Comparative energy justice scholarship: Toward an empirical research agenda

Drawing on our collective experiences conducting empirical research on the energy transition from fossil fuels to clean energy in select democracies in North America, Latin America, Europe, and Asia, we propose a rich empirical approach that focuses on in-depth qualitative analysis to create a Comparative Energy Justice research agenda. The energy transition makes room for a more as well as less just system to emerge. Focusing on the energy transition rather than the broader category of energy allows us to center this interaction and provide insights for those advocating for greater energy justice. Each section summarizes findings and concludes with suggestions for comparative research. We first discuss political institutional structures related to energy policy that have been under-explored in energy justice research, notably federalism, public utility commissions, and Indigenous Nations governance. Next, we elaborate five categories of under-researched actors in the energy transition: the European Union's Local Action Groups, social justice organizations, businesses and political conservatives, faith-based organizations, and workers in the energy transition. Research should explore how these actors have interacted and will interact in the future with older coalition members who might have different experiences and world views. Moving beyond extant research that focuses on concepts and theoretical framing, our research agenda seeks to understand what is happening on the ground, for key constituencies including workers, advocates, policymakers, and citizens. We are ultimately concerned with understanding how groups and individuals experience and advocate for justice in the energy transition as well as the potential pitfalls of broadening pro-renewable energy coalitions that might split over justice issues. Our focus on under-explored institutions and actors in the overlapping space of the energy transition, energy justice, and comparative research is a novel approach.