
ROLES
Responsive Organising for Low Emission Societies
ROLES lives up to its name – Responsive Organising for Low Emission Societies. In a digitalising world, it looks at energy systems across multiple sectors in mid-sized European cities: smart meters in Trento (Italy), solar rollout in Brighton (UK) and electric mobility in Bergen and Stavanger (Norway). How can digitalisation of energy systems at the urban scale have socially inclusive impacts? With this in mind, our consortium conducts intensive local fieldwork, extensive collaborative analysis, reflexive engagement with stakeholders, all to come up with pathways of digitalisation for deep decarbonisation. All this in a no-fly project with over a dozen dedicated members!
Project website: http://roles.w.uib.no
-
Digitalisation is rapidly underway in multiple sectorsthat are all part of an increasingly interconnected energy system. Its effects are not yet widely understood and our research uncovers ways in which digitalised energy systems can be socially inclusive.
-
Impacts vary by type of technology(e-scooters for micro-mobility versus active modes of transport, which can be app-ified and integrated), user needs (urban elites versus social housing areas) and evolving cost and maturity (rooftop solar in urban milieus).
-
People are really interested in engaging with digitalisation,but many feel they lack agency to change its impact – something we are constantly working with!

About
Insights from ROLES are directly relevant to the case cities – we co-produce learning with stakeholders on how digitalisation can make their energy systems more socially inclusive during decarbonisation. Our work is aimed for relevance in and across sectors in mid-sized European cities and beyond, with focus on digitalisation in energy generation (solar), usage and monitoring (smart meters) and sectoral electrification (electric mobility) for low-carbon urban futures. By showing how close local engagement and international cooperation can take place over years with no flight emissions, we also aim to inspire engaged, outwardly oriented networked research to enable a convivial twin transition.
Project leader
Siddharth Sareen works on the governance of low-carbon energy transitions, from extractive zones to bustling cities. The role of digitalisation in transforming the functioning of our energy system and bringing sectors into closer interaction fascinates him, in particular its possibilities to enable low-carbon energy futures that can make our societies more inclusive and equitable. He is motivated to inform such timely shifts through both relevant research and walking the talk.
Documents
No items found
News & Events
Parent programme
SOLSTICE
Enabling Societal Transformation in the Face of Climate Change
SOLSTICE is a joint transnational call for proposals. JPI Climate invited the SSH community to take the lead and to submit proposals that address the societal aspects of climate change. Building on an emerging trend of research, SOLSTICE offered a transnational framework with higher levels of funding than before. The rationale for this call was outlined in the JPI Climate's 2019 White Paper on societal transformation in the face of climate change.
10
countries
29
partners
7
projects

Stay up to date with all research and results of JPI Climate.
Subscribe for our newsletter to stay up to date with the latest information.
"*" indicates required fields