ENERGY DEMOCRACY, HUMAN RIGHTS, AND NATIONAL SECURITY: THE ROLE OF ENERGY COMMUNITIES IN UKRAINE’S DECENTRALISED ENERGY TRANSITION

Abstract

This article examines the concept of energy democracy through several interrelated analytical perspectives, including its relationship to human rights, national security, and energy communities. It draws on the work of Ukrainian and international scholars and pays particular attention to the role of energy communities based on an analysis of the relevant academic literature and the legal frameworks of Ukraine and the European Union. The study demonstrates the lack of a unified terminological and legal approach to energy democracy and related concepts. Based on this analysis, this article claims that the transition from a centralized to a decentralized energy system is timely and necessary. Decentralization democratizes energy by increasing competition and consumer participation. Energy communities allow local communities to become active participants in the energy market and protect a wide range of rights, including the right to access energy, the right to an adequate standard of living, and ultimately the right to life. In Ukraine, in times of crisis, the energy supply has become a fundamental component of national security. According to Ukraine's policy vector, in the current context, ensuring a secure and sustainable energy system is essential to strengthening the country’s strategic resilience. Because of the fundamental role of energy in our economy, energy democracy is closely linked to the struggle for social, racial, and economic justice. The practical realization of these justice demands therefore depends on empowering citizens to produce energy, influence decision-making, and access appropriate financial support. Energy communities should therefore be understood not merely as instruments of renewable-energy production, but as potential institutions of democratic governance and human-rights protection. Therefore, energy communities should be understood as renewable energy production entities and as potential elements of a system of democratic governance and human rights protection. Their broader significance lies in their ability to combine autonomy and local interests with collective responsibility and to involve citizens in active participation in the process of making some desitions that directly affects the living conditions of a given community.In the current realities of using attacks on energy as a means of pressure, as is happening in Ukraine, energy communities can contribute to creating a more sustainable, decentralized, and socially just energy system, in which the energy transition serves both environmental goals and the effective realization of human rights.