Publications

In our paper, we delve into the vital role of public participation in the development and implementation of energy projects and climate policies. We analyze three major regulatory approaches: the Aarhus Convention, the Escazú Agreement, and Impact and Benefits Agreements, comparing their effectiveness in incorporating social science insights on public participation. Our findings highlight the challenges and potential improvements needed to bridge the gap between legal frameworks and effective public engagement. This research is particularly important as it addresses the intersection of law and social sciences, aiming to enhance the effectiveness of public participation in environmental decision-making processes.

How Can Co-Creation Support Capacity Building for Adaptive Spatial Planning? Exploring Evidence from a Co-Creative Planning Process in The Netherlands. This research article delves into an in-depth case study of a co-creative planning process in the Netherlands. Data from two years of observations of the co-creative process, interviews, and document analysis are organized within a framework of three components of institutional capital: intellectual, social, and political. They show how co-creative processes lead to increases in trust, institutional capacity and adaptivity. https://doi.org/10.1080/14649357.2023.2288203

Goda Perlaviciute en Wytse Gorter hebben een rapport geschreven over de Inwonerraad Energie in Nederland. Specifiek over hoe deelnemers van de Inwonerraad, en ook buitenstaanders, denken over het proces van de Inwonerraad en de output in de vorm van adviezen voor het toekomstige energiebeleid. In 2022 heeft de minister voor Klimaat en Energie, Rob Jetten, een opdracht geven aan het Expertteam Energiesysteem 2050 om advies te geven voor het toekomstige Nederlandse energiesysteem. Het expertteam vond het belangrijk om de mening van Nederlandse inwoners hierin mee te nemen, en liet daarom de Inwonerraad Energie oprichten. Uit 1400 aanmeldingen zijn 75 Nederlandse inwoners geselecteerd (op basis van representatie van de Nederlandse bevolking) die vier zaterdagen in januari en februari 2023 samenkwamen om te discussiëren en adviezen te schrijven. Het doel van de Inwonerraad Energie was om te bespreken aan welke voorwaarden het toekomstige Nederlandse energiesysteem moet voldoen. Hierin stond de vraag wat inwoners belangrijk vinden in hun leven (in de vorm van waarden) centraal.

The book Satire, humor, and Environmental Crises explores how satire and humor can be employed to address and mitigate ecological crises at individual and collective levels. Besides scientific and technological endeavors, solutions to ecological crises must entail sociale and communicative reform to persuade citizens, corporations, organizations, and policymakers to adopt more sustainable lifestyles and policies. This book will be of great interest for students and scholars interested in environmental humanities, communication science, psychology, and critical humor studies. It can further benefit environmental activists, policymakers, NGOs, and campaign organizers. 

Be it solar panels or wind turbines, a town hall-style forum on proposed green energy plans where locals can have their say and gain a sense of trust in the process seems like the ideal setting to combat NIMBY-ism (Not In My Back Yard). Not necessarily: a new study from the University of Groningen finds the stage a proposed project is in effectively dictates who will show up to a public forum, what their values are, and how likely they are to oppose those plans outright. In their latest publication, “Time to talk about values, time to say no: What drives public participation in decision-making on energy projects?”, published in August in PLOS Climate, professors Goda Perlaviciute and Lorenzo Squintani found that the stage of plans – more abstract and global versus concrete and local – influenced who was likely to show up at a public forum on proposed renewable energy projects.

Making Groningen CO2 neutral in 2030 is a major challenge that can only be fulfilled by working together. To meet the issue, the Wubbo Ockels School, the Municipality, Hanze University of Applied Sciences, Alfa College, and Noorderpoort College are collaborating on the development of a series of Changing Principles. These principles aim at reconsidering the way in mobility, heating, waste management, and other key aspects of the way in which oir Municipality functions. The first draft of such principles was handed to the Akkoord of Groningen, represented by Groningen Mayor Mr Koen Schuiling, during the House of Connections’ official opening ceremony on Tuesday 27 June.