UNderstanding LOcal and Community Governance of Energy (UNLOC).
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Surrey
Department Name: Centre for Environmental Strategy
Abstract
The UK commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2050 will require a systemic change in the way energy is converted and used. The exclusive reliance on large-scale centralised production technologies is seen by many as incompatible with the changes needed to meet the twin challenges of climate change and energy security. Action at local and community levels will be needed in energy demand reduction efforts, improvements in energy efficiency and deployment of micro- and community scale generation. Indeed, there is a growing trend to push for increased local accountability for CO2 emissions, renewable energy targets and fuel poverty, and this is driving energy activities at local government level. Alongside these trends are also activities by non-state actors, often aimed at challenging 'mainstream' social practices and seeking to address perceived failures of the formal governance structures. There is a need to understand how these emerging and evolving informal governance structures may interact with (& influence) formal structures. This proposal brings together a multidisciplinary team to research these new,more diverse forms of local energy governance. The project partnership consists of two leading UK universities (Surrey & Oxford) in the fields of energy research, environmental policy and sustainable behaviour studies. The partnership extends to key local government and non-governmental organisations who will assist in providing the evidence for understanding the trends in local energy governance and how they are influenced by changing public awareness and policy. The project aims to demonstrate how grassroots organizations, local government initiatives and national-scale activities interact to create new political opportunities for active citizen engagement in both energy demand reduction and deployment of local energy generation. The project is structured around 3 workpackages: Firstly, the work will evaluate the opportunities and constraints faced by local government in delivering their energy and low carbon targets. It will explore the rationale behind local authority involvement in energy, and the process of change that has (or not) taken place in local authorities as a result of evolving national policy and public pressure. Part of this exercise will involve exploring the relationship between local energy governance and other areas of local government responsibility (e.g. planning & transport), as well as the extent to which the voluntary sector and others have shaped the path taken by local authorities. Secondly, drawing from the existing literature and case studies, the project will use political science theory to map out the role, power and interactions of different actors in local energy governance. This will explore the evolving nature of the relationship between state (local government) and non-state (grassroots) actors, and the motivations behind the formation of certain types of 'coalitions' around specific energy issues. Thirdly, the project will break new research ground in looking closely at the current and potential role of local finance to support new energy initiatives. It will evaluate the range of such finance schemes in the UK (and internationally) against criteria such as relevance to energy activities, cost effectiveness and flexibility in design to support vulnerable groups. This will include examination of the interplay between nationally driven programmes (e.g. Warm Front and energy supplier obligations) and local finance. We will publish four reports which will form the basis for papers to conferences of academic & energy practitioners; academic journal articles; and a series of policy briefings for local and national policymakers. There will also be a final workshop aimed at providing key messages from the research for stakeholders, including local government decision makers, voluntary organisations in the sustainable energy sector and providers of finance.
Organisations
Publications
Fudge S
(2011)
Behaviour Change in the UK Climate Debate: An Assessment of Responsibility, Agency and Political Dimensions
in Sustainability
Peters M
(2014)
Carbon management, local governance and community engagement
in Carbon Management
Fudge S
(2016)
Local authorities as niche actors: the case of energy governance in the UK
in Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions
Parag Y
(2013)
Network approach for local and community governance of energy: The case of Oxfordshire
in Energy Policy
| Description | All UNLOC outputs have been reported through UKERC -- so for full details please refer to that reportage channel. Summary details are presented here: -Substantial contribution to the body of knowledge on local level strategies for delivering the transition to low carbon economies; It is evident that the scale of change that is needed to improve the agency of local authorities in energy governance and to reduce CO2 emissions, will not be solved at a single point of intervention. Effective action at the local level is increasingly recognized as a vital element of a low carbon transition. However, as the UNLOC research highlights, there is currently little incentive for local actors to risk leadership around the depth of change needed without others doing the same or providing suitable support. In addition, there is a struggle with shrinking resources, growing social needs and a lack of clear direction with regard to addressing climate change. These issues continue to pose challenges for engaging local authorities and their communities in more localized forms of energy governance. Even in the 'leading' local authorities progress is often fragile and dependent on the skills and preferences of certain key individuals. There is a reasonable argument to suggest that this does not provide a stable basis for participative governance at the local level. -The development of successful local actions to reduce carbon emissions will require deliberate, long-term thinking on the part of all of the actors involved in the effort; - Although local government would seem to be ideally situated to encourage action to improve the sustainability of local energy governance, many local authorities feel that there is currently a lack of appropriate structures in place to provide meaningful opportunities for community involvement, particularly in relation to effective connections to energy providers, funders, regulators, and other communities of practice. -One of the main problems for local authorities vis-a-vis 'energy governance' relates to a lack of clarity over whether they are now seen as 'doers' or 'enablers' in energy. As pointed out by some of the research programme's interviewees, traditionally local authorities' role in energy has been enabling and providing services rather than leading on energy policy. It was felt that there is confusion over leadership and responsibilities - in part due to a legacy of previous top-down policy approaches to energy in the UK; - Most community groups rely on the good generosity of a handful of volunteers. Questions of how best to support the existing capacity, and transfer the learning, knowledge and expertise are critical, and the research findings suggest that local authorities, or other funded intermediary organisations, could play an important role here; -The roles of community groups and local government should complement each other, but community action should not be viewed as letting the local authority 'off the hook' for delivering that action. There is a tension about who gets 'the credit' for local action and in some cases community groups are in a better position to deliver energy related action than local authorities; - Lack of capacity in many community-based organisations to respond effectively to the evolution in project finance from a largely grant-based system focused on meeting climate and economic development aims, to a more complex mix of contract delivery for (local) government organisations; more intelligent social investment from charitable trusts, companies and high net worth individuals; and opportunities to benefit from alternative funding options such as the development of co-operative businesses or use of crowd funding; - The increased focus on financial investment from many funders, has lead to a requirement for acceptable rates of financial return on projects and also acceptable risk profiles. This has a number of implications including the need for minimum project size to attract investment, and the downgrading of non-financial but nonetheless important project outcomes. The capacity to react to a changing financing environment and the need for minimum project size both point to a role for intermediaries; - The gaps in finance for local energy activity that are emerging or growing: for community organisations, key areas of concern are organisational growth and development, networking and co-learning, project development and work on behaviour change. For local authorities, the main emerging issue is the policy-driven focus on avoiding debt, without any differentiation between debt from overspending and debt as a result of investment. - The above findings have been disseminated widely via a range of publications and presentations, including: 5 journal publications (in Energy Policy, Environmental Policy and Governance, Sustainability, the International Journal of Interdisciplinary Social Sciences and Carbon Management); 3 articles published in practitioner/policy-maker oriented journals; A range of conference and workshop presentations. |
| Exploitation Route | The community group and local government work of the project, in particular, has generated a wide range of findings and recommendations which have much of potential interest and guidance for local authorities and community groups seeking to contribute to the more sustainable management and governance of energy locally through new - and renewed - forms of social organisation and policy development/interaction. Over the period of the project UNLOC researchers and co-investigators have had strenuous engagement with policy and decision makers at different levels and in a range of fora, including local government officers, the Department of Energy and Climate Change and the UK Parliamentary and Scientific Committee, as well as developing a series of policy documents and published commentaries. Key examples include Eyre, N., Jan Rosenow, Joanne Wade, Charlie Wilson and Bob Lowe (2012) UKERC Green Deal Response, UK Energy Research Centre, 17th January 2012. Nick Eyre panel member for the review of DECC's Energy Analysis Research Programme. Peters, M, (2011), Creating the right climate, article in New Start 'the magazine for making better places', 6th April. Peters, M. (2011), Driving low carbon communities, article in the Local Government Chronicle, 10th October. Fudge, S. and Peters, M. (2011), Broader behavioural focus needed to mitigate climate change, Science for Environment Policy: European Commission DG Environment News Alert Service, edited by SCU, The University of the West of England, Bristol. |
| Sectors | Communities and Social Services/Policy,Energy,Environment |
| Description | Over the period of the project UNLOC researchers and co-investigators had strenuous engagement with policy and decision makers at different levels and in a range of fora, including local government officers, the Department of Energy and Climate Change and the UK Parliamentary and Scientific Committee, as well as developing a series of policy documents and published commentaries. Key examples include: Eyre, N., Jan Rosenow, Joanne Wade, Charlie Wilson and Bob Lowe (2012) UKERC Green Deal Response, UK Energy Research Centre, 17th January 2012. Nick Eyre panel member for the review of DECC's Energy Analysis Research Programme. Peters, M, (2011), Creating the right climate, article in New Start 'the magazine for making better places', 6th April. Peters, M. (2011), Driving low carbon communities, article in the Local Government Chronicle, 10th October. Fudge, S. and Peters, M. (2011), Broader behavioural focus needed to mitigate climate change, Science for Environment Policy: European Commission DG Environment News Alert Service, edited by SCU, The University of the West of England, Bristol. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2012 |
| Sector | Energy,Environment |
| Impact Types | Cultural,Societal,Policy & public services |