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== Society’s role in the future of energy ==
[[File:Energy Society Actors.png|thumbnail|Actors in Energy]]
The people of Europe – and the world in much broader context – play an essential role for the entirety of the energy market. They are the sole consumers of energy, be it directly with individual energy expenses and travel or indirectly through their source of income being dependent on energy in industry or services alike. In the last few decades, both the price volatility of fuel and [[Sustainability|sustainability ]] concerns have raised awareness of this topic and charged debate on the future of energy. Consequently, society exerts substantial influence on the way energy is used and researched by means of political representation. This ubiquitous dependence makes a wide support necessary for any shift in Europe’s strategy.
== Key Aspects ==
Central stakeholders acting in the interest of parts of society are political parties, democratic governments and non-governmental organisations such as industry representations or, famously, GreenPeace. These actors cater to present and historic needs of society. Political actors represent the elected part of the civil society, while non-governmental organisations advocate more particular interests of the economy or of activists. To interest parties, media provides a communication channel feeding decisions and trends back into the civil society. By way of publication preferences, media outlets may also become an actor themselves.
A number of intellectuals and researchers attempts to rethink society’s dependency on energy. Notable drafts are the [http://www.gef.eu/uploads/media/EN_A_Post_Growth_Society_for_the_21st_Century.pdf “Post-growth society” ] advocated prominently by e.g. the Green European Foundation.
== Key Questions ==
* What role can and should citizens play in the future of the EUʼs energy infrastructure?
[[Category:Dimensions]]