Reflections from the 12th eceee summer study By Dr Mari Martiskainen
As Colin Nolden mentioned in his post yesterday, four members of the Centre on Innovation and Energy Demand attended the eceee Summer Study held near Hyeres, south of France, during 1-6th June 2015. The bi-annual eceee’s Summer Study has been held since 1993 and it focuses on energy efficiency policy, research and implementation. The theme of the 12th eceee summer study was “First Fuel Now – Keeping energy efficiency at the top of the agenda”.
During the week of presentations ranging from technological innovation to various aspects of policy, impact and evaluation, several presentations also focused on the role of consumers in the energy system. For example Eva Heiskanen from the University of Helsinki said in her talk that public engagement in low carbon energy system needs to address people both as consumers and citizens. Myself and Colin Nolden from CIED argued in our paper that there should be a more active role for consumers in low carbon energy systems. We gave an example of communities as ‘pro-savers’, who focus equally on energy saving and renewable energy generation. While the role of the more active pro-saver becomes relevant in the transition to a low carbon energy system, several presentations also reminded me that we must ensure that the needs of the most vulnerable in our societies are not forgotten in energy debates. This is the case especially for those who experience fuel poverty and face the every day dilemma of whether to ‘eat or heat’. Read more ›
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