The Green New Deal and the future of the social life of energy
Dear folks, I’d like to pause the newsletter this week for a moment of reflection. Or rather, I’d like to present the result of a week (or two) of reflection about the future of this newsletter. I shall be taking a more focused approach, centred on the Green New Deal (in its hopefully multiple upcoming guises).
Background
The Green New Deal is currently the only official policy framework that explicitly takes into account the social aspects of a rapid transition towards an ecologically sustainable economy and society. These social aspects are crucial, because an energy transition does not consist of simply replacing one technology for another. Energy producing, conducing and consuming technologies are intricately entwined with the way our society and our daily lives are organized. Extricating one and embedding another can be devilishly complex and will prove a painful process for some. The strength of the Green New Deal is that it recognizes the possibility and likelihood of that pain. For that reason, it not only tries to reconceive our energy system, but to reimagine the very fabric of social democracy in the 21st century (a seemingly necessary exercise if social democracy is to make it to the end of it).
Questions
In a nutshell, the GND puts forward this question: how can we move fast without breaking more things? This newsletter follows from the conviction that social science can provides insight and inspiration for those who want to answer that question. For devilishly complex the details will be. Let me take just a few examples.
In their resolution, Ocasio-Cortez and Markey speak of “democratic and participatory processes”. The energy system is not exactly known for its open governance. What could these processes look like in actual practice? How might one actually devolve power so “communities” can “define” their own projects and strategies? They also call for “‘smart’ girds”. Yet, there are murky complexities hidden beneath the shiny surface of all things “smart”. Who gets to define ‘smart’ and for whom will it be ‘smart’?
Some of the GND’s goals require resolving contradicting tendencies. How can you guarantee equal access to reliable and affordable energy, when you hand over power generation and decision-making to unequal communities? How do you transfer renewable energy knowledge and technology in order to “help other countries achieve a Green New Deal”, when international relations are so fraught by inequality?
Mission
In this publication, I will be examining the Green New Deal(s) for these and other issues, and subsequently foraging the scientific literature for lessons that we may draw on in order to address them. While I may become more opiniated as time goes on, my mission is and will remain bringing the insights from the social sciences to anyone who is interested, but may not have the time or resources to obtain them herself.
In particular, I hope the newsletter can help policy-makers make more informed decisions, signal opportunities and challenges for energy professionals in their work of redesigning energy infrastructures, and support researchers by keeping them up-to-date with the diverse field of the energy social sciences.
Note
Final note: the Green New Deal is about more than just energy and carbon reductions. However, the focus of this newsletter will be on how to put into place a carbon-free or at least carbon-neutral energy system. In so far as questions of social justice or the structure of our economy make their appearance on this stage (as they inevitably must), it will be from that vantage point.
Goodbye
That’s it for this week! Tune in next week for your regular dose of fresh reviews.
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