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Karin Thalberg, Edina Vadovics, Anita Szollossy, « Taking stock of energy citizenship in Europe », EnergyPROSPECTS, European Commission Grant Agreement No. 101022492, June 2023

Energy is being discussed like never before. At dinner tables and workplaces, in media and political debates, energy has taken the centre stage as energy prices started surging during Autumn 2021. As the shift away from fossil fuels speeds up in response to the crisis¹, understanding and supporting citizen participation in the energy transition is becoming more and more pressing.

In the previous three synthesis briefs, the EnergyPROSPECTS conceptual framework, ten tentative types of energy citizenship and regional perspectives on energy citizenship were presented. One year later, we have moved from developing our initial conceptual work and regional perspectives, to study how energy citizenship is taking shape across Europe today. This fourth synthesis brief takes stock of the empirical work done so far with 596 energy citizenship cases mapped.

The cases collected aim to capture the diversity of energy citizenship that is being practised on the European continent, but do not make any claim of representativeness. Nonetheless, the cases mapped can help us understand the roles of citizens in the energy transition today, and the potential that energy citizenship has to contribute to a more sustainable and democratic energy transition in the EU moving forward. Regional dierences are also highlighted. Moreover, the cases provide evidence for what is needed of decision-makers to harness this potential, a topic that will be discussed in future Policy Briefs.