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Energy transition debates have been characterized by a strong emphasis on the technical implications of shifting away from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources, with little consideration of social contexts. This is now changing, with a growing emphasis on reconfiguring the social aspects of energy, particularly in terms of introducing more democratic processes into behavior change and energy practice engagements. This article situates itself within these debates and demonstrates the transformative potential of combining participatory action research (PAR) approaches with a modified Delphi method for understanding energy transition issues, particularly beyond forecasting instruments. There remains a dearth in literature combining the Delphi method with PAR; its application in the field of energy transitions is very innovative. PAR draws from grassroots and local-based knowledge, Delphi panels typically focus on the insights from a panel of professional experts. In combining these two approaches, to develop principles for an inclusive and just energy transition, a reflexive form of dialogue emerges that gives voice to what are often considered dissonant or mismatched perspectives. Furthermore, the experimental use of a modified Delphi panel, combined with PAR, offers a strategy to promote knowledge sharing between different groups and to counter potential communication barriers among different actors in society. This article shows how a modified Delphi panel approach is considerably enhanced by combining elements of PAR, raising the potential of Delphi panels beyond forecasting instruments, which often seek to determine the way the future "will be," toward an envisioning tool that collaboratively seeks to explore the way a low-carbon system "could be," or perhaps "should be." The development of energy transition principles, endorsed through the modified Delphi panel, offers a concrete way to enact practices of energy justice within a more democratized energy system.

WP2 undertakes an extensive characterisation of energy system actors. Within this context, this deliverable D2.1, as part of T2.1, is essential as its objectives are to develop an energy actor-network typology and to appreciate the complexity of the factors that can play a role in the transition towards a more sustainable energy era. The T2.1 and its 'stakeholder analysis' is aimed at informing subsequent work packages in terms of mapping the direct and indirect influences on the energy system, and the actors that comprise it. To accomplish this, an extensive data gathering exercise has been conducted to develop insights on the energy models of Ireland, UK, Spain, Italy, France, Germany, and at the EU level. In addition, a number of key energy topics were studied in greater detail, and a range of discourses on the energy transition were mapped. An extended map for each of the six countries was produced. The extensive data gathering enabled the identification and exploration of areas of interest concerning the energy system, from nuclear phase out and promotion to fuel poverty, renewable energy deployment, energy independence and security, energy economics, political discourses, as well as capturing some influential socio-demographic factors. The multiplicity of fields that interconnect with, and within, the energy system indicates the complexity of the energy system itself, as well as some of the complexities involved in its transition to sustainability. At an individual Member State level, the fact that all six countries studied have a different overall energy model, even though these may share, or have shared, some similar characteristics, is a further indication of the complexities involved. For example, France and Germany are now following different paths with regard to nuclear energy. In the aftermath of World War II, nuclear power was of strategic importance to both countries to enable them to reconstruct quickly and to develop their economies. However, within the past two decades both countries have ...

The ENTRUST project aims to analyse the social dimension of the European energy system to achieve a deep understanding of the human factor. It is not possible to have a comprehensive understanding of the energy system without analysing the policy landscape and its influence on energy consumption, and that is the main objective of the WP 4 of ENTRUST. The first task already resulted in a first deliverable, the D4.1 "Report on policy & regulation landscape", that provides an overview of the legislation related to the European energy system. As per one of the objectives of ENTRUST, to better understand the human factor in the energy system, a specific analysis focusing on the influences of the energy market and its impact on behavioural change, was added to the mapping undertaken in D4.1. This deliverable 4.3 "Review of market-driven approaches in sustainable energy policies" is the result of this action. This deliverable aims to review this type of approach in supporting sustainable energy policies. The first part of the deliverable provides an overview on the use of market-based instruments (MBIs) in the six selected countries with specific attention on differences between their strategic orientations. The second part highlights particularly successful uses of MBIs and identifies the best practices to be replicated in the future applications of similar instruments. To work towards these energy and environmental 2020-objectives and more generally to tackle environmental issues due to human activities, the Member States have several policy approaches to support the sustainable energy policies set at European level: command & control and market-driven approaches. Many emerging sustainable energy technologies are not fully competitive yet, compared to conventional ones. One of the main challenges of the EU Member States is to support their deployment and to "use every tool at [their] disposal to drive down costs, to ensure renewable energy technologies become competitive and ultimately market driven" (EC, ...

The principal objective of the ENTRUST project is to develop an understanding of the "human factor" in the energy system in order to utilise derived knowledge to foster the transition towards a sustainable energy paradigm. To develop this understanding, it is necessary to assess the policy landscape that influences energy consumption, the progress of the energy transition, and the public discourse on, and engagement with the energy transition – this work forms the basis of Work Package 4. Within this WP, T4.2 entitled "Assessment of Europeanisation in national policy dialogue" operates on the premise that "Europe's energy systems are deeply integrated" assesses the extent to which this is reflected in national policy dialogues. Despite all the efforts to date to shape the European project including the energy dimension, complete integration of energy infrastructures and markets has not been achieved (Auverlot et al., 2014). In order to address the existing problems that result from this non-integration it is necessary to develop a meaningful, coherent, and comprehensive EU energy policy. Such an EU energy policy is vital to deal with global issues: Tackling climate change requires not only a shared commitment but also a common means; Building a coherent and comprehensive climate policy could strengthen the leading role of Europe in the international climate negotiations; Energy security issues must be considered in a comprehensive and inclusive manner on a EU-wide basis, rather than solely on the national scale, in order to tackle common problems and further protect European interests; Ensure the competitiveness of European companies; Inspire the European project which is losing momentum. This deliverable, D4.2, analyses the development of such a European energy policy, the different Europeanisation processes influencing this development, and to what extent this EU vision is transcribed into the national policy dialogues. The Europeanisation topic has been widely studied over the past two decades. While some ...