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Choosing your energy sources, choosing your future

Jürgen Maier
NGO F.U.E.

Cédric Philibert
IEA

What role should private citizens play in energy choices?

Private citizens can decide which energy source to support through their choice of an electric power distributor.
Green electricity is already an option in many places with free energy markets, and will be available everywhere once the liberalization of the energy market is complete.
Private citizens can invest in renewable energies; for example, in wind power.
And of course, private citizens can make their own energy use more efficient by saving energy wherever possible, buying energy-efficient electrical appliances, heat insulating their dwellings, etc.

Private citizens are both consumers and voters. Some are also energy producers, workers, elected officials and association members. It is important to stress the role of consumers: wasting energy or using it efficiently are choices we make every day. Should I take the car or use public transport? Replace the light bulb with an identical one or put in an energy-efficient bulb? Switch the television to standby mode or turn it off? Crank up the heat or insulate the roof? These choices are individual, but they are influenced by collective decisions, in companies and local communities. Special lanes improve buses frequency and speed—and people leave the car in the garage. This is the role of elected officials—and by extension, of associations and voters.