The unsung heroes of Norway's sustainability transitions? Making visible the “invisible” energy citizenship of low-income households

Abstract

This paper explores the concept of energy citizenship through the lived experiences of low-income households in Norway, showing a significant disconnect between participatory ideals embedded in national climate and energy policies and the everyday realities of economically marginalised groups. While energy transitions are often framed as collective efforts requiring active citizen engagement, systemic barriers frequently prevent low-income groups from participating in these processes. Drawing on a qualitative study of 73 participants from low-income households, we examine how current policies implicitly define participation through technology adoption and green consumption, thereby rendering alternative sustainability practices invisible. Our findings show that low-income households contribute to sustainability through frugality, low-energy mobility, and sufficiency-oriented consumption, forms of “invisible” sustainability work that remain unrecognised in policy frameworks. Our findings call for a broader conceptualisation of energy citizenship that recognises these low-tech, sufficiency-oriented engagements as legitimate and transformative. We argue that inclusive energy transitions require not only redistributive policy measures but also a shift in how participation is defined and valued, moving beyond economic and technological models to embrace diverse, everyday forms of energy engagements.