Energ’Ethic - Climate Justice and Energy Transition

• To Build Fast, You Need Fair, with Arthur Hirsch

  Europe knows it must move fast on renewables and grid infrastructure. But speed without fairness only builds friction.In this episode, Marine Cornelis speaks with Arthur Hinsch, Senior Expert at ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability, about the Fast and Fair Renewables & Grids Initiative — a first-of-its-kind European consensus on how to scale up solar, wind, and grid projects while ensuring that local communities see real benefits and have a voice.Endorsed by a broad alliance — from WindEurope and SolarPower Europe to Energy Cities, REScoop.eu, CAN Europe, EEB, and the European Youth Energy Network — the initiative sets out five principles defining what “fair” looks like on the ground.Arthur shares what it took to reach agreement among actors who rarely sit at the same table. He explains how fairness is not a barrier to progress, but a condition for it — and how a new checklist for local governments can help mediate tensions, bring transparency, and get projects off the ground faster.He also reflects on his own path from studying Japanese culture to shaping European energy diplomacy, and why, after steering this landmark collaboration, he’s taking a sabbatical in Japan to reconnect with long-term thinking.Highlights:Why fairness and speed are inseparable in Europe’s energy transition.The five principles behind the Fast and Fair Renewables & Grids Initiative.How local mayors can use the new checklist to talk with citizens and developers.What makes this cross-sector agreement unique — and replicable.Arthur’s reflections on collaboration, balance, and what Japan might teach Europe.Explore the initiative: https://fastandfairenergy.eu Energ' Ethic goes out every other week. Keep up to date with new episodes s=1">straight from your inboxReach out to Marine Cornelis via app/profile/marinenextenerg. bsky. socia">BlueSky</a> or&nbsp;<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www. linkedin. com/in/marinecornelis">LinkedInMusic: I Need You Here - KamariusEdition: Podcast Media Factory Support Energ'Ethic on com/Energethic">Patreon© nextenergyconsumer. eu/">Next Energy Consumer, 2025Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

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• Finance as a Tool for Trust - Special episode at ACCE Conference

  Special episode recorded live at the ACCE closing eventWhat if the most powerful technology for the energy transition wasn’t digital, but human?In this Energ’Ethic special, recorded live in Brussels, Marine Cornelis brings together the voices behind Access to Capital for Community Energy (ACCE) — a project that helped citizens across Europe finance their own energy future.From Romania to Belgium, from Croatia to the UK, communities built cooperatives, social funds, and ethical banking partnerships. What they discovered went far beyond kilowatts: finance can build trust, resilience, and democracy.Highlights• Europe as Enabler – CINEA’s Michele Sansoni on how EU support is nurturing a new generation of energy communities.• From Growth to Maturity – REScoop.eu’s Sara Tachelet on a movement growing stronger and more professional.• Courage in Romania – Camelia Sava’s team created a social fund and powered a kindergarten, despite limited resources.• Federations as Translators – Energie Samen and Énergie Partagée show how local networks bridge citizens and finance.• Solidarity in Action – Energy4All’s Mark Luntley on turning citizen investment into global cooperation.• Equal Rights, Everywhere – Corina Murafa calls for citizens in all EU countries to access and finance energy fairly.• Keeping Money Local – Dirk Vansintjan reminds us every euro reinvested strengthens communities.TakeawayFinance works best when it is a dialogue — between citizens, financiers, and institutions.When done well, it becomes a tool for trustEnerg' Ethic goes out every other week.Keep up to date with new episodes straight from your inboxReach out to Marine Cornelis via BlueSky or LinkedInMusic: I Need You Here - KamariusEdition: Podcast Media Factory Support Energ'Ethic on Patreon© Next Energy Consumer, 2025Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

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• Cash Current: Financing the Flow of Citizen Energy (Replay)

  This week on Energ’Ethic, we bring back a conversation worth hearing again. Stan d’Herbemont of REScoop.eu explains why citizen energy projects still face a “risk premium” simply because they are democratic. Ownership and participation are often misread by traditional finance as weakness instead of strength.As the ACCE project reaches its closing event on 7 October 2025, this replay offers the context behind our recent episodes with Chris Vrettos and Junior. Chris showed how ACCE has channelled millions into citizen-led projects. Junior reminded us that energy is also about hope and belonging. Stan sets the stage by showing why those tools were needed in the first place.What you’ll hear:Why democratic projects are still labelled “risky.”How public finance and guarantees can change the flow.Why communities deliver more than kilowatts: jobs, trust, inclusion.🎧 Cash Current is back to remind us that citizen energy is worth the investment.Energ' Ethic goes out every other week.Keep up to date with new episodes straight from your inboxReach out to Marine Cornelis via BlueSky or LinkedInMusic: I Need You Here - KamariusEdition: Podcast Media Factory Support Energ'Ethic on Patreon© Next Energy Consumer, 2025Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

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• From Risky to Resilient: How Citizens Can Fund the Transition - Chris Vrettos, ACCE project

  How do we move community energy from “too risky” for banks to a serious part of Europe’s clean energy future? In this episode, Marine Cornelis speaks with Chris Vrettos (REScoop.eu & Electra Energy) about the ACCE project, which is closing with its final event on 7 October.Key takeawaysCommunity Energy Financing Schemes (CEFS): tools built by and for communities that make projects bankable and scalable.From risk to resilience: bundling many small initiatives into portfolios that investors take seriously.Inclusion by design: solidarity shares and ethical finance models that bring vulnerable households into the transition.Policy momentum: how the Social Climate Fund, EU budget, and potential EIB guarantees can support citizen-led finance.Why listen?Finance is never neutral. As Chris reminds us, it can either lock communities out or bring them in. ACCE has shown that citizen-driven finance is not only possible, but scalable.🎧 Tune in now — and if you want to see what comes next, join the ACCE closing conference on 7 October 2025, where Marine will moderate the discussion.Energ' Ethic goes out every other week.Keep up to date with new episodes straight from your inboxReach out to Marine Cornelis via BlueSky or LinkedInMusic: I Need You Here - KamariusEdition: Podcast Media Factory Support Energ'Ethic on Patreon© Next Energy Consumer, 2025Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

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• Power in the Roots: Rhizomes, Relationships, and the Energy Transition, with Junior Mbangala

  with Junior Mbangala, researcher at Oxford and policy analyst at the WTOWhat if the energy transition was less about infrastructure—and more about invisible connections?In this episode, Junior Mbangala introduces a quietly radical idea: the rhizome. Borrowed from philosophy, this root-like, messy, decentralised structure becomes a powerful lens to rethink energy systems. Not as neat grids or market mechanisms—but as webs of trust, knowledge, and social ties.👣 From working-class neighbourhoods in Liège to sub-Saharan Africa, Junior uses social network analysis to map how energy communities actually function:Who participates?Who holds influence?And who gets left out, even when it all looks inclusive on paper?Forget the top-down diagrams. Junior invites us to see energy not as a service, but as a social system. One where:✨ Knowledge spreads like a rumour🔗 Participation relies on trust, not just access🌱 Change starts in the margins—and travels sideways💬 “Each one, teach one,” he says. “The rhizome helps us grow differently—but together.”🧠 What you’ll hear:How network thinking reveals invisible power structures in energy communitiesWhy the “community” in energy community needs to come firstWhat Deleuze and Guattari have to do with just transition policiesWhy hope—yes, hope—is a form of energy, too📍This episode isn’t about electrons. It’s about entanglements. And how, if we’re serious about justice, we need to start mapping the roots—not just building the tree.🎧 Listen now. And maybe never think about “inclusion” the same way again.Energ' Ethic goes out every other week.Keep up to date with new episodes straight from your inboxReach out to Marine Cornelis via BlueSky or LinkedInMusic: I Need You Here - KamariusEdition: Podcast Media Factory Support Energ'Ethic on Patreon© Next Energy Consumer, 2025Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

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