Facilitating the Clean Energy Transition by Mitigating Public Value Conflicts using Principles of Energy Justice

Description

In its pursuit of a transition to clean and renewable energy systems, the EU pushes for the realization of several public values, such as affordability, sustainability, security of supply, and fairness. These public values must be then operationalized by infrastructure operators involved in the energy systems. In the course operationalizing these values, trades-offs must be made. However, if these trade-offs are done arbitrarily or incorrectly, it is likely that essential public values will go unprotected, to the detriment of the public interest. If the public values that underpin the EU’s energy transition is incorrectly traded-off, the policy objectives of the transition may not be met. In this presentation I argue that the decision to pursue certain public values and trade-off between values is inherently a political decision, rather than a technical decision. Thus, it is necessary for infrastructure operators to base their decisions and strategies for trade-offs on the intention of policy makers rather than doing so arbitrarily. I argue for the creation and use of a governance framework based on the concept of energy justice and good governance principles to assist operators in operationalizing public values in integrated energy systems, on the basis that the EU’s energy transition policies align with the concept of energy justice. I argue that by proactively identifying where values of the energy transition conflict and creating frameworks to resolve the conflicts and mitigate tensions, infrastructure operators may be able to facilitate the energy transition in the EU.

Period	8 Jul 2024
Event title	TILTing Perspectives 2024 : “Looking back, moving forward” : Re-assessing technology regulation in digitalized worlds
Event type	Conference
Location	Tilburg, NetherlandsShow on map
Degree of Recognition	International