Paper short abstract:

An energy-literate population has better energy practices, which are fundamental for balancing the Anthropocene. We propose a novel framework that defines energy literacy conceptual boundaries according to structural factors and helps better understand how to influence people’s energy behaviors.

Paper long abstract:

Adequate, sustainable, and uninterrupted energy practices are indispensable for balancing the Anthropocene. At current conditions, citizen participation is essential since only relying on technological progress and scientific development is not enough. Instead, the success of sustainable development lies in the citizen's ability to make appropriate energy decisions. Energy literacy is defined as the ability of individuals to understand energy functions and knowledge to ensure environmental sustainability. Thus, an informed and energy-literate population will be better prepared to make responsible energy decisions and actions and be able to change consumption habits. The energy realities of world citizens are diverse. Their differences rely on many aspects, such as development status, education, socioeconomic conditions, infrastructure, etc. However, the conventional narrative of energy literacy is embedded within a traditional, broad, and general conceptual framework, which is generally applied to every situation without differentiation. To close this gap, we propose a sustainable energy literacy framework that defines conceptual boundaries and levels of energy literacy according to the development status of the population, causal processes, and other structural factors. To do so, we start from the work of DeWaters and Powers (2011), who established three interconnected energy literacy dimensions: 1) cognitive, 2) affective, and 3) behavioral. This framework is then tested through personal interviews with urban citizens in Mexico City. The results show how context is fundamental to defining, analyzing, and evaluating energy literacy. The proposed framework provides guidelines to understand better how to influence people’s energy behaviors and individual decision-making and advance toward sustainable development.