How can we accelerate the energy transition and how can regulation and governance promote a fair transition?
Sanne Akerboom is assistant professor of Regulation and Governance of the Energy Transition at the Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development (faculty of geosciences). She studied law (LL.m) and political science (MSc) at the University of Amsterdam, where she also defended her PhD titled Between public participation and energy transition: the case of wind farms. She studies the energy transition from a legal and social sciences perspective. She publishes in legal, governance and energy and climate journals, both in English and Dutch.
Today she works on transformative law for sustainability and energy transitions and deals with regulatory and governance structures for renewable electricity production, the built environment and the energy-intensive industry. Her work focuses on the role of law and the role of governments in the energy transition and its relation to society, including the concept of the “fair energy transition”.
Since 2022 Sanne is a member of the Utrecht Young Academy, a bridge between young and talented researchers.
Since January 2021 Sanne is the director of the Sustainable Industry Lab, a collaboration between academia, governments, industries, societal and environmental organizations. Together they bring together knowledge about the sustainable industrial transformation and works towards visualizations of the possible scenarios in 2050.
Sanne works, in collaboration with colleagues, on several research projects. In ZEEKRAAL, financed by NWO and the province of Zeeland, the role of municipalities and provinces, as well as farmers and energy consumers is investigated, also relating to which values play a role in decision-making and participation in renewable energy projects. The Fair Energy Transition Center concerns a collaboration between Technical University Eindhoven and Utrecht University. The Center aims at a comprehensive understanding of what a just and inclusive energy transition amounts to in an international context, turning climate and environmental challenges into opportunities.
Sanne is active in the strategic themes Institutions for Open Societies and Pathways to Sustainability of Utrecht University. She co-leads the IOS hub Future of Citizen-based Initiatives and the PtS hub Energy in Transition. The research and activities that take place within the framework of the IoS hub Future of Citizen-based Initiatives are illustrated in this short clip.