Co-creating Green Transition

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Citizens are essential for a successful transition towards renewable energy. This is the view of the Samskabende Grøn Omstilling project. Now they want to take a step back and investigate how citizens are best engaged. According to the Samskabende Grøn Omstilling project, it can be difficult to get citizens on the green train. In order to engage them in the transition to renewable energy, the project therefore wants to find new ways to reach out to and engage citizens. — As we see it, society needs to go through major changes when it comes to renewable energy, and we can only do that if we have the citizens with us," says Thomas Jensen, project manager for Samskabende Grøn Omstilling. Lisbeth Eeg, responsible for project communication, adds: Our project has a great focus on co-creation, that we together create the path we are going to take. In the case of renewable energy, a citizens’ meeting has previously been held late in the process where citizens have been heard, as decisions have often already been taken. Instead, we want to involve citizens in the whole process so that they are involved in creating the plan. Communication should involve: To arouse commitment and then consensus on the issues, communication is a large part of the project. With this, municipalities can gain understanding of, and knowledge about, the situation of residents, what is difficult for them and what drives them to green transition, while at the same time allowing municipalities to communicate their challenges. For example, we cannot go in and do anything in the homes of our citizens, so it is crucial that we get them with them from the beginning. This is where communication is very important in our project," says Lisbeth Eeg. Ideas are tested through concrete cases: The project also involves universities and researchers to get further answers on how to engage citizens. Through four cases in oil heating, solar energy, green transport and intelligent measuring instruments for citizens, project participants will test the methods and tools developed. The case also provides a good overall view of how the transition to renewable energy works best for several types of energy. We want to develop methods and tools that really reach citizens. They should include tools on how you as a municipal employee can work on these issues," says Thomas Jensen. Different approaches renew: That municipalities in both Denmark and Sweden work together, but also receive help from universities, they see as invaluable. — We learn a lot from each other, for example different working methods and in relation to civic presence and how the other project participants usually do. We sit with different backgrounds in the project, and come with different views which contribute," says Lisbeth Eeg. The project has already noticed a great interest from non-participating parties and is excited that the project will deliver good results for the green transition. The involvement of citizens is independent in order to reduce fossil fuels and avoid importing fuel. With green fuel, we have better control on extraction and use, and that’s good for us. But basically, of course, it is also important for the environment," says Lisbeth Eeg.

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