People Change: Putting Consumers at the heart of the Global Energy Transition - Part One

As the global transition to clean energy gains momentum, there has been much talk of a justenergy transition, inclusiveenergy systems and fairnessfor all. The importance of these objectives cannot be overstated because today's fossil-fuelled energy systems are inherently unjust, often imposing the highest costs on the poorest households and leaving many consumers with limited choice or voice.

A transition to renewable energy will not automatically solve these challenges. Without deliberate policies and meaningful consumer participation, new energy systems can reproduce existing inequalities or create new barriers to affordability, access and trust.

We are all consumers of energy. But too often, consumers have been treated as passive recipients of energy policy rather than as people whose experiences, needs and choices should help shape it.

For more than a decade Consumers International has worked to change this. Through our Clean Energy Futures programme, we bring together consumer organisations, policymakers, businesses and international institutions to ensure that consumer needs and experiences inform decisions that shape the global energy transition.

This two-part impact series explores how we are doing that: first by changing the rules and making consumers visible in global energy policy; and then by building the evidence and turning our vision into practical action through our Members and partners.