Preface

This anthology focuses on households' energy demand, energy use and governance in the context of climate change management. The subject of this book is part of a European Union Framework Programme Seven research project "Governance, Infrastructure, Lifestyle Dynamics and Energy Demand: European Post-Carbon Communities" (GILDED - see http://www.gildedeu.org/) running December 2008 - November 2011. GILDED is led by the Macaulay Institute in Aberdeen, Scotland, in partnership with the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (Germany), the Institute for Political Science, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, the University of Groningen (the Netherlands), and the University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice (Czech Republic). The main goal of GILDED is to identify social, economic, cultural and political changes which help European households to reduce energy consumption. This collection of papers presents studies about energy governance systems related to households' energy uses and infrastructure and a comparative paper. The empirical work was conducted in five European countries; each has rural and urban study areas: Potsdam and Potsdam Mittelmark in Germany; Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire in Scotland, Assen and Drenthe province in the Netherlands, České Budějovice and its region in the Czech Republic, Debrecen and Hajdú Bihar County in Hungary.

By comparing case studies we have found three energy governance models with relevant differences and yet with considerable consistency in terms of energy saving policy: the local hierarchical model, the formal democratic decision making model and the cooperative decision making model. No one has an absolute advantage regarding an effective energy saving policy, or the impact on household energy use behavior. The outcomes of comparative work underline that the type of (local) governance should be considered when designing policy mechanisms to influence household behaviour, and that emerging activity of civil associations and entrepreneurs in managing 'green issues' is a necessary condition for addressing climate change, so such new governance methods and tools as stakeholder involvement, consensus building, and participatory planning (using context dependent policy tools such as financial incentives, regulatory elements and awareness raising) should be encouraged in order to induce households to reduce their energy demand.

Anyone who aims to contribute to the management of climate change should find the descriptive material, and positive examples in this book helpful in dealing with problems associated with reducing energy demand. The emphasis is on the information, knowledge and skills that are needed for scientists, politicians, and civil society activists to work in the field of energy use, including the ability to reduce conflicts, to harmonize interests, to motivate institutions, individuals and households, and to increase efficiency of communication on a global as much as a local issue.

Nick Gotts and Imre Kovách