Valladolid’s EnergÉtica Cooperative grew as a response to the 2008 financial crisis when, in protest against energy poverty and the failure of the central government to plan a clean energy transition, local residents demanded sustainable energy solutions. Today, EnergÉtica Cooperative has signed agreements with ten regional municipalities and supplies energy to each of them.
Energy scarcity in the West Bank and Gaza Strip impacts women in different ways than men, yet women are very rarely consulted on energy solutions. ‘Empowering Women as Sustainable Energy Leaders’, an initiative of PENGON, Friends of the Earth Palestine, brings local women together to transform the energy system in Palestine, putting solar energy in their hands. It also empowers women to be active in decision-making around energy and to lead change in their communities.
For 22 years Earthworker Cooperative has brought the climate movement together with the labour movement to build cooperative manufactories and other cooperatives to enable communities to find ways out of the climate emergency. Today it is supporting a growing network of cooperatives in manufacturing, energy, and service sectors, including the award-winning Redgum Cleaning Cooperative.
Fifteen years ago, the Bulgarian town of Burgas was extremely energy inefficient, leading to very high energy costs for local authorities and citizens, as well as poor living conditions and environmental inequality. Today it is a different story. Burgas is a smart, energy efficient city implementing the most up-to-date energy approaches and measures, thereby demonstrating the power of local authorities to drive sustainable change.
This blog introduces the 16 proposals put forward in the Municipalist Manifesto for building energy democracy and energy sovereignty locally, presented by the Catalan Network for Energy Sovereignty (Xse) and the Transnational Institute. The Municipalist Manifesto aims to be a tool that can be used as a guide by (municipalist) citizens platform, municipal councils and opposition parties, organisations and collectives, and any person who wishes to take action.