Periodic Reporting for period 2 - GRETA (GReen Energy Transition Actions)
Período documentado: 2022-11-01 hasta 2023-10-31
The aim of GRETA is to understand more about what affects peoples’ willingness and capabilities to take action and the barriers that hamper it. The project will focus on 6 distinct case studies - around renewable energy, mobility and energy efficiency – and use these as a basis for studying energy citizenship from a range of different perspectives. First, by defining more closely what it means to be an ‘energy citizen’ and what types of actions they could potentially take towards a more sustainable future. Second, to understand potential barriers against energy citizenship by studying the actions and interactions, both between individual energy citizens and between different energy community initiatives, and what factors mediate those interactions. Third, to utilize different sources of data and information to support the development of new strategies for achieving decarbonization. Fourth, to use the insights obtained from case studies as a basis to understand the phenonmena at regional, national and European level. Finally, to improve the policy making process so that it is more favourable to support the emergence of energy citizenship in the EU.
In the second stage of the project, GRETA has continued working with case study communities to finalise the Community Transition Pathways (CTPs) and to formalise these for three case studies into Energy Citizenship Contracts (ECCs) that define roles and responsibilities to achieve actions laid out in the CTPs. This stage has also focused on modelling the multinational survey data in various ways to understand the perspectives of energy citizenship across Europe. This modelling has revealed interesting insights. For example, it shows differences between countries in how energy citizenship manifests as well as differing drivers and priorities between civil society, companies and decision-makers. In addition, clustering of the data from the general public has yielded 8 distinct personas each of which reflects differences in how people may enact energy citizenship actions, based on their attitudes and knowledge but importantly, also according to their individual and local circumstances.
In order to disseminate and further exploit key project results, much of the GRETA findings have been embedded into a GRETA analytics tool through which it is possible to explore the emergence of different types of energy citizenship across different geographical scales, as well as explore many of the project outcomes including the multinational survey data. All key project findings have also been included into 6 policy briefs that have been disseminated to policy makers. A social media campaign has been produced and disseminated, promoting energy citizenship through energy communities.
The multiple complex connections between the concept of energy justice and the emergence of different forms of energy citizenship have also been analysed. These analyses have paved the way for the development of Community Transition Pathways (CTPs) and Energy Citizenship Contracts (ECCs) which are instruments to offer communities ways to forge new direct relationships with energy and with involved stakeholders. CTPs represent communities’ vision toward decarbonization goals, including a roadmap of key steps for the transitioning; ECCs are the operative result of the pathways through which communities and stakeholders can mutually recognize roles and benefits.
Further progress of GRETA is in the use of different sources of data - related to energy, infrastructures, communities and individuals - to understand how energy citizenship may manifest differently due to the local conditions. The data derives from a number of sources, utilizing both public and private datasets, the data obtained through the large multinational survey, but more crucially working closely within the communities themselves to gain insight into how well instrumented their local areas currently are for supporting positive energy citizenship activities
All of the key information and knowledge generated by GRETA has been made available for all, through an Open Portfolio for Civic Empowerment.
These results of GRETA are expected to achieve the following socio-economic impacts. Firstly, increased awareness and understanding to combat energy poverty and energy justice. Secondly, improved interaction, connectivity and dialogue between individuals, communities, energy providers and municipalities so that they can work together towards achieving decarbonization targets. Thirdly, the communities directly involved in case studies will be empowered to effect positive change through their participation. Finally, there will be better policies that support more inclusive energy strategies that provide favourable conditions for the emergence of energy citizenship, by focusing more on community level, infrastructural, organizational and governance factors than individual change.