Modelling energy justice: Reconceptualizing the modelling process to include procedural and recognition justice

Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions, vol. 58, pp. 101070

Abstract

Interest in linking energy models with energy justice is growing, with a rising number of studies explicitly addressing the three tenets of justice-distributive, procedural, and recognition-and reviews mapping this field. Yet procedural and recognition justice have been treated in limited ways, leaving it unclear how models can meaningfully engage with them. This paper addresses this gap through a structured review of 63 peer-reviewed studies that develop or use models to support local and regional energy transition decisions while incorporating justice considerations. We find that procedural justice is often operationalized primarily through stakeholder participation, leaving out opportunities to address principles such as transparency, accountability, and due process more explicitly, and overlooking non-participatory ways of incorporating stakeholder input. Recognition justice is either omitted or conflated with procedural principles, whereas energy justice literature defines it in systemic terms that extend beyond the mere acknowledgement of stakeholder groups. We argue that early-stage decisions such as funding, research design, and stakeholder selection strongly influence whose values are represented in models, whose knowledge is excluded, and which outcomes are prioritized. These influences, despite their justice implications, are rarely acknowledged, with existing efforts biased toward operationalizations within model logic. We propose expanding the scope of modelling to include these early-stage influences and outline four recommendations: broaden justice conceptualizations beyond model logic; evaluate early-stage justice implications; adopt reflexive practices; and leverage diverse modelling approaches to capture the multidimensionality of energy justice.

Authors 4

1. Aarthi Sundaram corresponding

   Delft University of Technology

   Affiliation as printed

   Faculty of Technology, Policy and Management, Delft University of Technology, Delft, the Netherlands

2. Yilin Huang

   Delft University of Technology

   Affiliation as printed

   Faculty of Technology, Policy and Management, Delft University of Technology, Delft, the Netherlands

3. Igor Nikolić

   Delft University of Technology

   Affiliation as printed

   Faculty of Technology, Policy and Management, Delft University of Technology, Delft, the Netherlands

4. Eefje H.W.J. Cuppen Aachen Faculty of Governance and Global Affairs Institute of Public Administration

   Leiden University · Rathenau Instituut

   Affiliation as printed

   Faculty of Governance and Global Affairs, Institute of Public Administration, Leiden University, The Hague, the Netherlands

   Rathenau Instituut, The Hague, the Netherlands