How to improve energy resilience in the Eurobodalla Shire

How to improve energy resilience in the Eurobodalla Shire

Following the devastating 2019/20 bushfires that ravaged Australia's southeast coast, communities and regional networks (e.g., NGOs, local councils) began to challenge the centralized and fully or partially privatized energy supply. Many communities were left for days or weeks with very limited access to energy, affecting their physical safety, mental health (including lack of access to telecommunication networks) and even their access to food and water. This was in addition to ongoing problems such as frequent power outages or poor access to the telecommunications network. 

Many questions raised by the 2019-20 bushfires regarding the vulnerability and unsustainability of the energy and telecommunications system remain unresolved. We analysed submissions to the 2020 Royal Commission on National Disaster Arrangements and conducted interviews with residents of the Eurobodalla Shire to understand thier views, experiences, frustrations, and aspirations regarding energy. We are also interested in understanding how people's social and environmental vulnerabilities are affected by climate change, increasing inequality and lack of democracy in energy and environmental policies.

Speaker Bio

Pierrick Chalaye is a research fellow in the School of Engineering, Australian National University. He has a PhD in comparative environmental politics/policy from the University of Canberra, Centre for Deliberative Democracy and Global Governance. His research interests are energy and environmental politics/policy, deliberative democratic theory and qualitative research methods.

This seminar is part of the