1 AN INTRoDUCTIoN To ENERGY DEMAND CHALLENGES IN EURoPE
3
challenges through more participatory processes. Undertaking these
democratic exercises can help us to better comprehend societal norms
and routines that greatly determine our patterns of energy use as well as
our ability to change those patterns. By understanding and accounting
for particular householder needs and other contextual conditions of consumption, policy-makers and practitioners can tailor sustainable energy
responses accordingly.
This book gathers together contributions from prominent social
scientists researching in the energy field all across Europe. While the
authors hail from diverse disciplinary backgrounds, they all recognise
that cultural- and systemic change is a key ingredient in successful energy
transitions. The book offers unique and often fascinating insights into
the socio-material similarities and differences in energy policies, energy
infrastructures and energy demands across 10 European countries. The
collection provides invaluable accounts of the diverse contexts within
which individuals, households and communities engage in everyday energy-related practices, and the policies and practices that underpin ongoing
efforts towards sustainable transformation.
the energise projeCt as Context
This book is a key output from the ENERGISE project. ENERGISE is
an innovative pan-European research initiative to achieve a greater scientific understanding of the social and cultural influences on energy consumption. Funded under the EU Horizon 2020 programme for three
years (2016–2019), ENERGISE develops, tests and assesses options for a
bottom-up transformation of energy use in households and communities
across Europe.
Energy use can be fruitfully understood as engaging in a set of practices that incorporate elements of meaning, skills and material conditions
and that are embedded in wider social, political and institutional contexts
(Shove et al. 2012). This practice-oriented perspective is central to the
ENERGISE project for a number of reasons. First, a practice perspective
departs from individualistic views of energy choices and behaviour that
have unduly limited past research on energy demand and its transformation. Instead, the focus shifts towards an understanding of energy behaviour as collectively shared and culturally mediated. Second, an explicit
focus on energy-related practices promotes cutting-edge social-scientific
3
challenges through more participatory processes. Undertaking these
democratic exercises can help us to better comprehend societal norms
and routines that greatly determine our patterns of energy use as well as
our ability to change those patterns. By understanding and accounting
for particular householder needs and other contextual conditions of consumption, policy-makers and practitioners can tailor sustainable energy
responses accordingly.
This book gathers together contributions from prominent social
scientists researching in the energy field all across Europe. While the
authors hail from diverse disciplinary backgrounds, they all recognise
that cultural- and systemic change is a key ingredient in successful energy
transitions. The book offers unique and often fascinating insights into
the socio-material similarities and differences in energy policies, energy
infrastructures and energy demands across 10 European countries. The
collection provides invaluable accounts of the diverse contexts within
which individuals, households and communities engage in everyday energy-related practices, and the policies and practices that underpin ongoing
efforts towards sustainable transformation.
the energise projeCt as Context
This book is a key output from the ENERGISE project. ENERGISE is
an innovative pan-European research initiative to achieve a greater scientific understanding of the social and cultural influences on energy consumption. Funded under the EU Horizon 2020 programme for three
years (2016–2019), ENERGISE develops, tests and assesses options for a
bottom-up transformation of energy use in households and communities
across Europe.
Energy use can be fruitfully understood as engaging in a set of practices that incorporate elements of meaning, skills and material conditions
and that are embedded in wider social, political and institutional contexts
(Shove et al. 2012). This practice-oriented perspective is central to the
ENERGISE project for a number of reasons. First, a practice perspective
departs from individualistic views of energy choices and behaviour that
have unduly limited past research on energy demand and its transformation. Instead, the focus shifts towards an understanding of energy behaviour as collectively shared and culturally mediated. Second, an explicit
focus on energy-related practices promotes cutting-edge social-scientific