Advancing Energy Policy Lessons on the integration of Social Sciences and Humanities

This open access book advocates for the Social Sciences and Humanities to be more involved in energy policymaking. It forms part of the European platform for energy-related Social Sciences and Humanities’ activities, and works on the premise that crossing disciplines is essential. All of its contributions are highly interdisciplinary, with each chapter grounded in at least three different Social Sciences and Humanities disciplines. These varying perspectives come together to cover an array of issues relevant to the energy transition, including: energy poverty, justice, political ecology, governance, behaviours, imaginaries, systems approaches, modelling, as well as the particular challenges faced by interdisciplinary work. As a whole, the book presents new ideas for future energy policy, particularly at the European level. It is a valuable resource for energy researchers interested in interdisciplinary and society-relevant perspectives. Those working outside the Social Sciences and Humanities will find this book an accessible way of learning more about how these subjects can constructively contribute to energy policy.  

Foreword 1. Making Multiple Views Count – Why Energy Research Needs to Be Interdisciplinary; Gerd Schönwälder

Foreword 2. Multidisciplinary Partnerships for Access to Energy; Lidia Borrell-Damián

Foreword 3. Energy Policies Outside the Silos; Ernst Ulrich von Weizsäcker

Chapter 1. Introduction: Mobilising the Energy-Related Social Sciences and Humanities; Chris Foulds, Rosie Robison

Part I.  Energy as a Social Issue

Chapter 2. Plugging the Gap Between Energy Policy and the Lived Experience of Energy Poverty: Five Principles for a Multidisciplinary Approach; Lucie Middlemiss, Ross Gillard, Victoria Pellicer, Koen Straver

Chapter 3. Shaping Blue Growth: Social Sciences at the Nexus Between Marine Renewables and Energy Policy; Sandy Kerr, Laura Watts, Ruth Brennan, Rhys Howell, Marcello Graziano, Anne Marie O’Hagan, Dan van der Horst, Stephanie Weir, Glen Wright, Brian Wynne

Chapter 4. Looking for Perspectives! EU Energy Policy in Context; Anna Åberg, Johanna Höffken, Susanna Lidström

Part II. Social Sciences and Humanities in Interdisciplinary Endeavours

Chapter 5. Achieving Data Synergy: The Socio-Technical Process of Handling Data; Sarah Higginson, Marina Topouzi, Carlos Andrade-Cabrera, Ciara O’Dwyer, Sarah Darby, Donal Finn

Chapter 6. Building Governance and Energy Efficiency: Mapping the Interdisciplinary Challenge; Frankie McCarthy, Susan Bright, Tina Fawcett

Chapter 7. Crossing Borders: Social Sciences and Humanities Perspectives on European Energy Systems Integration; Antti Silvast, Ronan Bolton, Vincent Lagendijk, Kacper Szulecki

Chapter 8. A Complementary Understanding of Residential Energy Demand, Consumption and Services; Ralitsa Hiteva, Matthew Ives, Margot Weijnen, Igor Nikolic

Part III. Interplay with Energy Policymaking Environments

Chapter 9. Imaginaries and Practices: Learning from ‘ENERGISE’ About the Integration of Social Sciences with the EU Energy Union; Audley Genus, Frances Fahy, Gary Goggins, Marfuga Iskandarova, Senja Laakso

Chapter 10. Challenges Ahead: Understanding, Assessing, Anticipating and Governing Foreseeable Societal Tensions to Support Accelerated Low-Carbon Transitions in Europe; Bruno Turnheim, Joeri H. Wesseling, Bernhard Truffer, Harald Rohracher, Luis Carvalho, Claudia R. Binder

Chapter 11. Towards a Political Ecology of EU Energy Policy; Gavin Bridge, Stefania Barca, Begüm Özkaynak, Ethemcan Turhan, Ryan Wyeth

Afterword 1. Important Contributions Towards Renewal of a Stubborn Energy Research and Policy Agenda; Harold Wilhite

Afterword 2. A New Energy Storyline; Inês Campos