Behavioral factors shaping energy citizenship

The European Union encourages citizens to go beyond passive consumption and actively participate in the energy transition. This concept is well captured in the idea of energy citizenship. This study contributes to the operationalization of energy citizenship in two ways. First, it introduces an empirical measure of energy citizenship through a survey-based index. Second, it investigates key personal and behavioral drivers affecting energy citizenship. The research is based on survey data collected from two different European regions: South and East. Findings suggest that behavioral factors such as altruism, individual and institutional trust, risk tolerance, and patience—along with socio-economic factors like education levels and energy vulnerability— are key drivers of energy citizenship. Country-specific differences also emerge: in Poland, institutional trust appears to be a stronger condition for energy citizenship to develop, while political orientation plays a different role in each country. Although based on correlational analysis, this study sheds light on the drivers and barriers of energy citizenship and suggests possible future policy implications for its promotion.