There is a growing paradox at the heart of Britain’s energy transition.

At the very moment in which we are asked to trust political leaders, regulators and developers to reshape our landscapes in pursuit of net-zero ambitions, many local communities feel ignored.

The debates surrounding proposed large-scale wind farm or solar developments are often portrayed as a simplistic contests between progress and obstruction, between national environmental responsibility and local self-interest aka NIMBY-ism. Such framing may be politically convenient, but it is intellectually lazy and democratically dangerous.

The real issue is not whether renewable energy is necessary. It is. The real issue is whether communities should be expected to accept profound changes to their environment and quality of life without meaningful participation in the decisions that affect them.