Putting people at the heart of energy transitions

Putting people at the heart of energy transitions

In April 2022, SONNET came together with three of its sister projects and with the City of Antwerp to convene a conference on the social drivers of energy transition. This two-day online conference explored social innovation and collective action as key drivers of just and sustainable energy transitions, drawing on and presenting nearly three years of work and research that the co-organisers have spearheaded.

The event included a high-level policy dialogue with European leaders, structured around a jointly-developed Policy Brief with a set of recommendations for EU policy makers on how to better harness and support social innovation for energy transitions.

Putting people at the heart of energy transitions

Joint Policy Brief

A highlight of the Putting people at the heart of energy transitions conference was the launch of a co-created and evidence-based Joint Policy Brief, assembled as the result of an intensive co-creation process amongst representatives from the SONNET, SocialRES, COMETS and NEWCOMERS projects.

The Policy Brief first syntheses findings in five areas: the diversity and relevance of social innovation in energy (SIE); citizens’ perception and support of SIE; social benefits of SIE; impacts of SIE on energy transitions in Europe; and policies and institutions related to SIE. These findings ground a set of conclusions and policy recommendations for policymakers at all levels, and at the EU, national, and local levels.

The Policy Brief is succinct, readable, and makes use of tables and figures to make content as useable and understandable as possible.

Download the Policy Brief at: https://bit.ly/JointPolicyBrief.

Revisit the event

Programme & recordings

Presentations

SONNET team at the Putting People at the Heart of Energy Transitions event.
SONNET partners in Antwerp for the conference on 29 April.
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