Editor’s choice
Though citizen science has made vital contributions to environmental research, its potential for research into low carbon energy transitions has yet to be fully explored. In this study, the authors reviewed citizen science projects relating to energy transitions to explore their approaches, methodologies, activities, and challenges. They found that citizen science has been used to address energy transition challenges in diverse ways.
Researchers looked at citizen science projects focusing on photovoltaic energy generation, as well as projects that investigated energy sharing or evaluated household device usage.
Photo: Tara Moore / Getty Images
Citizen science research involves citizens as active participants, democratizing knowledge and empowering individuals to shape research questions and their answers. Using citizen science methodologies in low carbon energy research enables participants to shape the future of clean energy systems.
The authors investigated nine citizen science projects from Europe, Africa and the US. They found that the projects contributed to low energy transitions through four main routes:
The nine projects involved research into photovoltaic energy generation, energy sharing initiatives and monitoring household device usage. The authors found that, between the nine projects, there was a strong alignment with the multiple aspects needed for energy transitions to happen. The projects also enabled citizens to inform decision-making processes through their knowledge generation, working towards a sustainable and inclusive future.
The authors recommended more collaborative knowledge exchange and dedicated platform-building between existing citizen science low energy transition projects, which could facilitate improved resource sharing and collective learning opportunities. This in turn would enable future research into low energy transitions to mobilize citizen science methodologies more effectively.
Journal article / This article advocated for greater understanding of barriers to participation in citizen science projects and suggested methods for improving impact.
Journal article / Using arts-based approaches, researchers worked with communities in Nairobi to empower people to take action on air pollution.
Journal article / This study used ongoing reflection diaries to evaluate research approaches and presented recommendations for future transdisciplinary work.
Design and development by Soapbox.
