Energy literacy: towards a conceptual framework for energy transition

Abstract

Energy is fundamental to our existence. And yet, energy remains difficult to understand and discuss, particularly the impacts or limitations of certain energy systems and how energy functions in sociocultural contexts. Bridging theory and practice, energy literacy expands what we know about energy and how we may think about it in the world around us. Acknowledging how the world’s energy supply and use directly connects to the climate emergency, this article demonstrates how energy literacy can offer environmental and sustainability education other ways of addressing the energy transition. Understanding the underpinnings of energy – with integrated aspects of epistemology, ontology, and application (i.e., what energy is, what energy is about, and what energy does) – leads to the question: what approach effectively translates these experiences and knowledges to a wide range of users, learners, and stakeholders? This article proposes a conceptual framework of energy literacy that considers theoretical ideas and concepts to translate complex systems and understand energy more holistically.

Keywords:

• Energy literacy
• energy transition
  
• energy epistemology and ontology
• energy cultures
  
• citizen-engagement
• environmental and sustainability education
  

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on Contributors

Derek Gladwin (Assistant Professor, Language and Literacy Education) and Naoko Ellis (Full Professor, Chemical and Biological Engineering) are a collaborative team at the University of British Columbia (UBC). Within the nexus of sustainability education, they blend sociocultural and arts education with STEM and technical approaches to provide holistic and transdisciplinary perspectives on complex issues. As part of the Clean Energy Research Centre at UBC, they have published articles and books on topics such as energy transition, carbon capture and conversion technology, and complexity and storytelling.