Anthropocene
Summary
More than two million people have contributed to citizen-led green energy initiatives in Europe since the year 2000, according to a new study. The analysis represents the first large-scale and systematic attempt to quantify the scope and impact of such citizen-led efforts.
“Our data show that the collective engagement of citizens in the energy transition is a long-term movement and their impact has been overlooked,” says study team member Valeria Jana Schwanitz, an energy economist at Western Norway University of Applied Sciences in Sogndal.
Still, only a tiny fraction of the population is involved in citizen-led green energy projects. And, with the exception of district heating in Denmark, these projects represent only a small proportion of the renewable energy capacity in a given country. Citizen-led projects represent about 1% of the total financial investments in renewable energy in Europe in the last decade.
“Our data also show that governmental support—be it financial, administrative, or legislative—is essential for citizen-led projects to thrive,” says Paudler. Citizen initiatives can’t, at least in the current market and policy environment, replace commercial or government action in the green energy transition.
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