Our research emphasizes the centrality of citizens in the energy transition, as outlined in the Clean Energy for All Europeans (CEP) package, which introduces concepts like ‘active customers’, ‘renewables self-consumers’, ‘citizen energy communities’ (CEC), and ‘renewable energy communities’ (REC). To create a genuinely inclusive and equitable energy transition, however, it is crucial to avoid gender inequalities and incorporate gender perspectives in the creation and evaluation of energy law and policy.

The European legislation on energy citizenship leaves the EU member states (as well as third countries that implement the provisions) a lot of leeway regarding the specific design. Our study regarding the implementation in Austria, Bulgaria, Germany, Greece, Italy, Norway, Switzerland, and Türkiye has shown that the countries surveyed have made different use of this leeway. The research highlights the importance of inclusivity and empowering citizens in the energy transition, as energy citizenship is an evolving quality.

We explore the concept of energy citizenship, examining diverse institutional frameworks that encourage citizen involvement in energy decision-making, such as participatory governance models and community-driven initiatives. We also investigate the legal and regulatory obstacles faced by community-led projects, including issues related to ownership, financing, and grid access.

A central theme that emerges is the necessity of integrating the gender perspective into energy policy and governance. Despite the EU’s commitment to gender mainstreaming since the mid-1990s, it has not yet been fully implemented in practice. However, it has been shown that very often a worse position is not caused by energy law per se, but by other areas of law or by other circumstances. The integration of the women’s perspective as well as an equal starting position is very important to enable a participation in community energy projects and thus the realization of the project at hand.

Our research offers examples of best practices for promoting gender equality in community-led efforts, such as guaranteeing equal representation in decision-making bodies and providing training opportunities for women. When implementing gender mainstreaming, it is important to avoid reinforcing stereotypes or justifying certain situations. Instead, the focus should be on incorporating diverse experiences, perspectives, and lived realities while actively pursuing gender equality, with favourable provisions for women as the intended outcome.

In conclusion, although the CEP establishes a consumer-friendly framework and objectives, much work remains to ensure the incorporation of energy citizenship provisions in national legislation. By emphasizing the legal and regulatory challenges faced by community-led efforts from a gender perspective and presenting best practices for increasing women’s participation in decision-making, we aim to offer valuable insights for creating more sustainable and equitable communities through energy citizenship. Prioritizing gender mainstreaming is essential for enabling all citizens to actively contribute to a sustainable future.

Authors:

Argjenta Veseli, Benjamin Kirchler, Andrea Kollmann (Energieinstitut at the Johannes Kepler University Linz- EI-JKU)