Energy and Society

The ongoing merger of climate and energy policies has broadened the energy agenda, disrupted institutional balance within and across jurisdictions, and pushed the decision-makers towards greater interaction with the public – be it in the form of addressing climate skepticism or through steering the processes of decentralization and democratization of energy supply. Taking this development as a point of departure, the section explores the complex entanglement of energy and society. It seeks to address general issues such as: the interplay between integration and fragmentation in energy politics, changing narratives in energy and climate policy, or legitimacy and acceptance of disruptive policy and technological innovations. The panels envisaged for the section inquire, for example, how participation in the energy transition (exposure to and/or ownership of renewable energy technology) relates to public opinion on climate and energy issues in the Global South; discuss the emergence of of gender considerations within climate and energy governance at the international/interstate, national, and local level; investigate how governance systems in which local energy transitions take place are structured, if and how these systems have become fragmented, complex or polycentric, and what the implications are for questions of democracy, effectiveness, legitimacy, or accountability; or inquire about the household-level impact of large systemic changes such as the ongoing energy transition, and ask what does the newest development tell us about the opportunities and risks for energy-poor and vulnerable households vis-a-vis low carbon energy transition? The section welcomes novel theoretical contributions, empirical observations, meta-analyses or extended literature reviews. Topic-wise, the section invites panel and paper proposals that combine general themes with specific issue areas. These include (but are not limited to) the following: General themes: • Energy politics (actors, interests, institutions, governance and regulation) • Sociology and psychology of energy (energy-related collective and individual behavior patterns and practices) • Justice, equity and democracy (participation, inclusion, acceptance, opposition) • Energy and culture (ideas, discourses, narratives) • Global energy governance (norms, rules, regimes, clubs) Specific issue areas: • Deployment of decarbonization energy technologies (renewable energy, nuclear energy) including enabling technologies (e.g. storage, hydrogen) • Energy transition and industrial policy (including the governance of emerging energy technologies and value chains) • Energy transition and the Global South • Fossil fuels phase-out • Low carbon transport and new transport paradigms • Sector-coupling, economy-wide electrification • Digitalization of energy (smart technologies, AI, cybersecurity) • Energy markets and energy trade The section is endorsed by the Energy Politics, Policy, and Governance research network.