Description: Participation as leverate Point for Sustainable Energy Transformation: How participation processes foster social learning

This title appears in the Scientific Report : 2018

Participation as leverate Point for Sustainable Energy Transformation: How participation processes foster social learning

Continuously changing environmental and social systems, especially driven by the increasingly experienced consequences of climate change, result in the pressure to transform energy systems. Sustainable transitions are not only driven by technological innovation and policy change, but also depend on...

Personal Name(s):	Ernst, Anna (Corresponding author)
Contributing Institute:	Systemforschung und Technologische Entwicklung; IEK-STE
Imprint:	2018
Conference:	Kolloquium des Forschungszentrums Nachhaltigkeit der Universität Bremen (artec), Bremen (Germany),
Document Type:	Talk (non-conference)
Research Program:	Assessment of Energy Systems – Addressing Issues of Energy Efficiency and Energy Security
Link:	OpenAccess OpenAccess
	Publikationsportal JuSER

Please use the identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/2128/21391 in citations.

Continuously changing environmental and social systems, especially driven by the increasingly experienced consequences of climate change, result in the pressure to transform energy systems. Sustainable transitions are not only driven by technological innovation and policy change, but also depend on changes in values, norms, and behaviour. That is why social learning is key to sustainability transitions inducing the necessary social change process, which can be enhanced through public participation processes. However, empirical evidence is missing that shows how participatory processes affect social learning. Numerous public participation processes take place related to the German energy transformation (Energiewende) in the course of both smaller projects such as the construction of renewable energy plants and major projects such as the expansion of the electrical grid or the search for deep geological repository sites. An empirical quantitative analysis is conducted to investigate the assumption that ‘good’ participation processes foster social learning. Preliminary findings are presented, which indicate what factors (such as participation format, trust, personal characteristics etc.) foster social learning processes.