Power, Participation, and Justice in Energy Transitions

Abstract

Energy transitions are not just technical or economic projects—they are arenas where power is redistributed among a variety of stakeholders such as investors, states, municipalities, and Indigenous communities. This panel situates urgent, real‑world controversies—ranging from ESG shareholder activism and corporate governance, to public participation in externally steered planning, to city‑level decision‑making on offshore wind, to uranium extraction on Indigenous lands, to licensing reforms that shift authority to municipalities—within a comparative governance perspective. Spanning Europe, Australia, the UK and Italy, the United States, and Norway, the panel illuminates how institutional design and participation pathways shape legitimacy, social acceptance, and justice in the energy transition. Rather than treating contestation as a barrier, the contributions show how conflicts expose governance gaps: when market‑based activism meets state intervention; when “participation” is procedural but not influential; when local priorities diverge from national climate targets; and when energy security logics collide with Indigenous sovereignty and environmental protection. Together, the papers build a cross‑scale investigation of who gets to decide, on what terms, and with what consequences for climate goals and affected communities.

Title	Details
Battling the Board: Shareholder Activism, Sustainability and Social Movements	View Paper Details
Public Participation in EU External Energy and Climate Governance: Assessing Practices in the Development of NECPs in Energy Community Countries	View Paper Details
Energy Transformation, Social Justice and Indigenous Resistance: Pinyon Plain Uranium Mine Case Study	View Paper Details
Navigating Political Feasibility and Backlash: Divergent Evidence of Offshore Wind Energy Implementation in Italy and the UK	View Paper Details
Changing Wind and Solar Licensing Processes: Implications for Local Influence and Democratic Fairness	View Paper Details