March 1997: a framework for 200 Local Energy Information Offices created

Date interview: July 1 2016
Name interviewer: Morten Elle, Center for Design, Innovation and Sustainable Transition, Department of Development and Planning, Aalborg University, Copenhagen
Name interviewee: Raphaël Claustre (RC)
Position interviewee: Director of CLER

Social-technical relations Regional organizations Re-invigoration NGOs New Organizing Networking Local/regional government Finance Experimenting Competence development

This is a CTP of initiative: INFORSE ‐ CLER (France)

March 1997: a framework for 200 Local Energy Information Offices created   CLER is part of establishing a framework for 200 local energy information offices – Points Info Energie (PIE). These PIEs are to carry out local public enlightenment processes, communicating with citizens about the possibilities of renewable energy and energy savings. The PIEs are established in collaboration with regional and local authorities. CLER has a role in the national coordination. The task of creating the PIEs continued to 1999, and meant an increased professionalization of CLER, and a lot of work in CLER related to the PIEs in that period.

Co-production

This is carried out in close cooperation with ADEME, a public agency with a broad sustainability perspective. The agency is related to the Ministry of Environment. ADEME provides expertise and advisory services to businesses, local authorities and communities, government bodies and the public at large, to enable them to establish and consolidate their environmental action. As part of this work, the agency helps finance projects, from research to implementation, in its areas of action.  

Related events

Some local energy information offices existed before 1997, based basically on voluntary work and at rare occasions subsidised by regional authorities.

Contestation

The national government had blocked for attempts to create more debate concerning renewable energy, but this was changed, opening up for establishing the local energy information offices all over France.

Anticipation

The change towards more national political support for renewable energy had been recognized by the organization; hence the change was not totally unexpected.

Learning

The professional work with information about renewable energy made it possible for CLER to lead the European project PREDAC (which is described in itself as a critical turning point)   The close collaboration with regional and local authorities was crucial for the future local work and was part of enlarging CLER as a network nesting a large number of local actors.