Epistemic justice impossible? Expert perceptions of the participatory monitoring of geo-energy projects in Poland

Abstract

Achieving energy democracy requires public engagement and social inclusion in decision-making, but meaningful conversations between different groups are essential. In this study, we explore the possibility for such conversations through participatory monitoring practices around energy technology, using geoengineering projects as an example. Despite being central to the attention of local communities, these projects can be conceptually distant and inaccessible because of their subsurface location. This presents a challenge for engaging experts with non-experts. We elaborate the emerging concept of epistemic justice (defined as fair treatment and equal access to knowledge for all stakeholders) and especially one of its dimensions: hermeneutical justice (that emphasizes the need for institutions to respond to the voices of all stakeholders without any prejudices), as preconditions for democratizing energy production. By applying Q-methodology we analyze the attitudes of 22 experts from Poland toward non-experts' participation in common monitoring activities around geo-engineering projects. We identify three types of narratives: “pro-expert”, “pro-partnership”, and “pro-informative” and argue that experts may be uncertain about their responsibility to engage non-experts in energy projects. Through this study, we encourage experts and knowledge producers to reflect critically on their responsibility to engage non-experts in energy projects and implement democratic procedures more efficiently, including future participatory procedures, thus paving the way for energy democracy to thrive.