperative. Yet, increasing conflicts and dissatisfaction about the how risk the transition progress putting the social dimension of the energy transition even more into spotlight. In addition, the current crises (energy, climate, and Russian invasion into Ukraine) increase pressure on accelerating the system transformation to fully renewable energy within the next years/ few decades. The combination of these challenges has had impacts on populations and economies, creating tensions about the social acceptability of the transition progresses in Europe and across the world. Subsequently, there is a need for governance structures, organisational formats and technical solutions that are participatory, inclusive and respect/ consider people’s preferences. Hence, we need to know what respective desirable measures are, and even more how policy instruments can implement those. This section invites particularly empirical papers that engage on social innovations and solutions that can support an acceptable and just energy transition and provide evaluations of e.g. policy instruments for community participation, public preferences of 100% renewable electricity systems, desirability and effectiveness of technical solutions such as community microgrids, and other community participation methods.

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