Department of Environmental Sciences, Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, 113-8656, Sogndal, Norway.
The Schumacher Institute, The Create Centre, Bristol, BS1 6XN, UK.
Sci Rep. 2023 Mar 2;13(1):1342. doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-28504-4.
Statistical accounting of the impacts of citizen-led energy initiatives is absent, despite their impact on increased energy self-sufficiency and ramping up of renewable energies, local sustainable development, greater citizen engagement, diversification of activities, social innovation, and acceptance of transition measures. This paper quantifies the aggregate contributions of collective action in pursuit of the sustainable energy transition in Europe. We estimate the number of initiatives (10,540), projects (22,830), people involved (2,010,600), installed renewable capacities (7.2-9.9 GW), and investments made (6.2-11.3 billion EUR) for 30 European countries. Our aggregate estimates do not suggest that collective action will replace commercial enterprises and governmental action in the short or medium term without fundamental alterations to policy and market structures. However, we find strong evidence for the historical, emerging, and actual importance of citizen-led collective action to the European energy transition. Collective action in the energy transition is experimenting successfully with new business models in the energy sector. Continued decentralization of energy systems and more stringent decarbonization policies will increase the importance of these actors in the future.
尽管公民主导的能源倡议对提高能源自给自足能力、增加可再生能源、促进当地可持续发展、增强公民参与度、推动活动多样化、促进社会创新以及接受过渡措施都产生了影响，但目前缺乏对其影响进行统计核算。本文定量评估了欧洲为实现可持续能源转型而开展的集体行动的总体贡献。我们对 30 个欧洲国家的倡议数量（10540 个）、项目数量（22830 个）、参与人数（2010600 人）、已安装的可再生能源容量（7.2-9.9GW）和投资（62-113 亿欧元）进行了估计。我们的总体估计表明，如果不对政策和市场结构进行根本性调整，在短期或中期内，集体行动不会取代商业企业和政府的行动。然而，我们有强有力的证据表明，公民主导的集体行动在历史上、新兴和当前对欧洲能源转型都具有重要意义。能源转型中的集体行动正在能源领域成功尝试新的商业模式。未来，能源系统的进一步分散化和更严格的脱碳政策将增加这些行为者的重要性。
