From energy access to climate justice and from anti-privatisation to workers’ rights, people across the world are taking back power over the energy sector, kicking-back against the rule of the market and reimagining how energy might be produced, distributed and used. For many movements involved in struggles around energy, the concept of energy democracy is proving increasingly useful as a means of bringing together disparate but clearly linked causes under a shared discourse and, possibly, something of a common agenda.
How are people across the world taking back power over the energy sector, kicking-back against the rule of the market and reimagining how energy might be produced, distributed and used? How can the concept of energy democracy be deployed to demand a socially just energy system, with universal access, fair prices and secure, unionised and well-paid jobs?
Activists, researchers and practitioners gathered to discuss these issues at an international workshop on energy democracy held in Amsterdam in February 2016. The workshop was organised by the Transnational Institute, in partnership with Global Justice Now, the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation Brussels Office, Platform London, Switched on London, Berlin Energy Roundtable, the Alternative Information and Development Centre, Public Services International, and the Trade Unions for Energy Democracy initiative. One of the outcomes of this workshop was to develop a collective energy democracy website into a virtual resource centre and meeting place for exchanging experiences, debate and strategies.
