Forum Talk: Energy democracy drives just transitions: strategies from across the globe
October's Forum talk
MONDAY, 25 OCTOBER 2021, 4.00 P.M. CEST
In collaboration with Transnational Institute and mPOWER*
Energy systems and climate action cannot be left to the market. It's urgent to transition to energy democracies that are optimal for people and planet. How can public ownership, community control and participatory governance ensure that justice is served? And which forms of collective action will help us get there?
In this webinar we will dive into the biggest challenges to a renewable energy future and best practices from across Europe, South Africa and the Americas. A set of formidable speakers is ready to equip you with concrete handles for building system-wide people power to ensure that those on the frontlines of the climate crisis are the ones driving the energy transition.
* This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement number 785171
Lavinia STEINFORT
Researcher at the Transnational Institute
Lavinia Steinfort is a political geographer, ecofeminist and researcher at the Transnational Institute (TNI). At TNI she is working on systemic alternatives such as (re)municipalisation of public services and just transitions towards energy democracy. Lavinia facilitates the international Energy Democracy allianceand is co-implementing the mPOWER project. She co-authored The Future is Public, Public Finance for the Future We Want, One Treaty to rule them all and Communal Performativity – A Seed for Change.
Daniel CHAVEZ
Transnational Institute
Dr. Daniel Chavez is a social anthropologist and political economist focusing on public policy, energy and climate. He coordinates the New Politics Lab of the Amsterdam-based Transnational Institute (TNI). He holds a PhD in Development Studies from the Institute of Social Studies (ISS) of Erasmus University Rotterdam.
Crystal HUANG
National Coordinator of the Energy Democracy Project
Crystal Huang is the National Coordinator of the Energy Democracy Project — a collaboration of close to 40 geographically and racially diverse affiliated frontline organizations working to democratize the U.S. energy sector. She is a grassroots community-builder and a 2020 Roddenberry Fellow with more than 10 years of experience deploying climate solution technologies. For her work building popular education on energy and power, she serves on the Resilience Hubs Advisory Council for “Toward Resilient California Communities” Initiative.
Rowan MATARAM
mPOWER project and Platform London
Rowan Mataram is of British-Indonesian heritage and based in the North of the UK. Her activism journey has led her to a strong intersectional, decolonial analysis which is at the core of her work.Mataram currently works to increase capacity for, and representation in, the energy transition at Platform London. Here she manages the pan-European project, mPOWER, and is currently starting to develop a process for citizen-led, energy just transition plans in Leeds, West Yorkshire as part of Climate Action Leeds.
Lala PEÑARANDA
Trade Unions for Energy Democracy
Lala Peñaranda is a socialist and feminist activist born in Colombia, working on labor and climate as the Latin America coordinator for the Trade Unions for Energy Democracy (TUED). She is a member of Science for the People and the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA).
Niranjan Dev BHARADWAJ
Distinguished Advisor - Global Foundation for Advancement of Environment and Human Wellness, India
Rafal FABIANOWICZ
PhD student in political science at Andrássy University Budapest
Rafal Fabianowicz is a PhD student in political science at Andrássy University Budapest - his studies are awarded the PhD Scholarship of the Hungarian State. Mr Fabianowicz writes a dissertation about the research intersection of democracy and climate-related sustainability in Central and Eastern Europe. He puts knowledge into practice by co-lecturing European Governance with a focus on EU environmental and climate governance. Beyond academia, he works as a research fellow for the European Democracy Lab in Berlin. Furthermore, he engages as an external relations officer for V4SDG - Visegrád for Sustainability in Budapest and as a coach for the EIT-Climate KIC Network of Coaches."