(Not) talking about justice: justice self-recognition and the integration of energy and environmental-social justice into renewable energy siting

Abstract

Not) talking about justice: justice self-recognition and the integration of energy and environmental-social justice into renewable energy siting Bailey, IG Abstract Renewable energy often provokes heated debate on climate change, energy security, and the local impacts of developments. However, how far such discussions involve thorough and inclusive debate on the energy and environmental-social justice issues associated with renewable energy siting remains ambiguous, particularly where government agendas prioritise renewable energy and planning systems offer limited opportunities for public debate on value-based arguments for and against renewable energy developments. Using the concept of justice self-recognition, we argue for greater attention to public discussion of the justice dimensions of renewable energy to assist in developing mechanisms to integrate distributive and procedural fairness principles into renewable energy decision-making. To explore how justice is currently invoked in such contexts, we examine recent UK policies for renewable energy and public submissions to applications for small-scale wind energy projects in Cornwall, UK. The analysis of public comments revealed that justice concerns were rarely discussed explicitly. Comments instead did not raise concerns as justice issues or focused implicitly on distributive justice, stressing local aesthetic, community and economic impacts, clean energy and climate change. However, the findings indicated limited discussion of procedural or participatory justice, an absence that hampers the establishment of coherent procedures for deciding acceptable impacts, information standards, public participation and arbitrating disputes. We conclude by suggesting procedural reforms to policy and planning to enable greater public expression of justice concerns and debate on how to negotiate tensions between energy and environmentalsocial justice in renewable energy siting decisions.

National Energy Transition Framework toward SDG7 with Legal Reforms and Policy Bundles: The Case of Taiwan and Its Comparison with Japan

“…Energy transition, therefore, needs to emphasize the importance of clear procedures and a political agenda for recognition justice. This study seeks to interpret the concepts of procedural justice [7,8] and recognition justice [9,10] in a Taiwanese context and to propose related energy policies within this context, assuming that the SDG7 not only provides the meaning of energy, but also enables individual countries to respond to the SDG7 by setting goals and making their own policy bundles for national energy transitions, while enabling interactions between the national energy transition goals for each individual country to adjust the timing and priority of their policy bundles in order to reach their goals for national energy transition. Furthermore, the international research community has also launched a well-known and flagship project, called "The World in 2050 (TWI2050)", as a follow up to the SDGs [11].…”

“…The core implication of energy justice [32][33][34][35] lie in the recognition justice of energy development [9,10], the procedural justice of energy democracy [7,8], and the distributive justice of energy risk [36][37][38], which takes further steps to structuralize energy justice, using an analysis of other countries' domestic energy development situations, as well as discussing their suitability. Fan [39] discussed the overall international perspective on energy justice, noting that, internationally, there is an emphasis on discussions of fuel poverty, and that this notion of fuel poverty relates to issues of distributive justice and environmental justice.…”

“…In terms of national energy development and poverty (Figure 2), a response to SDG7's proposal for "Renewable Energy Joint Development" can be seen in the concept of recognition justice [9,10]. Beginning with the recognition justice aspect of energy justice, the amendment made to the Electricity Act involves electricity retailing sales discounts for vulnerable parties, a concept that is part of the fuel poverty or energy poverty issue as a whole.…”

A-disciplinary considerations of two networks of local climate energy initiatives

“…As has been pointed out in the literature (Jonet andServigné, 2013, Fernandes-Jesus et a. 2017;Bailey et al 2018) justice issues seem bound up with a politics of assembling, either as a marker of federative of action (all fighting for justice) or as a potentially divisive issue (justice considerations presuppose recognising and flagging differences).…”

The Land Sparing, Water Surface Use Efficiency, and Water Surface Transformation of Floating Photovoltaic Solar Energy Installations

“…By further understanding the relationship of water body surface coverage with FPVs, installations can be optimized to create more beneficial techno-hydrological synergies between the installation and the body of water [23]. Understanding the selection of individual FPV sites and the extent of use of water surfaces may provide, in part, insight into just decision making of FPV development and its realizable generation potential [24]. A standardized framework for quantifying these attributes also confers an empirical understanding of the role of FPVs in meeting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) [22], notably in aligning clean energy (SDG 7) and land-water interfacing targets (SDG 14 and 15) [25].…”