Background — On December 14th, 2022, VU master’s students from the course Policy, Politics, and Participation (PPP) spoke with Amsterdam residents about how to achieve a “just energy transition.” The students conducted focus groups at four OBA locations in Amsterdam: Oost, Hallen, Javaplein, and Zuidoost.
Focus group results — Participants identified various challenges associated with achieving a just
energy transition, which mainly involved communication issues. Many people said they don’t have
enough information about the topic and don’t know where to find official government information.
For some, language and literacy barriers present an additional challenge. Participants also said that
there are differences between owning and renting a house, and that some people don’t know how to
make changes to their houses to make them more energy efficient. Cost is also a prohibitive factor.
Most people feel that the government should take responsibility for ensuring a just energy transition,
for example by improving the minimum energy standards of rental houses.
Recommendations for future research — Participants want communication about the energy
transition in Amsterdam to be clear and concise, and translated if necessary. Flyers in different
languages could help improve the quality and accessibility of information. They also want a clear
long-term perspective from the government, and long-term relationships between stakeholders.
Participant experiences — Feedback on the event was overwhelmingly positive. Almost all
participants found it interesting and many said it was also fun and/or informative. One participant
said that they “came for a friend but instead learned a lot.” In fact, most people wanted more time to
talk! The atmosphere was nice and well-organized, and participants said it was nice to hear
perspectives from other people. In future events, participants would like more background/context
on the topic to help get the conversation going faster. They also noticed that at some of the events,
almost no neighborhood residents were present and they think it’s very important to include
resident voices at these types of events.
WmdW 2022
