Renewable energy for sustainability and justice regional and local issues

Description

We are facing a multi-faceted ecological crisis, at the heart of which is the climate emergency. A dramatic upscaling of renewable energy provision is key to any prospect of achieving net zero.

Whilst national policy contexts set a framework for what is possible at regional and local levels, it is nevertheless the case that local and regional strategies and initiatives are critical in transforming our renewable energy capacity in support of a sustainable future.

But the most effective approaches are those that are inclusive, that draw on participative democratic processes that are empowering, enabling and just. At the regional and local level, how can we harness the power of various communities of interest in collaborative approaches to tackling our Sustainable energy crisis? How can we best overcome current exclusions to ensure that the voices of all are heard, and how can we configure a renewable energy strategy that truly benefits all, both in terms of energy sustainability and energy justice?

This seminar will explore and debate the various issues associated with these questions, where possible taking the West of England Combined Authority region as a case in point.

Organised by: Dr Jon Mulholland (Associate Professor in Sociology – Department of Social Sciences, UWE Bristol), Beth Benker (Senior Lecturer in Sociology, UWE Bristol), Imogen Campbell, Kat Farley  and Alfie Stevens, (BA Sociology, UWE Bristol).

In Conjunction with Sustainable Futures: Society and Environment in an Age of Crisis (UZSY6W-30-3), Social Science in the City and the Social Science Research Group 

For any further details contact Dr Jon Mulholland at jon.mulholland@uwe.ac.uk.