Strengthening European Energy Policy Governance Recommendations From Innovative Interdisciplinary Collaborations

This open access book foregrounds novel collaborations between the Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH), and Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines, for the benefit of European energy policy. Each chapter has been led by a team spanning social and technical disciplines. The book proposes 10 policy recommendations to: Simplify the uptake of community energy; Prioritise societal engagement in geothermal; Create co-learning for energy communities; Facilitate energy literacy; Support place-based strategies for retrofit; Promote integrated policy design for agrivoltaics; Increase social acceptability of low-carbon technologies; Protect digital energy infrastructure; Understand stakeholder perceptions of energy-efficiency measures; and Rethink energy system models to support the just transition. It will be of interest to anyone developing, implementing or critiquing energy policy (locally, nationally or internationally) as well as those looking to expand the use of interdisciplinary research to achieve sustainability goals. 

Part of a three-volume collection covering climate, energy, and mobility policy.

Chapter 1: Introduction.- Chapter 2: Building pathways to an inclusive skilled labour force to decarbonise existing UK homes: Shared insights from across Britain and leading EU Member States.- Chapter 3: Resilient Infrastructure for Smart Cities: a Participatory Stakeholder Approach to Multi-Criteria Policy Design.- Chapter 4: EU – Africa cooperation for energy access: the case of geothermal energy communities.- Chapter 5: Safeguarding EU Energy Systems: An Interdisciplinary Framework for Resilience in the Digital Era.- Chapter 6: Rethinking energy system models: inclusive pathways to climate neutrality.- Chapter 7: Clean energy for all at risk: the need for community participation in the fast-tracked energy transition.- Chapter 8: From Silicon to Perovskite: A Comprehensive Transdisciplinary Approach to Unveil Economic, Environmental and Societal Barriers and Potential of Established and Emerging PV technologies.- Chapter 9: Public and social acceptability of contentious low-carbon energy technologies in the last decade: nuclear fusion, agrivoltaics and offshore wind turbines.- Chapter 10: A chapter on challenging energy literacy.- Chapter 11: Unknown, uncertainties and risks: social and geoscience implications for public engagement in geothermal energy developments in Europe.- Chapter 12: Conclusion.

Ami Crowther is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Anglia Ruskin University’s Global Sustainability Institute, and lead editor of this book. 

Chris Foulds is Professor of Sustainability & Society, at Anglia Ruskin University’s Global Sustainability Institute, and co-leads the SSH CENTRE.

Rosie Robison is Professor of Social Sustainability, at Anglia Ruskin University’s Global Sustainability Institute, and co-leads the SSH CENTRE.

Ganna Gladkykh is a Policy Fellow at the Stockholm Environment Institute. She edited this book whilst a Clean Energy Transition Expert at the European Energy Research Alliance.