Energy for Society
The Elsevier journal Energy Research & Social Science will be holding its first international conference from 2-5 April 2017 in Sitges, Spain. Energy for Society aims to examine the relationship between energy systems and society. It will cover a range of topics revolving around the intersection of energy technologies, fuels, and resources; and social processes and influences - including communities of energy users, people affected by energy production, social institutions, customs, traditions, behaviours, and policies.
With the recent adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals by the United Nations, it is evident that in order to achieve Goal 7 (Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all), the interaction between energy and society will need to be examined in greater detail, and solutions to address the energy trilemma (security, equity, and environmental sustainability) will need to be found in concert with technological advances.
The conference will include the following themes, each open to papers, posters, and panels:
1. Energy and Social Theory/Social Practice
2. Energy Consumption and Behaviour
3. National Energy Politics
4. Energy Institutions and Governance
5. Energy Equity and Justice
6. Innovation and Timescales in National Energy Transitions
7. Energy Transitions
8. The Water, Food, and Energy Nexus
9. Distributed and Community Energy
10. Energy Affordability and Poverty
11. Energy and the Environment
12. Other
Those interested in submitting proposals should write directly to each respective Theme Leaders for any queries or informal feedback on proposals. Abstracts are to be 300 words or less (no papers please) and submitted using the online submission form above. A condition of submission is that, if accepted, the paper or poster will be presented at the conference by one of the authors (or one author per paper in the case of Panel presentation) and a registration fee must be completed for each person presenting and attending the conference and fees are payable in advance of the event. All abstracts will be refereed by the Scientific Committee.
We encourage delegates in particular to submit proposals for panels—collections of papers organized around a core topic of theme. We want to give proposers the flexibility to determine the structure and content of these panels: number of papers, sequence, whether they have a discussant and moderator or not, whether they have multiple sessions or not. Generally, we envision each session consisting of 2-4 papers (with or without discussants or commentators) for a total of 90 minutes.