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Messages from Include

After 7 years of social science research: the following presents key messages and lessons learnt from Include, aimed at decision makers and other practitioners.

Basic premises

  1. Energy is a scarce resource
  2. Energy transition is more than technology and the market; there is a need for system change
  3. Energy is more than direct energy use
  4. Justice must be a guiding principle in energy transitions
  5. The energy transition should be about prioritizing scarce resources and nature
  6. The energy transition must make continuous progress to succeed
  7. Good local communities are a prerequisite for sustainable, societal transformation (economically, socially and environmentally)

Seven key messages

1: The energy transition must be more socially fair

  • A just energy transition requires timely and more transparent decision-making processes. In this way, more people can participate and have a meaningful influence.
  • Forecasts and policies for future energy production and consumption should take into account opportunities for reducing consumption – and prioritise between different purposes of consumption.
  • Planning of new grid connections should prioritise between different purposes of consumption.
  • In practice, the energy system is not politically and socially neutral. Welfare issues must be taken into account in the design of markets, regulations and support schemes.
  • Consideration of the quality of life of citizens and the rights of minorities must be more strongly represented in decision-making processes in energy policy.
  • Tensions between local and central interests in the energy transition may challenge legitimacy and hinder transitions. Systematic efforts must be made to manage conflicts and avoid polarisation.
  • In the development of new renewable power production, local communities must be given greater ownership and benefit from the investments.
  • Support schemes for low-emission technology and transition measures for households should be targeted to a greater extent at the groups that need them most.

2: We need a new policy for sustainable consumption

  • Our material consumption should be higher on the political agenda through policies that reduce consumption in a fair way.
  • Norms and policies should promote "sufficient consumption" with quality of life for all.
  • In order for transition policy to be effective and perceived as fair, it must ensure that households with the highest incomes and emissions must also contribute the most to reducing consumption.
  • Different groups have different prerequisites for making sustainable choices. This should be reflected in policy-making.
  • There is a need to establish and further develop markets and mechanisms for reducing consumption, such as repair.
  • Education at primary and secondary level should more strongly address a just climate, environmental and energy transition, including our material footprint.

3: We need a green and fair mobility policy 

  • Tolls, parking fees, the removal of parking spaces and the closure of streets are unpopular, but effective, climate measures. Acceptance of measures increases when they are accompanied by benefits, such as pedestrian and cycle paths.
  • Today's climate measures have very differing geographical impacts, and this must be taken into account in policy-making: Where it is easy to travel by public transport, it is often expensive to live, and those with low wages (many in socially critical occupations) are pushed out of the cities. In the periphery, public transport services are less available.
  • The electric car policy rewarded those with high incomes. Climate measures such as road tolls impact car owners unequally: They are more burdensome for those with low incomes, who often have the longest commute to work.
  • Green mobility policies, such as road taxes and public transport, should be weighed against efficiency and welfare considerations.

4: Good urban and community development is energy-efficient and fair

  • Densification projects can provide energy-efficient urban development, but not necessarily good social development. Project-based urban development makes it difficult to plan holistically in a way that ensures good local communities and welfare for the entire population, including vulnerable groups.
  • Densification near public transport hubs is energy-efficient, but can have negative consequences for access to affordable housing. If prices become high, residents (tenants) are pressured to move out, while others with low incomes are unable to establish themselves there.
  • Energy-efficient and project-based densification can make it difficult to build and maintain social infrastructure (physical meeting places and social institutions that are important for human relations and interaction).
  • The solution is that urban development should not be left to private developers to the same extent as today. The municipality should take a stronger role in urban development and prioritise the development of social infrastructure. Inclusive housing policy should be strengthened, and more public housing should be offered.

5: The energy transition must be geographically fair

  • The green transition is often perceived as an urban phenomenon. Sustainable cities and downtown areas have in some cases become exclusive. This can increase the social and cultural polarization between the centre and the periphery.
  • Justice between urban and rural areas requires that one recognizes and highlights how the needs of cities and central areas draw on the natural resources (for instance, land) of rural areas and that these places are compensated for this.
  • Small municipalities have considerable resources that are important for transformative action, but at the same time face challenges that must be taken into account through greater access to financial and human resources and guidance.
  • Balancing different land-use considerations is challenging for municipalities. Stronger governance and guidance from the central government are required to be able to navigate between local conflicts of interest and to make trade-offs that take account of regional and national considerations.
  • Government initiatives such as urban growth agreements are limited to the largest urban areas, while smaller towns have fewer tools for developing good public transport services. Mobility programmes should also be developed for smaller cities and towns (e.g. rural policy packages).

6: Co-creation can solve several challenges

  • Current practices of managing by objectives and silo thinking hardly invite co-creation. More research is needed on barriers and the underlying mechanisms (power, political and cultural trends) that hinder co-creation.
  • Collaboration between researchers and practitioners can provide better solutions, but requires trust, time, resources and reflexivity.
  • Co-creation involves processes, practices, methods, tools and knowledge but challenges economic strength, power relations, asymmetry among participants, and infrastructures.
  • The public sector should take a role in creating and maintaining democratic arenas. Good examples are the activity park for schools in city centres in Oslo, Økern, and Svartlamoen, and the work that 'intermediate actors' facilitate.
  • There is a need for facilitators (hosts) and suitable platforms to get more and new groups to participate.
  • Participation should move from consultation to co-creation to avoid participation fatigue and to build trust, legitimacy and better handling of difficult problems.
  • Time scales that are difficult to synchronise (e.g. school year – municipal sub-plan) create challenges.
  • Effects of co-creation efforts can be documented through systematic collection, qualitative assessments, and long-term relationships.
  • Barriers are learning opportunities that provide the potential for reflection and better collaboration between actors, government levels and sectors.

7: It is urgent! We must speed up the energy transition to transform to a nature friendly society

  • In order to develop an effective and fair policy for the energy transition, it is necessary to take into account variation in people's everyday lives and experiences.
  • Energy, climate and environmental work must be formally and informally anchored, over time, at all levels of administration and government.
  • State and regional policy must recognise the varying situations of different municipalities to contribute to transformation. Local initiatives should be rooted in local conditions.
  • Flexible and collaborative governance is necessary to ensure an effective and fair energy, climate and environmental transformation.
  • Research on transformation can contribute to civil protection and emergency preparedness.
  • The notion of Norway as "green and self-sufficient in energy" is questionable and must be changed to ensure the legitimacy of energy and climate transformation policies. High material consumption, exploration of new petroleum fields and power import (-exchange) indicate that this myth should be reconsidered.
Published Sep. 8, 2026 3:13 PM - Last modified Sep. 8, 2026 3:14 PM