7. Conclusion
7.1 Suggestions for future research and policy recommendations
Building upon the results of this study, figure 6 presents the adjusted conceptual model including recommendations. The adjusted model presents a more detailed image of the how participation methods and agreement in science and values can co-evolve. This process was not visible in the conceptual model in figure 2. Furthermore, the role of citizen initiatives is included and specified depending on the structure of the policy problem. The internal world of individuals is in constant interaction with the outside world, and therefore with policy problems.
The factors presented in the internal world to either positively or negatively influence public acceptance, could be perceived as points of attention. For example, when local governments start exploring energy alternatives in areas with high place-identity and place-attachment, they can expect the emergence of a citizen initiative. Or, when local governments plan for collective
energy solutions without knowing the commercial the commercial interests involved they might have to resolve issues around low levels of trust. All in all, figure 6 provides insights in how the key concepts public acceptance, public participation, and citizen initiatives are related in the context of the urban energy transition in The Netherlands.
Local governments can make a clear distinction between participation methods used to advance individual energy solutions and collective energy solutions. To advance the implementation of collective energy alternatives in old neighbourhoods, quadrant 3 of the Split Ladder (Hurlbert
& Gupta, 2015) is recommended. Core to this pathway is that it starts with informing residents of the energy transition as a whole, while keeping the means (a collective energy alternative) to the end (emission reduction) open-ended. Together with residents, municipalities can start exploring collective energy alternatives. Agreement in science on collective energy alternatives is largely an external factor that neither local governments nor residents have much influence on. However, agreement in values can be reached by including residents early on in the process.
Depending on the local context, some collective energy alternatives might be already be viable.
To this end, citizen initiatives can be helpful in providing contextual knowledge of their neighbourhood. For example, by exploring what kind of changes to the public space could be coupled with the installation of a new energy grid. Once double-loop learning achieves to address uncertainties regarding collective energy alternatives, they may be treated as structured.
Furthermore, energy solutions at the individual level may already be treated as structured as there is agreement in science. These energy solutions can be promoted by public participation following quadrant 2 of the Split Ladder. As proposed by citizen initiatives, the effectiveness of informing and educating residents can be increased by benefitting from ‘natural moments’
(e.g. when a house changes owner or when renovations take place). Social contact between residents could be stimulated by citizen initiatives so that they become aware of when these natural moments take place. If this is not possible, for example because there is little social cohesion, it may be better for local governments to reach out to residents. Because registration is often obliged, local governments are also more aware of when renovations take place or when
residents move. However, within this approach, the consequences for resident’s privacy have to be considered.
Another way to increase single-loop learning is to insist on continuous improvement when setting a policy. In a TED talk, Doerr & Hall (2020) provided the example of California where governor Jerry Brown implemented a thermal building code in 1978, meaning that when a building was built it had to have insulation. However, a trick was included in the law meaning that the code got tighter every three years. Anything that pays for itself in energy savings is included in the code. As a result, a new California building now uses 80% less energy than a pre-code building. Similar policy setting could lead to continuous improvement in the Netherlands as well.
Finally, suggestions for further research would be to explore whether policy setting focusing on continuous improvement would make a considerable contribution to reaching the emission reduction goals. Furthermore, citizen initiatives were proposed as important facilitators of social contact. As a result of COVID-19 restrictions, no public participation activities took place during the data collection period. Hence, observation of public participation in post COVID-19 research could provide more robust findings on the influence of social contact on acceptance of the energy transition.
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