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Bringing together Community Wealth Building and Net Zero transitions: international research insights from the UK and Canada
Abstract:
Community Wealth Building (CWB) is a growing international policy movement for local economic development that seeks to advance economic democracy. Alongside the international rise of net zero law and global policies for decarbonisation, there has also been increasing global interest in enhancing community ownership and engagement in local energy transitions, particularly as the energy transition succumbs to international corporate capture. Whilst connections between CWB and net zero are seldom explored, clear synergies and convergences emerge in the pursuit of democratising local green economies.
This presentation will provide an overview of a British Academy funded research project that compares the rise of both CWB and Net Zero in Canada and the UK. Building on early insights from the projects findings, including four international workshops, recent publications and net zero policy developments, it highlights the growing role of ‘anchor institutions’ in net zero transitions, whilst also shedding light on the differences between the UK and Canada’s adoption of CWB policies and their potential overlaps with net zero transitions. It finishes by distinguishing between decarbonisation and just transition approaches and outcomes, arguing for a deeper integration of CWB into just transitions in order to reshape the political economy of net zero transitions around the empowerment of communities.
Bio:
Dr Max Lacey-Barnacle is a Senior Research Fellow in the Science Policy Research Unit at the University of Sussex Business School. He has worked as a researcher, consultant and policy specialist focusing on renewable energy, energy efficiency, zero emissions transport and local & community energy. He currently leads international research on how Community Wealth Building can drive just transitions to net zero. His work explores place-based strategies that link decarbonisation with inclusive economic renewal, whilst advocating for greater economic democracy in the green economy. He has 30+ publications in journals including Applied Energy, Energy Policy, Energy Research and Social Science, Local Environment and Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions, whilst he also regularly engages with energy and climate policy consultations, organisations and networks.