Around the world energy systems are being transformed by concerns about climate change, energy affordability and energy security. These transformations are complex and contested. They involve technological innovation, regulatory and market reform, as well as changing roles for business, communities, public bodies and energy consumers. The Energy and Society Network understands energy technologies and systems as social as well as technical. If we are to navigate successfully through energy transitions we will need to pay attention to institutions and organisations, to nation states and markets, to cities and villages, to the knowledge and practices of experts as well as end users, to ethics, values and interests.
Through research, teaching and impact, we add social science perspectives to ongoing attempts to address energy challenges in the United Kingdom, Europe, sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.
We collaborate and partner with governments, small, medium and large scale enterprises, as well as cooperatives and civic bodies. Our research and impact is funded by, among others, the UK Research Councils' Energy Programme, the UK and Scottish Governments, the UK Energy Research Centre and the Energy Technologies Institute, the Economic and Social Research Council, the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, and the Leverhulme Trust.
