The Past, Present and Future of Energy Justice

Abstract: Energy justice, which according to one definition represents: (a) concerns for evaluating where injustices emerge (distributional justice), (b) which affected sections of society are ignored (justice as recognition), and (c) which processes exist for their remediation (procedural justice) in order to (i) reveal and (ii) reduce such injustices, has seen a rapid surge in both academic and practical popularity. However, there has been less systematic reflection on the research conducted so far, its scope or contribution, nor what it might mean for the future of the concept. What are the dominant approaches, who do they account for, where, how do we tackle the related injustices and most fundamentally, why does it matter and where do we go next?

This talk will give an overview of the past, present and future of energy justice research; a state-of-the-art whistle stop tour that both reviews the literature and uses those insights to suggest novel recommendations with the ability to enhance the impact of energy justice research.

Bio: Dr Kirsten Jenkins is an early career Lecturer in Energy, Environment and Society within the Science, Technology and Innovation Studies (STIS) group of the School of Social and Political Sciences at the University of Edinburgh. Kirsten’s research interests centre on energy justice; energy policy; science, technology and innovations studies; transitions theory and sustainable energy provision and use.

Kirsten coordinates the 1600-member Energy and Social Science Network and the Energy Justice JISC mailing list. She also serves as Managing Editor for the journal Energy Research & Social Science, Associate Fellow of the Durham Energy Institute at the University of Durham, and as a team member of the COP26 Universities Network working group on the Just Transition.

Kirsten has published extensively in the fields of energy and social science and has worked on projects funded by the RCUK Energy Programme, Norwegian Research Council, CREDS and the ESRC.