Connections between energy and ecological democracy: Considering the Climate Council as a case of climate action in Australia

Abstract

Energy democracy and ecological democracy movements and thinking are attracting considerable academic attention in the social sciences. Both encompass climate change responses and institutions that include prefigurative politics and diverse strategies for achieving more sustainable futures. However, the academic literatures on ecological democracy and energy democracy do not frequently cross-pollinate. This article presents a case study of a climate action organisation in Australia, the Climate Council, that could be read as belonging to both energy democracy and ecological democracy movements. As a result, it demonstrates that energy democracy and ecological democracy share common ground. I suggest that social scientific research on energy governance could engage with the connections between energy democracy and ecological democracy to deepen our understanding of the contradictions and tensions that exist between prefiguration and hierarchical structures in these organisations. While energy democracy is a relatively new concept, academic work in this area should acknowledge and engage with earlier work on ecological democracy given the conceptual overlaps between both areas.