Citizens' creative capital in energy governance: enacting inclusive energy governance in the Netherlands and France

Abstract

Citizens are, and will be, increasingly impacted by climate change and the energy transition. However, citizens are more often excluded from the governance of the energy transition, which is typically centralized and vertically organised. A (transition towards a) modified energy system is usually not something addressed at citizen level. This article explores the potential narratives of citizens concerning (new) forms of energy governance. Our bottom-up qualitative approach gathered perspectives from randomly selected Dutch and French citizens through semi-structured interviews, on the existing and future energy governance models. Participants advocated for the implementation of energy efficiency and sufficiency strategies. Both strategies imply radical shifts in energy governance, essentially for what and how energy is produced and used. Next, participants proposed original ideas for enacting a more inclusive, democratic and just energy governance, demonstrating a high capability to imagine different futures for themselves and society in relation to energy and energy governance. We identify citizens’ “creative capital” for energy governance and argue that this brings added value for designing energy governance for a more socially, politically and environmentally sustainable energy system.