Municipality-led approaches to addressing energy poverty energy justice lessons from the Dutch and Danish

Abstract

The Dutch government is aiming at following the Danish example and transform the municipal heat sector by switching from natural gas and individual heating systems to district heating and renewable energies. The research analyses selected municipality-led projects under the Dutch national programme for natural gas-free districts by applying an energy justice analytical framework. This comprises not only injustices related to distributional aspects, but also to the intergenerational dimension, injustices with respect to procedures and the recognition of energy poverty. The same analysis was be done with respect to the historic case of the Danish municipal transition. These two cases teach us ways in which energy poverty can be addressed during a municipal energy transition and what factors explain a country’s capacity to do so. As a result, four general approaches are discussed to fight energy poverty, each very much dependent on the legal and financial framework. The case studies show that the Dutch municipalities favour projects that focus on the improvement of public acceptance via participation processes. This is not a deliberate choice, but due to the fact that the approaches that were chosen in Denmark – for instance the municipality as an important economic operator in the heat market - are not yet an option.