Beyond the consumer: Using citizen-led deliberation to reshape energy policy and governance

全球碳排放必须迅速下降，以减少危险的气候变化风险。独立政府顾问气候变化委员会最近表示，英国应该在2050年前实现温室气体净零排放。这意味着英国的温室气体排放量不应超过其从大气中去除碳的能力。实现这一目标将意味着对经济、对人们居住和旅行的方式产生深远的变化。然而，到目前为止，正如委员会指出的那样，“到目前为止，英国在减少排放方面取得的大部分成功对公众来说是不可见的……实现净零排放需要人们更多的参与。“因此，未来十年的一个关键挑战将是找到鼓励和使人们为这种向零碳的转变做出贡献的方法。这一提议着眼于这一转变的一个关键方面。它研究了如何更好地管理能源系统，实现这些气候变化目标，并充分利用能源产品和服务的创新。这些创新包括能源生产技术的分散化，热、电和运输技术之间的整合，以及越来越多的数字化和数据驱动的服务。该项目特别关注如何改善能源系统的治理。治理被定义为管理系统运行方式的规则、条例和制度。目前，在能源治理方面，个人主要被理解为电力、天然气和运输燃料的“消费者”。然而，创新的技术和商业模式使个人有机会摆脱被动消费的角色，转而生产和储存自己的电力，调整从电网获取的电量，并减少自己的需求。本项目探讨如何重塑治理，以最大限度地利用这一创新，并支持和建立参与，以实现快速碳减排。该项目将从现有的创新案例研究中学习，以制定一系列建议，或“路径”，描述如何管理未来的能源系统。这些途径将在一系列审议性讲习班上进行讨论。这些研讨会将允许公民代表团体与企业、管理该系统的监管机构和政府组织一起讨论能源系统的未来。在研讨会上，这三个小组将讨论管理能源系统的方法，并共同提出新的政策和方法。还将与其他地区和国家进行比较，包括丹麦、瑞典、美国加利福尼亚州和纽约州。该项目的证据将被项目合作伙伴气候变化委员会和能源系统弹射器以及其他组织使用，以制定他们向政府提供的建议。企业也将能够利用这些证据来测试和开发新的商业模式。这项研究将根据审议讲习班的经验，制定指导方针，使人们参与有关能源治理的决策。这些指导方针也将为项目合作伙伴和其他组织的工作提供指导。最终，该项目旨在找到更好地让公民参与快速碳减排的方法，以实现英国的能源和气候目标。

Global carbon emissions must decline rapidly to reduce the risk of dangerous climate change. Independent government advisers, the Committee on Climate Change, recently stated that the UK should reach net-zero emissions of greenhouse gases by 2050. This means that the UK's emissions of greenhouse gases should not exceed its ability to remove carbon from the atmosphere. Achieving this target will mean far-reaching changes to the economy, and to the way that people live in their homes, and travel. Yet so far, as the Committee notes, "To date, much of the success in reducing UK emissions has been invisible to the public... reaching net-zero emissions will require more involvement from people."A crucial challenge over the coming decade, then, will be to find ways to encourage and enable people to contribute to this shift to zero-carbon. This proposal looks at one crucial aspect of this shift. It examines how the energy system could be managed better, to achieve these climate change goals, and to make the most of the innovation in energy products and services. Such innovation includes the decentralisation of energy generation technologies, integration between heat, electricity and transport technologies, and increasing digitalisation and data-driven services. The project looks in particular at how to improve governance of the energy system. Governance is defined as the rules, regulations and institutions that govern the way the system is run. At the moment, in energy governance, individuals are understood primarily as 'consumers' of electricity, gas and transport fuel. Yet innovative technologies and business models give individuals the opportunity to shift away from a passive consumption role, to instead generate and store their own power, adjust how much electricity they take from the grid, and reduce their demand. This project examines how governance can be reshaped, to make the most of this innovation, and to support and build engagement for rapid carbon reduction. The project will learn from existing case studies of innovation, to develop a series of proposals, or 'Pathways', which describe how the future energy system could be governed. These Pathways will be discussed at a set of deliberative workshops. The workshops will allow representative groups of citizens to debate the future of the energy system together with businesses, and regulators and government organisations who manage the system. At the workshops, these three groups will discuss ways in which the energy system could be governed, and work together to propose new policies and approaches. Comparisons will also be made with other regions and countries, including Denmark, Sweden and the US states of California and New York.The evidence from the project will be used by project partners the Committee on Climate Change and the Energy Systems Catapult, as well as other organisations, to develop the advice that they give to government. Businesses will also be able to use the evidence to test and develop new business models. The research will develop guidelines for involving people in decisions about energy governance, based on the experience of the deliberative workshops. These guidelines will also inform the work of project partners and other organisations. Ultimately, the project aims to find ways to better engage citizens in rapid carbon reduction, in order to achieve the UK's energy and climate goals.