Research

Over the last two decades deliberative democratic approaches to dealing with complex societal and environmental matters of local, regional and national importance have rapidly gained popularity across the globe. In particular, deliberative engagement processes have become increasingly popular because of their ability to provide informed and considered public opinion data on often contentious issues, and because they also have the capacity to tap into local knowledge and deal with long-term solutions rather than short term incentives (for example, the Citizens Assemblies on climate change). Deliberation has also been successfully applied when dealing with opinion polarisation; misconceptions and/or divisiveness (for example, see the Irish Constitutional Convention and Citizens’ Assemblies).

This research project is facilitating deliberative engagement processes (specifically, citizens’ panels) to investigate the role of future fuels in Australia’s future low-carbon energy mix. Each process involves between 40–50 citizens randomly selected to be broadly representative of the adult population in the focal location or who are chosen to represent a targeted social group, and influential stakeholders from organisations with an interest in the energy sector. Consistent with social distancing requirements during the covid-19 pandemic online citizens panels are being convened.

By hosting these citizens’ panels this project aims to: 1) outline challenges, opportunities and priority actions that will help Australia to deliver the full potential of a low-carbon energy future; and 2) identify issues, benefits, drawbacks and trade-offs related to the implementation of future fuels in Australia’s energy mix. Via the use of the citizens’ panels approach to deliberative engagement the research is surfacing and examining public preferences towards the role of gas and future fuels in the future low-carbon energy mix.

UPDATE: Three online citizens’ panels have now been completed and the associated interim project report and citizens’ panels technical appendices have been made publicly available. Please click on the links to access to these reports.

Two additional online citizens’ panels will be run in 2022, one involving younger participants and the other involving participants from Western Australia.

The citizens’s panels will inform the gas industry and wider policymakers about what roles for gas and future fuels are considered appropriate and/or valuable by informed publics (i.e. process participants) via the development of informed and considered public opinion data.

These research outcomes may assist industry in maintaining its social licence and ensuring gas and future fuels have a role to play in the zero-carbon energy transition.

Dr Stephen McGrail

Research and Education Program Coordinator

stephenmcgrail@futurefuelscrc.com