Chapter 5 From Energy Consumers to Energy Citizens
Legal Dimensions of Energy Citizenship
In: Sustainable Energy Democracy and the LawSearch for other papers by Damilola S Olawuyi in
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Abstract
This chapter discusses the importance of energy citizenship as a precondition for advancing sustainable energy democracy in global energy markets. Transitions towards low-carbon energy systems will require substantial financial, technological, and infrastructural development and resources. To meet these needs in a just, equitable and sustainable manner, recent studies have highlighted the need for energy citizenship, - i.e. the active and responsible participation of citizens, through individual and collective action, in the development of technologies, solutions, facilities, entrepreneurial ventures and projects aimed at expanding energy access. For example, the Qatar National Vision, 2030 expressly aims to achieve a ‘knowledge-based economy’ and ‘[a]n environmentally aware population that values the preservation of the natural heritage of Qatar and its neighboring states’. These efforts have seen the rise of green and eco-ventures, small scale renewable energy projects, as well as community energy initiatives in Qatar and other energy markets.
While the rise of energy citizenship in global energy markets has provided some positive success stories, it has also raised fundamental questions of law and practice. For example, pre-existing legal barriers due to regulatory complexities and administrative delays in project approval and registration, inadequate legal framework on public-private partnerships, challenges with integrating renewable energy sources to national grids and existing challenges to public participation all continue to limit energy citizenship. Without developing clear and coherent legal frameworks that advance energy citizenship, global targets on energy transition and sustainable energy access for all may not be fully realized.
This chapter examines the increasing relevance of energy citizenship in global energy markets, their potential contributions to addressing energy poverty, and the key legal challenges that stifle their overall effectiveness in local contexts. Drawing examples from the Middle East and North Africa (mena) region, the chapter discusses societal and intersectional challenges to energy citizenship and energy democracy, and the legal pathways for addressing those challenges.