Energy Research & Social Science最新文献

Decentralisation offers one route to energy system decarbonisation, and local energy systems (LES) provide focal points for decentralisation. LES involve the integration of different generation, storage, and demand-side technologies across heat, power, and transport systems, within defined localities. Public support is necessary for LES deployment at pace and scale, but while past research has examined public attitudes towards individual technologies, few studies have investigated perceptions of systemic shifts towards LES. This paper presents findings from a nationally representative UK survey (n = 3034) on LES. We compare two ways of exploring perceptions of decentralised energy: as a broad systemic shift, and as the cumulative deployment of multiple LES innovations. Results show high levels of public support for a systemic shift towards decentralisation, but more moderate levels of support for specific LES innovations. Regression analysis highlight the role of personal characteristics, climate concern, political beliefs, and engagement with technologies in influencing support for LES. Support is more predictable for decentralisation, whose meaning is clear in principle while containing ambiguities in practice. Support for LES innovations is less predictable and is explained by the diversity with which households interpret the multiple propositions afforded by LES innovations. For LES to benefit from majority public support for a systemic shift, policy and industry actors need to better understand the diverse set of perceptions and values that LES hold for the public and seek broader and deeper engagement with the public around specific LES innovations, as well as around systemic change more broadly.

To address climate change, countries must decarbonize and shift to renewable energy. Renewables like solar and wind are mineral intensive, meaning the world must rapidly scale up mining and processing of critical minerals such as lithium and cobalt. Such an energy transition offers economic opportunities, but poses serious environmental, social, and governance (ESG) risks. Scholars have begun to identify these risks and opportunities, yet no systematic synthesis exists. Further, non-legal academic literature on this topic frequently fails to engage a growing legal scholarship. We reviewed 69 articles focusing on critical mineral mining in the context of energy transition to describe the state of the literature and synthesize information on ESG risks and opportunities. We drew on non-legal and legal scholarship, making this the first systematic review on this topic to unite both literatures. We find that 60 % of papers focus on two minerals – lithium and/or cobalt – leaving other vitally important critical minerals unexplored. There are also glaring geographic holes – for example, the lithium papers focus on South America's Lithium Triangle, largely missing top producer Australia and other players. Collectively, the articles identify 26 ESG factors, comprising 18 risks and 8 opportunities. While this review provides a strong synthesis of existing scholarship, it reveals a clear gap between what we know and what is needed to accelerate global energy transition. There is pressing need for scholarship on overlooked critical minerals and regions, ESG opportunities in addition to risks, ownership models, and governance solutions such as impact benefit agreements.

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted peoples’ daily lives and dominated the public discourse. It thus displaced people’s attention to and concerns about climate change. We analyse 13.5 million tweets by 3.2 million distinct users on climate change posted before and after the onset of the pandemic (2018–2021) and show that attention to climate dropped substantially in 2020 with the onset of the pandemic. While research has helped to explain this drop in the context of issue attention theory, our analysis highlights a remarkable recovery in attention in 2021 towards pre-pandemic levels. Moreover, our large-scale, transformer-based text analysis reveals important thematic shifts during this period. In particular, we show a sustained drop in attention to activist movements and subsequently an increased focus on climate causes and climate solutions. Activist movements, such as the school protests that have mobilized millions around the globe in 2019, have measurably lost traction on Twitter. However, in parts due to increased awareness of causes and solutions, the climate change discourse in general recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic.

During winter 2022–23, residential energy prices were exceptionally high in Europe. Governments provided unprecedented energy support payments, but millions of households still suffered from inadequate access to energy. This paper uses gas and electricity smart meter data from 2019 to 20 to 2022–23 for 11,500 prepayment meter (PPM) customers in Great Britain to characterise energy use over time, by dwelling and household characteristics, examine the effects of high prices and cold weather, evaluate current policy and propose improvements. Households with PPMs are a group where fuel poverty is highly concentrated. This sample use less energy than the general population and 63 % self-disconnected at least once a year, with an annual average 28 h of disconnection. Using smart meter data has enabled identification of groups in extreme need: 7 % of households use scarcely any energy, and no gas, for heating; 4 % self-disconnect for at least 240 h per year. More homes self-disconnected from gas during cold periods than at other times, despite the greater need for heating. The paper proposes replacing the current ‘Cold Weather Payment’ policy that has proven ineffective with advance, daily payments directly to energy accounts that are triggered by forecasts of minimum temperatures of −4 °C. High prices in 2022–23 had a very significant effect: annual gas use per household fell by 20 %, while electricity use fell by 3 %, compared with 2019–20. A new Energy Cost Support Scheme is proposed to provide financial support for households in fuel poverty, worth about £1000 per household. For the longer term, smart meter data could enable better targeting of support for vulnerable households and the fuel poor.

This paper explores wind power attitudes in Sweden, considering the proximity of wind power installations, using a large-scale survey (N = 5280). The study examines if attitudes were affected by policies that provide collective financial benefits through municipal tax revenues, personal benefits through direct compensation, or openings for democratic involvement. Only 15 % of the respondents expressed negative attitudes to wind power as a measure to speed up the transition to a fossil free society, while 26 % were negative to wind power built within 5 km from their homes. Attitudes were mainly predicted by ideological standpoints, environmental concern and political and governmental trust. The study found that for wind power constructed in the home municipality, respondents preferred collectively distributed financial benefits, while direct personal compensation offers the best prospects to influence ideologically motivated attitudes. None of the policy interventions tested in this study had any significant effect on respondents with strongly negative views.

Energy cooperatives are witnessing substantial growth across the European Union. However, despite the desire to be inclusive and to foster diversity, the representation of women in energy cooperatives is still limited. The study aimed to verify the strength of the endorsement of gender stereotypes within energy cooperatives and, in the case of women, the factors stereotypes are associated to. Data were collected in two cooperatives, ènostra in Italy and Ecopower in Belgium, for a total of 5690 respondents. Apart from being among the most important cooperatives in their respective countries, the two represent an interesting comparative case because in ènostra women and men are almost equally represented and the president is a woman, while in Ecopower women are underrepresented and the board of directors is male-dominated. For both cooperatives, the results suggested that women had lower self-assessment of knowledge about energy than men and that they recognised, more so than men, the importance of the presence of women on the board of directors (BoD). Finally, we found that women with stronger gender stereotypes about energy exhibited lower self-assessment of knowledge but a greater tendency to increase it after joining the cooperative and they attributed slightly more importance to the presence of women on the cooperative BoD.

The German Coal Commission brought together stakeholders from business, unions, environmental groups and the scientific field, local politicians and citizen representatives to reach a consensus on phasing out coal. It also allocated extensive resources to transform coal-producing regions. The results of the process raise two key questions: how was this consensus achieved, and why did it fail to end controversies around the coal phase-out?

Through interviews with 14 of the 28 Commission members and an analysis of meeting minutes, we investigate the Commission's internal workings, the influence of state and federal governments, and the impact of stakeholders on the decisions made. Our analysis uses the framework of democratic legitimacy, focusing on throughput legitimacy and procedural justice.

The Commission comprised a diverse range of members, and ultimately reached a consensus that met the government's mandate and agreed significant resources for affected regions, workers and companies. Public and regional actors had limited opportunities to participate in decision-making, however. No mechanisms were in place to counteract the power imbalance between the members, there was a significant gender imbalance, and climate ambitions were low. Overall, the degree of democratic legitimacy in the Commission was only moderate. A lack of inclusiveness, openness, transparency and accountability within the process, and its low discursive quality, created deficits that affected the entire resulting policy.

To enhance democratic legitimacy and increase ecological ambitions in coal phase-outs, we recommend participatory, collaborative and reflexive decision-making processes. Mining countries should proceed carefully to ensure democratic legitimacy and beneficial outcomes for mining regions.

Agrivoltaic systems (AVS) (elevated solar arrays enabling energy and rainwater harvesting alongside crop production), have been gaining increasing traction globally. Most research has focused on the technical efficacy of AVS, with less attention paid to social dimensions and few studies in East Africa (EA). This research had two aims; firstly, to identify the critical enabling factors, institutions and support required to successfully widen AVS adoption across EA. Secondly, could widening adoption help address increasing climate-energy-food production-population growth challenges predicted for the coming decades. We present findings from two case study farms where AVS was installed (Kenya and Tanzania). We undertook user journey mapping with 14 participants associated with the case study farms, to monitor their experiences, building narratives that identify critical enabling factors and support required to successfully widen East African AVS adoption. The case studies are supplemented by additional farmer interviews (n = 44) and two end of project workshops with diverse regional stakeholders. Our findings indicate AV technology could be beneficial to a range of agricultural systems and contribute to addressing climate-energy-food nexus issues in EA, but innovations are needed to enable this uptake. Specifically, widening AVS adoption equitably requires: government interventions to deal with land tenure uncertainties particularly for small-holders and cooperative farms; provision of appropriate finance mechanisms for different types of beneficiaries; reforming the current regulatory framework for energy investments and payments for surplus distribution of AV electricity; and, developing assistance from additional supporting agencies (e.g. regulatory, agricultural and technical) at key touch-points in the adoption process.

As cities and states across the United States increasingly commit to building decarbonization, gas stoves are garnering public health attention because, in addition to contributing to greenhouse gas emissions, they may pose a respiratory health risk. Disadvantaged groups, as defined by demographic, socioeconomic, and residential factors, are often late adopters of new technology. To ensure that disadvantaged groups are not left behind from this transition, WE ACT for Environmental Justice, a New York City community-based environmental justice organization, implemented the first pilot of gas-to-electric stove transition in low-income housing. The goal of this mixed-methods study was to evaluate the effect of this intervention on indoor air quality and to characterize the distinct experiences of low-income residents.

Twenty low-income households were recruited and randomized to an intervention (replacement of gas stove with induction stove) and a control arm. Between October 2021 and July 2022, three 168-hr long monitoring campaigns were conducted to assess indoor air quality (NO₂, CO, and PM_2.5) and stove use pre- and post-intervention. The impact of cooking events on indoor air quality was further evaluated during controlled cooking tests carried out in both gas and induction homes. To identify key characteristics of the end-user experience throughout this intervention, participants were invited to join focus group discussions.

Between baseline and endline, 168-hr average NO₂ and CO concentrations decreased in both study arms, likely due to seasonality factors. Still, the induction arm showed a 56 % reduction (95 % CI: −61.9 %, −15.2 %) in mean daily NO₂ concentration compared to the gas arm. During controlled cooking tests, the median background NO₂ concentration (18 ppb) in gas homes rose to 197 ppb and negligibly changed in induction homes. During focus group discussions, participants unanimously reported being pleased with the transition and highlighted quality of life improvements resulting from the unexpected intervention's ability to address energy insecurity concerns.

Taken together, our quantitative and qualitative results suggest that decarbonization energy transitions can improve health by reducing indoor NO₂ but need to extend beyond single appliance swap-out to address health issues resulting from energy insecurity.

Carbon pricing has received prominent support as the key policy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Yet, in the context of heightened geopolitical tensions and risks of supply chain disruptions, policy makers are increasingly resorting to green industrial policies to support the deployment of clean energy technologies. This Perspective discusses whether this development represents a paradigm shift in the design of climate policies and assesses arguments for and against carbon pricing and green industrial policies. Our analysis addresses implications for economic efficiency, security of supply, distributional concerns and political economy issues. We find that green industrial policies can support carbon pricing by lowering market barriers for clean technology diffusion and strengthening political support for climate policy. Yet, we also emphasize that a carbon price should be an essential element in any effective climate mitigation policy mix and the key is to find the optimal policy mix for carbon pricing and green industrial policies for the unique context of each location. In the EU, green industrial policy should mainly be employed to complement carbon pricing and deal with additional market barriers. In the US, by contrast, green industrial policy could be used strategically to try to build political support for and reduce resistance to a carbon price.