Public perceptions of low-carbon energy transitions

Runa Das received a Partnership Engage Grant to research public views on financing Canada's energy transitions, to inform efficient energy policy proposals & improve relationships in the energy sector

The Canadian government has set targets of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 30% by 2030 and by 80% by 2050, relative to 2005 levels. Achieving these targets and transitioning to a low-carbon future will require a number of changes and investments across energy systems. Canadians have a role to play in this transition both as consumers and members of the public.

It is therefore important to know why and under what conditions Canadians support or do not support, and are willing or not willing to contribute to the costs of, Canada's energy transitions. Such knowledge will help with improving dialogue, informing decision-making, and anticipating points of conflict in the transition process.

This project explores public views on paying for Canada's energy transitions. Combining survey and focus-group research, the project asks what roles and responsibilities in effecting transitions Canadians assign to the government, utility companies, and the public, how much transition costs they are personally willing to bear (through taxes or other levies), what kinds of benefits they would be willing to receive to promote a low-carbon transition, and how they make sense of transitions as an ethical issue. These questions make it possible to situate our study in a larger academic debate -- bridging disciplines such as sociology, political science, legal studies, history, and social psychology -- about the role of justice in human affairs. To what extent are people's actions driven by cultural norms and values? What conditions need to be obtained for citizens to feel meaningfully included in debates about collective choices and the common good? By drawing on the abundant literature that addresses these questions, our study contributes to larger theoretical debates in the social sciences and humanities while making these debates relevant to an urgent practical issue facing Canadians today.

Understanding Canadians' views on financing the country's energy transitions will help with the formulation of efficient energy-policy proposals and improve relationships in the energy sector - a key objective of Energy Exchange, the project's partner organization. Energy Exchange is the energy-literacy arm of the Non-Governmental Organization Pollution Probe, and is focused on advancing a systems-based understanding of energy and on improving public engagement in the energy sector. Working with industry, government, communities, and civil society, Energy Exchange has developed significant expertise in engaging Canadians on complex energy issues. This project contributes to Energy Exchange's commitment to increasing knowledge and supporting an informed and holistic dialogue about Canada's rapidly evolving energy system.