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Projeto de investigação
Energy communities and a socially inclusive transition
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Renewable energy Living Labs through the lenses of responsible innovation: building an inclusive, reflexive, and sustainable energy transition
Publication . Campos, Inês; Marín-González, Esther
Responsible Innovation (RI) offers Sustainability Transitions (ST) research methodologies a pathway to enable more inclusive, responsive, and sustainable transitions. Specifically, Living Labs (LLs) can benefit from RI scholarship in the scope of their sustainability research designs, as they may thereby be able to better foster critical thinking, inclusivity, and reflexivity. Drawing on a review of LLs literature and the self-reported assessments of researchers, experts and stakeholders involved in 12 LLs experiences, this research article sets out to explore how RI dimensions might serve to advance the practice of LLs in the context of ST research. The 12 LLs from seven European countries were centred on renewable energy prosumer initiatives. This analysis looks into how stakeholders were identified and involved, what inclusivity issues were addressed and what challenges were identified, to draw key lessons learned for advancing with RI in the scope of transdisciplinary energy transition studies.
Can democratic innovations tackle social-ecological challenges? Gaining insights on transformative governance across European cases
Publication . Ribeiro, J.D.; Moniz, João; Campos, Ines; Falanga, Roberto
In an era of democratic backsliding, the pursuit of sustainable development that addresses social-ecological challenges can become a daunting task. Participatory and deliberative practices have flourished over the last few decades, addressing, to varying extents, policy domains that can be understood within the framework of social-ecological governance and related challenges. By understanding these practices through the concept of democratic innovations (DIs), we critically examine the historical connections between practices implemented across Europe with a focus on social-ecological challenges. This work reveals the emerging potential for democratising policy and decision-making, particularly in the areas of climate action and social justice. Despite the potential of DIs for citizen engagement with social-ecological challenges, theevidence gathered so far indicates that the reproduction of social exclusion within DIs is a significant issue, reflecting barriers rooted in socioeconomic cleavages and the myopia of political elites regarding long-term transformations. The capture and cooptation of DIs by powerful groups often reduces their potential to mere performative exercises that contribute little to creating inclusive settings. Therefore, while acknowledging the significant potential of DIs for social-ecological governance, we argue for the need to investigate the contribution of existing practices within extant democratic systems to realise their transformative potential fully.
Green, innovative, and unfair: The case of unjust energy transitions and civic resistance and opposition in Portugal
Publication . Campos, Inês; Maraschin, Sérgio; Schwemmlein, Kaya
This study explores the intersection of degrowth and energy justice, investigating how decarbonisation goals and energy policy pathways may perpetuate continuous economic growth while exacerbating social justice issues, such as inequality, lack of distributive and procedural justice, and shared responsibility for environmental concerns. In Alentejo, Portugal, the construction of low-carbon infrastructure and large-scale renewable energy production facilities for industrial expansion has sparked the rise of new civic movements and local opposition. Using a sociology of expectations approach and qualitative thematic analysis, this study examines data gathered through participant observation and documentary analysis to understand the diverse expectations of the stakeholders involved. The findings reveal that the depletion of natural resources and cultural heritage in the region is closely linked to a lack of transparency and accountability from both governance structures and private companies. Additionally, this research highlights several implications for energy justice and degrowth and their interconnections. By emphasising these aspects, the paper illustrates how the technological transformation of natural landscapes is often supported by tokenistic participation processes that largely overlook the concerns of local communities.
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Entidade financiadora
Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia
Programa de financiamento
CEEC IND 3ed
Número da atribuição
2020.01663.CEECIND/CP1605/CT0005