Local Governance in Just Energy Transition: Towards a Community-Centric Framework

Abstract

Knowledge of energy transition (ET) is evolving in developing countries. Yet, it is unclear how the transition should be managed in a way that ensures justice for local stakeholders. We synthesise the extant theoretical ideas and practices of the local governance (LG) related to ET, which are vital in ensuring justice in energy policy at the local level. The paper advances this development by a systematic integrative literature review (N = 569) from the Web of Science (WoS) and highly cited grey literature linked to participation, LG, and ET. The bibliometric analysis indicates that, while the literature on energy justice is growing, limited attention has been paid to LG in just energy transition (N = 36). The analysis further indicates that more than half of the scientific literature is produced by five countries from the global North alone. In-depth scrutiny of highly cited studies and grey literature in LG and ET underlines the lack of a generalised framework of local ET governance, especially in the global South. We address this gap and propose a framework that exhibits a community-centric LG, which is essential for just energy transition.