8 research outputs found
AnĂ lisi de les situacions de pobresa energĂštica en les persones ateses per la FundaciĂł HĂ bitat 3
Social housing providers have a significant amount of influence over large housing stocks, which gives them unique opportunities to address both energy efficiency and social inclusion. However, there are significant barriers to achieving these goals in southern European contexts, where obsolete housing stocks and widespread energy poverty situations combine to create a âprebound effectâ, whereby residents consume less energy than in projections of standardised patterns, thus invalidating models based on energy efficiency gains and energy production. This paper uses empirical findings from interviews with social housing providers in the metropolitan areas of Porto [Portugal] and Barcelona [Spain] to understand how this contradiction is being handled in the sector, and compares the findings with surveys of the nature and depth of energy poverty situations in a broadly defined social housing sector. Our results show that social housing providers tend to favour strategies based on retrofitting the envelopes of the buildings, and to resist installing renewable energy equipment, for which cost recoupment is near-unachievable. We argue that this focus on achieving thermal comfort by passive measures overlooks the multidimensionality of energy poverty situations in the social housing sector, with widespread practices of restrictions on cooking, lighting and DHW uses.
International audienc
Identificación, localización y caracterización de la vulnerabilidad energética a nivel de sección censal en el municipio de Barcelona
International audienc
Problématisation, politisation et mesures de résorption des vulnérabilités énergétiques: entre droit à l'énergie et contrÎle des pratiques des pauvres à Porto et à Barcelone
50 million Europeans face financial difficulties to heat, cook or light their homes. Households in energy vulnerability either limit the use of these services because they do not have sufficient income, or devote a disproportionately large part of their overall budget to paying energy bills. European legislation requires Member States to establish policies for measuring and resolving the problem. This objective is complex because energy vulnerability is at the intersection of a set of factors covered by different sectoral policies: the pricing of energy, the energy efficiency of housing, and social assistance.This thesis studies the emergence of energy vulnerability in national and local public agendas with an urban political ecology framework. I conducted a comparative survey in two cities (Porto and Barcelona), where the issue is important and treated in different ways. I analyze the factors that combine tocreate situations of energy vulnerability in these cities and which turn them into public problems, through media, legislation and local innovations. Policy analysis is complemented by study of the concrete conditions of energy vulnerability as they are experienced by households which are in touch with social assistance agencies and charities. The main result of the thesis is that situations of energy vulnerability are politicized by both new actors and traditional players in energy governance. I show how civil society activism gives rise to a right to energy, which is not enshrined in national legislation and which, under the pressure of new social movements, becomes an imperative for local communities. I then analyze the diffusion of programs targeting vulnerable households, based on a model that aims at reducing consumption and therefore limiting the number of unpaid energy bills. This experimental and inexpensive model meets the interests of organizations from civil society, local communities, energy suppliers and the households themselves who were already reducing their expenses.50 millions dâEuropĂ©ens rencontrent des difficultĂ©s financiĂšres pour se chauffer, cuisiner ou Ă©clairer leur logement. Les mĂ©nages qui se privent de ces services faute de revenus suffisants, qui consacrent une part importante de leurs budgets Ă ce poste de dĂ©pense, sont en situation de vulnĂ©rabilitĂ© Ă©nergĂ©tique. La lĂ©gislation europĂ©enne requiert des Ătats membres quâils Ă©tablissent des politiques de mesure et de rĂ©sorption du problĂšme. Cet objectif est complexe parce que la vulnĂ©rabilitĂ© Ă©nergĂ©tique est au croisement dâun ensemble de facteurs saisis par des politiques sectorielles distinctes : le prix de lâĂ©nergie, lâefficacitĂ© Ă©nergĂ©tique des logements, les aides sociales. Cette thĂšse pose la question des conditions dâĂ©mergence du problĂšme des vulnĂ©rabilitĂ©s Ă©nergĂ©tiques dans les agendas publics nationaux et locaux en mobilisant une approche dâUrban political ecology. LâenquĂȘte comparative est menĂ©e dans deux villes (Porto et Barcelone) oĂč lâenjeu est important et traitĂ© de maniĂšres distinctes. Notre analyse propose dâĂ©tudier les facteurs qui se combinent pour crĂ©er des situations de vulnĂ©rabilitĂ©, et les faire Ă©merger comme un problĂšme public. Elle sâintĂ©resse Ă la fois aux lĂ©gislations, aux innovations locales et au traitement mĂ©diatique du problĂšme. Nous confrontons ces formes dâaction collective avec une Ă©tude des conditions concrĂštes de vulnĂ©rabilitĂ© Ă©nergĂ©tique vĂ©cues par des mĂ©nages prĂ©caires accompagnĂ©s par lâassistance sociale et par des associations caritatives.Le principal rĂ©sultat de la thĂšse est que les situations de vulnĂ©rabilitĂ©s Ă©nergĂ©tiques sont politisĂ©es, ce qui implique Ă la fois de nouveaux acteurs et des acteurs traditionnels de la gouvernance de lâĂ©nergie et se traduit par deux types de rĂ©ponses. Nous montrons aussi comment la militance de collectifs associatifs fait Ă©merger un droit Ă lâĂ©nergie, qui nâest pas inscrit dans la lĂ©gislation nationale et qui, sous la pression de nouveaux mouvements sociaux, devient un impĂ©ratif pour les collectivitĂ©s locales. Nous montrons enfin la diffusion dâun modĂšle dâinterventions auprĂšs de mĂ©nages qui vise Ă rĂ©duire les consommations pour diminuer le montant des factures et limiter le nombre dâimpayĂ©s dâĂ©nergie. Ce modĂšle expĂ©rimental et peu onĂ©reux rencontre les intĂ©rĂȘts dâorganisations issues de la sociĂ©tĂ© civile, de collectivitĂ©s locales, de fournisseurs dâĂ©nergie mĂȘme sâil reprĂ©sente pour les mĂ©nages vulnĂ©rables une prolongation de leurs efforts de rĂ©duction de leurs factures dâĂ©nergie
The politics of domestic energy vulnerability in the Barcelona region, between deconfinement and reconfinement
This paper studies the diverse actions, interventions and strategies initiated to address rising energy vulnerability among low-income households in the Barcelona region over the last decade. Drawing upon recent conceptual work around the politics of energy and in-depth fieldwork conducted over more than two years, we trace the different processes and sites through which the basic socio-material conditions of domestic access to energy have become politicised. We show how this involves a two-stage movement of deconfinement and reconfinement. In a context marked by austerity, an energy inefficient urban fabric and a centralised and oligopolistic energy system, energy vulnerability emerged from the domestic and private sphere to become framed as a public problem through parliamentary debate, social protest and local authority initiatives. Yet, energy access and vulnerability have also to some extent been recontained in the space of the household through the focus of recent local policy intervention on 'low cost' measurement, audit and equipment of domestic energy use. We argue that in reprivatizing what had become a public issue and thus redistributing responsibility for change to the household level, authorities and practitioners continue to ignore the systemic factors behind energy vulnerability situations and reproduce a status quo that benefits only energy utilities. The contribution of the paper is thus to show a politics of energy access that is increasingly constituted through entangled, fluid, blurred forms of relations between domestic and collective issues. This politics allows, for example, the need for systemic change to be framed as ostensibly a concern of households and to be met through fragmented, low-cost, metrological measures at that level
Epistemic communities in political ecology: critical deconstruction or radical advocacy?
Abstract
Recent political ecology scholarship appears to be turning towards de-growth agendas and radical activism, notably in Europe. These postures diverge somewhat from the 'classical' political ecological tradition rooted in a critical deconstruction of dominant ideas and actors and field-based analyses. We posit a heuristic distinction between these two impulses. While both are based in critiques (Robbins' 'hatchet'), as far as the 'seed' one impulse leans more towards critical 'deconstruction', the other towards radical 'advocacy.' Through a systemic review of the political ecology literature, we seek to identify and characterize these impulses, link them to epistemic communities of knowledge production, and explain these trends. Our review incorporates qualitative analysis of key texts, as well as quantitative bibliometric and content analysis of Scopus-indexed publications referring to political ecology (1951-2019) and abstracts from all the articles published in Journal of Political Ecology, from POLLEN conferences in Europe (2016, 2018) and from DOPE conferences in the US (2013- 2019). Among other things, we find that even if political ecology has long been divided between deconstructivist and advocacy approaches, the second is becoming preeminent since many political ecologists are taking a radical turn, with strong theoretically rooted attacks on the capitalist system taking place. Some political ecological research increasingly positions itself in socio-political debates related to the greening of unjust societies in the First World. This is most prominent in continental European academia (and some English universities), where political ecology is institutionally more marginal; in the remaining British and North American universities, the more deconstructivist impulse is more dominant but also more pluralistic in its orientations.
Keywords: epistemic communities, political ecology, bibliometric analysis, content analysis, critical theory, activism
Résumé
La recherche récente en political ecology, notamment en Europe, semble se tourner vers des approches prÎnant la décroissance et un activisme radical. Ces postures divergent quelque peu de la tradition de political ecology « classique », ancrée dans une déconstruction critique des idées et des acteurs dominants et dans des analyses de terrain. Dans cet article, nous posons une distinction heuristique entre ces deux approches, héritée quelque part de la différence entre « hachette » et « graine » proposée par Paul Robbins. Si toutes deux sont fondées sur des critiques (la « hachette »), en ce qui concerne la « graine », une approche penche davantage vers la « déconstruction » critique, l'autre vers le « plaidoyer » radical. Par le biais d'une revue systémique de la littérature de political ecology, nous cherchons à identifier et à caractériser ces approches, à les relier aux
communautĂ©s Ă©pistĂ©miques de production de connaissances et Ă expliquer ces tendances. Notre revue de littĂ©rature intĂšgre une analyse qualitative de textes clĂ©s, ainsi qu'une analyse quantitative bibliomĂ©trique et de contenu des publications indexĂ©es par Scopus faisant rĂ©fĂ©rence Ă la political ecology (1951-2019) et des rĂ©sumĂ©s de tous les articles publiĂ©s dans Journal of Political Ecology, lors des confĂ©rences POLLEN en Europe (2016, 2018) et des confĂ©rences DOPE aux Ătats-Unis (2013-2019). Entre autres choses, nous constatons que mĂȘme si la political ecology est depuis longtemps divisĂ©e entre les approches dĂ©constructiviste et revendicative, la seconde est en train de devenir prĂ©Ă©minente puisque de nombreux political ecologists prennent un virage radical, avec de fortes saillies thĂ©oriquement enracinĂ©es contre le systĂšme capitaliste, alors que certaines recherches en political ecology se positionnent de plus en plus dans les dĂ©bats sociopolitiques liĂ©s Ă l'Ă©cologisation des sociĂ©tĂ©s des pays dĂ©veloppĂ©s. Ce phĂ©nomĂšne est plus marquĂ© dans les universitĂ©s d'Europe continentale (et dans certaines universitĂ©s anglaises), oĂč la political ecology est institutionnellement plus marginale; dans les autres universitĂ©s britanniques et nord-amĂ©ricaines, l'approche plus dĂ©constructiviste est plus dominante mais aussi plus plurielle dans ses orientations.
Mots clés: Communautés épistémiques, political ecology, analyse bibliométrique, analyse de contenu, théorie critique, activism
Pour une science de la Transition ĂnergĂ©tique au Service de la SociĂ©tĂ©: Rapport du groupe interdisciplinaire ARPEGES CNRS pour la Transition Ă©nergĂ©tique
PrĂ©ambule â La nĂ©cessitĂ©, face Ă une science de la transition Ă©nergĂ©tique au service de lâinnovationtechnique et matĂ©rielle, dâune science de la transition Ă©nergĂ©tique au service de la sociĂ©tĂ©Introduction â Analyse, questions et structuration pour une science de la transition Ă©nergĂ©tique auservice de la sociĂ©tĂ© PremiĂšre partie â LâĂ©tude des transitions Ă©nergĂ©tiques doit ĂȘtre systĂ©mique, transdisciplinaire,rĂ©flexive et mue par des objectifs de justice et dâĂ©thique â La transition, un processus qui ne saurait ĂȘtre linĂ©aire et parfaitement pilotable â Enjeux de la pĂ©riode actuelle en matiĂšre de transition Ă©nergĂ©tique â Principes de justice et dâĂ©thique qui doivent guider les transitionsDeuxiĂšme partie â Proposition de thĂ©matiques de recherche â Quels cadres thĂ©oriques pour analyser la conception et mise en Ćuvre des transitions â Acteurs et Ă©chelles des transitions â Techniques et matĂ©rialitĂ©s des transitions â Anticiper les externalitĂ©s liĂ©es Ă la respatialisation des Ă©nergies â ModĂšles Ă©conomiques, techniques et sociaux des transitions â La conception de modĂšles de production / consommation â Pratiques de consommation dâĂ©nergie Ă lâaune des transitions et des chocs â Outils de passage au rĂ©el de lâaccĂšs Ă lâĂ©nergie entre Nord et Sud et sobriĂ©tĂ© effective â AccĂšs Ă lâĂ©nergie et aux ressources (accĂšs pays du Sud) â AccĂšs et gouvernance de lâĂ©nergie et des ressources (pays OCDE) TroisiĂšme partie â MĂ©thodologie et propositions de structuration dâune recherche science-sociĂ©tĂ©pour la Transition ĂnergĂ©tique â Attitudes de recherche â De la rĂ©flexivitĂ© sur les postures et les mĂ©thodes de recherche Ă uneapproche dâouverture scientifique â InterdisciplinaritĂ© â Observatoires, donnĂ©es & living lab â Enseignement et mĂ©diation â Vers une structuration acadĂ©mique de lâintĂ©gration des connaissances dans le domaine delâĂ©nergie : un GIEC national de lâĂ©nergieConclusion â Une recherche interdisciplinaire pour adresser les enjeux sociotechniques de latransition Ă©nergĂ©tiqu