Energy PROSPECTS

Project summary: EnergyPROSPECTS aims to highlight the different forms of energy citizenship and analyse the conditions that promote active participation in energy systems.

Role of the Institute: JDI led Work Package 6 on the policy implications of the research. In this capacity, it coordinated the synthesis of results, the co-creation of public policy recommendations and their dissemination to decision-makers through policy briefs, national and European workshops, and bilateral meetings. In addition, the IJD contributed to other aspects of the project, including the identification and analysis of case studies (WP3), the study of the role of intermediaries (WP4) and the analysis of the conditions for energy citizenship (WP5).

Achievements: Among the main achievements of the EnergyPROSPECTS project is the creation of a rich database of nearly 600 energy citizenship initiatives across Europe, 40 of which have been analysed in depth. An interactive online map allows users to view these initiatives and consult their descriptive files. The project has also produced an innovative typology of ten forms of energy citizenship. Finally, the project has resulted in the drafting of five synthesis briefs and five policy briefs, based on a co-construction process fed by ten knowledge-sharing workshops (including one at European level), as well as the organisation of three conferences.

Impact on public policy: JDI has put forward concrete recommendations, tailored to different levels of decision-making, to promote a democratic, inclusive and sustainable energy transition. These include: strengthening dialogue with stakeholders and citizens in energy and climate governance and decision-making; increasing the innovation capacity of local and regional authorities; the establishment of mentoring programmes for volunteers involved in citizen initiatives; the creation of a European Facility for Citizen Involvement in Innovative Local Initiatives; the establishment of a one-stop shop for renewable energy projects; improving the targeting and financial support for vulnerable households, in particular by increasing the budget of the Social Climate Fund; conducting national surveys on the social determinants of support for or rejection of climate and energy policies; and institutionalising a European Citizens’ Assembly for Climate.

List of EnergyPROSPECTS publications

• Karin Thalberg, Edina Vadovics, Luisa Losada Puente and Alicia Barbas, Empowering Collective Energy Citizenship for a Sustainable and Democratic European Energy Transition, EnergyPROSPECTS, Policy brief, April 2024
• Karin Thalberg and Benjamin Schmid, Karin Thalberg and Ariane Debourdeau, Enhancing Energy Citizenship through Business and Social Innovation Models, EnergyPROSPECTS, Policy brief, April 2024
• Karin Thalberg and Benjamin Schmid, National Policy Measures and Best Practices for Citizen Engagement in the Energy Transition, EnergyPROSPECTS, Policy brief, April 2024
• Karin Thalberg and Marko Hajdinjak, Energy citizenship: A Holistic Vision for Citizen Engagement in the European Energy Transition, EnergyPROSPECTS, Policy brief, April 2024
• Karin Thalberg and BinBin Pearce, Pathways to support citizen engagement in the European energy transition, EnergyPROSPECTS, EC2, ENCLUDE, Dialogues, Policy brief, March 2024
• Karin Thalberg et al., Summary of policy relevant findings to harness energy citizenship in Europe, EnergyPROSPECTS, Report, January 2024
• Karin Thalberg et al., Feedback report on knowledge exchange workshops, EnergyPROSPECTS, Report, November 2023
• Karin Thalberg, Marianna Markantoni and Ariane Debourdeau, The key role of intermediary actors and intermediation for enabling energy citizenship initiatives, EnergyPROSPECTS, Synthesis brief, October 2023