Re-scaling governance for decarbonisation: co-ordinating decentralised energy systems

为了避免气候变化带来的最严重影响，需要迅速转向清洁、可再生能源系统。英国的能源系统正在经历一场重大变革，朝着更加分散、分散和灵活的电力、热力和运输系统发展。当前自上而下的集中式运营和治理体系的发展方向面临挑战，这些转变使人们认识到，更本地化的能源系统资源、参与者和机构正变得越来越重要。政府的清洁增长战略明确认识到，地方“最适合通过其在土地、建筑、水、废物和运输方面的独特管理政策来推动减排”（英国政府，2017年，第118页），并且越来越关注地方协调在整个系统中的作用，以及脱碳的综合方法（Tingey， Webb和Hawkey, 2017; Energy Systems Catapult, 2018b）。与此同时，一些地方政府正在表现出明确的领导能力，最近宣布的“气候紧急情况”（见https://climateemergency.uk/）、雄心勃勃的碳中和目标和清洁能源承诺就是明证。然而，尽管在低碳能源方面有广泛的地方实验，但塑造和协调地方能源系统的治理结构是有限的（Cowell， Ellis和Strachan， 2017）。配电网络运营商的角色将发生转变，因为它们将成为更积极的网络管理者和灵活性的推动者，地方当局在能源方面的行动在全国各地差别很大，权力下放交易和地方企业合作伙伴关系都越来越关注能源。认识到这些多重发展，以及对地方能源日益增长的战略关注，该奖学金旨在探索地方行动者在能源系统中的作用如何变化，当前的治理、政策和监管安排在多大程度上支持最合适的行动者在适当的规模上采取行动，以及如何在地方、区域和国家政府之间最好地协调行动。作为这项研究金的一部分，将出版三份学术出版物，其重点是更充分地了解不同规模的行动者和话语推动和制约体制变革的过程。具体而言，关于能源系统变革和地方治理规模调整的辩论将被整合，以探索如何改变角色、关系和机构，以支持脱碳、分散的能源系统。最终，该奖学金旨在进一步讨论城市政治和能源系统变化的实践，以支持在这种规模上更快速、更集中的实践变化。这些文件的编写以及专家圆桌会议活动将为政策简报的制定提供信息，该简报旨在综合对城市能源转型的最新理解，并就地方治理关系需要如何发展提供政策相关建议。该简报将通过与国家和地方决策者的介绍和会议来传播。

To avoid the worst impacts of climate change a rapid shift to clean, renewable energy systems is required. The energy system in the UK is undergoing significant change towards a more distributed, decentralised and flexible system across electricity, heat and transport. The direction of travel is challenging for the current top down, centralised system of operation and governance and these shifts are leading to recognition that more localised energy system resources, actors and institutions are becoming increasingly important. The Government's Clean Growth Strategy explicitly recognises that local areas 'are best placed to drive emission reductions through their unique position of managing policy on land, buildings, water, waste and transport' (HM Government, 2017, p. 118) and there is increasing focus on the role of local coordination in whole system, integrated approaches to decarbonisation (Tingey, Webb and Hawkey, 2017; Energy Systems Catapult, 2018b). At the same time some local authorities are showing clear leadership, as evidenced by recent declarations of 'climate emergencies' (see https://climateemergency.uk/), ambitious carbon neutrality targets, and clean energy pledges. However, although there is extensive local experimentation in low carbon energy, governance structures to shape and co-ordinate local energy systems are limited (Cowell, Ellis and Strachan, 2017). The role of distribution network operators is set to transform as they become more active managers of networks and enablers of flexibility, local authority action on energy varies greatly across the country, and both devolution deals and Local Enterprise Partnerships are increasingly focussing on energy. Recognising these multiple developments, and the increasing strategic focus on local energy, this fellowship seeks to explore how the role of local actors in energy systems is changing, the extent to which current governance, policy and regulatory arrangements support action by the most appropriate actors at the right scale, and how action between local, regional and national governments should be best coordinated.Three academic publications will be produced as part of this fellowship which focus on developing a fuller understanding of the processes by which institutional change is enabled and constrained by actors and discourses at different scales. Specifically debates on energy system change and local governance rescaling will be integrated to explore how roles, relationships and institutions can change to support a decarbonised, decentralised energy system. Ultimately the fellowship seeks to further debates of the urban politics and practices of energy system change with the objective of supporting more rapid and focussed practice change at this scale. The production of these papers, together with an expert roundtable event, will inform the development of a policy briefing which seeks to synthesise state of the art understanding of urban energy transitions and provide policy relevant recommendations on how sub-national governance relationships need to develop. This briefing will be disseminated through presentations and meetings with national and local policymakers.