Concepts of Empowerment: The Role of Energy and Environmental Citizenship in the Energy Transition †
by
Mehmet Efe Biresselioglu
1, 
Giuseppe Carrus
2,
Frances Fahy
3,
Andrea Kollmann
4,*,
Jens Olgard Dalseth Røyrvik
5 and
David C. Finger
4,6 1
Sustainable Energy Division, Izmir University of Economics, 35330 Izmir, Turkey
2
Department of Educational Sciences, Università Roma Tre, 00146 Rome, Italy
3
Geography, Archaeology & Irish Studies, National University of Ireland, H91 TK33 Galway, Ireland
4
Energy Engineering Department, Energieinstitut an der Johannes Kepler Universität, 4040 Linz, Austria
5
Departement of Social Anthropology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, 7491 Trondheim, Norway
6
School of Engineering, Reykjavik University, 102 Reykjavik, Iceland
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
†
Presented at the 2nd International Conference of International Researchers of the Education for Environmental Citizenship 2022, 10–11 March 2022. Available online: https://enec-cost.eu/ireec22/ .
Environ. Sci. Proc. 2022, 14(1), 9; https://doi.org/10.3390/environsciproc2022014009
Published: 3 March 2022
(This article belongs to the Proceedings of The 2nd International Conference of International Researchers of the Education for Environmental Citizenship 2022)
Abstract
:This symposium brings together social science energy researchers working on gaining an understanding of the various social, economic and political dimensions of energy citizenship and how energy citizenship affects the clean-energy transition process across Europe. Representing six different countries (Austria, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Norway and Turkey) the contributors each present cutting-edge scientific research activities that exemplify developments toward achieving energy citizenship and reflect on the overlaps and synergies with environmental citizenship.
1. Introduction
The IPCC 2021 report emphasized the urgency to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) in order to avoid the catastrophic impacts of global warming surpassing 1.5 °C. In order to achieve the goals outlined in this report, a sustainable transition process towards climate neutrality needs to be developed for the energy sector. In this symposium, we intend to discuss a core aspect of this process: the role, rights, duties and opportunities of citizens in this transition. This symposium aims at presenting social, economic and political dimensions of energy citizenship and how energy citizenship affects the clean-energy transition process across Europe. Representing six different countries (Austria, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Norway and Turkey) the contributors present cutting-edge scientific research activities in the field of energy citizenship and reflect on the overlaps and synergies with environmental citizenship.
Mehmet Efe Biresselioglu discusses the relationship of community and individual dynamics in the context of energy citizenship, along with main themes, dimensions, indicators and variables associated with energy citizenship and how these act as drivers towards energy citizenship, based on evidence from the Literature Review of the Horizon 2020 DIALOGUES Project.
Giuseppe Carrus presents on the psychological drivers of sustainable energy choices and pro-environmental behaviors among individuals, groups and communities, focusing on the interplay between individual and collective factors to promote energy citizenship, and will discuss theories and empirical findings of the DIALOGUES project and previous EU-funded research projects.
Andrea Kollmann presents on the Horizon 2020 project DIALOGUES, which aims at elaborating the knowledge needed to harness the concept of energy citizenship for targeted policymaking to strengthen the role and efficacy of energy citizenship as a contributor to the strategic priorities of the sustainable energy transition.
Frances Fahy presents on the European EnergyPROSPECTS project which aims to disclose the societal conditions conducive to the thriving of engaged, sustainability-oriented, democratic or otherwise desirable forms of energy citizenship.
Jens Olgard Dalseth Røyrvik presents how the duties and rights (i.e., citizenship) related to energy manifests differently in urban and rural areas in Norway, and further how this creates both active participation and active resistance to the green shift.
The symposium is moderated by David C. Finger. Educators, practitioners and academics are invited to attend this panel session and discuss recent developments in the field of energy citizenship.
2. Structure of the Symposium
The symposium will be introduced by David C. Finger, who also moderates the panel discussion following the presentations of the five speakers:
- Mehmet Efe Biresselioglu: Community and Individual Dynamics of Energy Citizenship: Evidence from the Literature Review of the DIALOGUES Project
- Giuseppe Carrus: Individual and Collective Factors at the Basis of pro-Environmental Behaviors, Sustainable Energy Choices and Energy Citizenship
- Frances Fahy: EnergyPROSPECTS–Current Perspectives on Energy Citizenship
- Andrea Kollmann: Conceptualizing Energy Citizenship–Insights from the DIALOGUES Project
- Jens Olgard Dalseth Røyrvik: The Difference of Urban and Rural Energy Citizenship in Norway
Funding
The research by Biresselioglu, M.E., Carrus, G., Kollmann, A., Røyrvik, J. is funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement No 101022585. The research by Fahy, F. is funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement No 101022492.
Institutional Review Board Statement
Not applicable.
Informed Consent Statement
Informed consent was obtained from all subjects involved in the study.
Conflicts of Interest
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
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Share and Cite
MDPI and ACS Style
Biresselioglu, M.E.; Carrus, G.; Fahy, F.; Kollmann, A.; Røyrvik, J.O.D.; Finger, D.C. Concepts of Empowerment: The Role of Energy and Environmental Citizenship in the Energy Transition. Environ. Sci. Proc. 2022, 14, 9. https://doi.org/10.3390/environsciproc2022014009
AMA Style
Biresselioglu ME, Carrus G, Fahy F, Kollmann A, Røyrvik JOD, Finger DC. Concepts of Empowerment: The Role of Energy and Environmental Citizenship in the Energy Transition. Environmental Sciences Proceedings. 2022; 14(1):9. https://doi.org/10.3390/environsciproc2022014009
Chicago/Turabian StyleBiresselioglu, Mehmet Efe, Giuseppe Carrus, Frances Fahy, Andrea Kollmann, Jens Olgard Dalseth Røyrvik, and David C. Finger. 2022. "Concepts of Empowerment: The Role of Energy and Environmental Citizenship in the Energy Transition" Environmental Sciences Proceedings 14, no. 1: 9. https://doi.org/10.3390/environsciproc2022014009
