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Home heating transition in Finland, Romania, Sweden and the United Kingdom through the combined lens of energy democracy, energy citizenship and energy justice

Palm, Jenny LU orcid ; Ambrose, Aimee ; Davies, Kathy ; Kilpeläinen, Sarah ; von Platten, Jenny LU ; Jiglau, George ; Pelsmakers, Sofie ; Castaño-Rosa, Raúl and Sinea, Anca (2026) In Energy, Sustainability and Society 16(1).
Abstract

Background: Heating is a key challenge for Europe’s decarbonisation goals, accounting for a large share of energy use and emissions while shaping everyday life, comfort, and vulnerability. This article compares home heating transitions in Finland, Romania, Sweden, and the United Kingdom through an integrated framework combining energy democracy, energy citizenship, and energy justice. The study examines how ownership, everyday practices, and inequality intersect to shape citizen roles in heating transitions across diverse political and infrastructural contexts. Results: Based on archival and secondary material, the analysis reveals strong contextual variation in how citizens engage with heating systems. In Finland and Sweden,... (More)

Background: Heating is a key challenge for Europe’s decarbonisation goals, accounting for a large share of energy use and emissions while shaping everyday life, comfort, and vulnerability. This article compares home heating transitions in Finland, Romania, Sweden, and the United Kingdom through an integrated framework combining energy democracy, energy citizenship, and energy justice. The study examines how ownership, everyday practices, and inequality intersect to shape citizen roles in heating transitions across diverse political and infrastructural contexts. Results: Based on archival and secondary material, the analysis reveals strong contextual variation in how citizens engage with heating systems. In Finland and Sweden, municipally owned district heating offers collective stability but limited direct agency. In Romania, the collapse of state-controlled networks has left households dependent on individual and often inefficient systems. In the United Kingdom, liberalised markets promise consumer choice but deepen vulnerability through cost pressures and weak accountability. Across all cases, household participation is structured by infrastructures, welfare regimes, and historical legacies rather than by individual choice. Integrating democracy, citizenship, and justice highlights how governance models, daily practices, and inequalities interact in shaping heating transitions. Conclusions: Citizen-centred heating transitions require policy approaches sensitive to national contexts and social realities. Empowerment must go beyond rhetoric to include participatory governance in collective systems, equitable regulation in liberalised markets, and targeted support for vulnerable households. The study contributes an analytical framework that captures the social depth of decarbonisation and supports the design of heating transitions that are democratic, participatory, and just.

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author
; ; ; ; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Decarbonisation, Energy citizenship, Energy democracy, Energy justice, Europe, Heating transition
in
Energy, Sustainability and Society
volume
16
issue
1
article number
31
publisher
Springer Science and Business Media B.V.
external identifiers
  • scopus:105041343915
ISSN
2192-0567
DOI
10.1186/s13705-026-00587-7
project
Looking back, moving forwards: a social and cultural history of home heating
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
f04021cc-5d23-4e19-85c4-054fd5c9a63a
date added to LUP
2026-06-18 08:56:46
date last changed
2026-06-22 07:57:45
@article{f04021cc-5d23-4e19-85c4-054fd5c9a63a,
  abstract     = {{<p>Background: Heating is a key challenge for Europe’s decarbonisation goals, accounting for a large share of energy use and emissions while shaping everyday life, comfort, and vulnerability. This article compares home heating transitions in Finland, Romania, Sweden, and the United Kingdom through an integrated framework combining energy democracy, energy citizenship, and energy justice. The study examines how ownership, everyday practices, and inequality intersect to shape citizen roles in heating transitions across diverse political and infrastructural contexts. Results: Based on archival and secondary material, the analysis reveals strong contextual variation in how citizens engage with heating systems. In Finland and Sweden, municipally owned district heating offers collective stability but limited direct agency. In Romania, the collapse of state-controlled networks has left households dependent on individual and often inefficient systems. In the United Kingdom, liberalised markets promise consumer choice but deepen vulnerability through cost pressures and weak accountability. Across all cases, household participation is structured by infrastructures, welfare regimes, and historical legacies rather than by individual choice. Integrating democracy, citizenship, and justice highlights how governance models, daily practices, and inequalities interact in shaping heating transitions. Conclusions: Citizen-centred heating transitions require policy approaches sensitive to national contexts and social realities. Empowerment must go beyond rhetoric to include participatory governance in collective systems, equitable regulation in liberalised markets, and targeted support for vulnerable households. The study contributes an analytical framework that captures the social depth of decarbonisation and supports the design of heating transitions that are democratic, participatory, and just.</p>}},
  author       = {{Palm, Jenny and Ambrose, Aimee and Davies, Kathy and Kilpeläinen, Sarah and von Platten, Jenny and Jiglau, George and Pelsmakers, Sofie and Castaño-Rosa, Raúl and Sinea, Anca}},
  issn         = {{2192-0567}},
  keywords     = {{Decarbonisation; Energy citizenship; Energy democracy; Energy justice; Europe; Heating transition}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{06}},
  number       = {{1}},
  publisher    = {{Springer Science and Business Media B.V.}},
  series       = {{Energy, Sustainability and Society}},
  title        = {{Home heating transition in Finland, Romania, Sweden and the United Kingdom through the combined lens of energy democracy, energy citizenship and energy justice}},
  url          = {{https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/files/253272271/Palm_et_al-2026-Energy_Sustainability_and_Society.pdf}},
  doi          = {{10.1186/s13705-026-00587-7}},
  volume       = {{16}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}