User:Jumanaabdelgadir/Energy democracy

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Energy democracy is a concept developed within the environmental justice movement that pairs the renewable energy transition with efforts to democratize the production and management of energy resources— including the social ownership of energy infrastructure, decentralization of energy systems, and expansion of public participation in energy-related policy-making. Energy democracy calls for greater participation in transitions and is being used in literature to describe an overall ongoing democratic transition. Energy democracy and climate justice are increasingly associated. Rather than view decarbonization as a purely technological challenge, energy democracy identifies the renewable energy transition as an opportunity to redistribute political and economic power toward egalitarian ends.

Energy democracy has been endorsed by community organizations, think tanks, labor unions, and NGOs as a framework for decarbonization. The concept is also associated with a number of campaigns in Europe and North America calling for the municipalization of energy companies and democratization of their governance structures.

'''In the United States, the term “energy democracy” has become more widespread as calls for it greatly increased in the 2010s. The American branch of energy democracy builds on the foundation of a 2017 “Energy Democracy Symposium” in Utah. The number of publications on energy democracy peaked in the US in 2018, which can be correlated to a growing social demand'''.

Principles
The exact definition of energy democracy is contested and the term is used to refer to a diverse set of proposals, practices, and ideas. However, advocates most often define energy democracy as embodying progressive principles they believe should guide contemporary energy policy and governance— namely social ownership, public participation, and decentralization. Globally, end user communities of community renewable energy projects are expressing a desire for increased participation and ownership, while engineers and project managers outside of a community tend to want to preserve the status quo '''. The need for a democratic transition in energy ownership arises from this discrepancy, as end users -- "energy citizens" -- of energy transitions are often underrepresented.'''