The Melbourne Doughnut
Explore how well Melbourne is tracking as a place that supports people and planet to thrive.
Energy
Energy is a public good that enables society to function. An effective energy system for Melbourne considers the social and ecological impacts of energy production and use so that all can flourish within our built and natural environments. We must design our energy supplies to support long-term ecological health and ensure that these supplies are distributed in a just and equitable way. Likewise, we must address inefficiencies in energy consumption that increase demand and place undue burden on the system.
Principles for Energy in a regenerative Melbourne
Our energy system in a regenerative Melbourne must be:
- Equitable and distributed to enable a just transition to sustainable technical solutions
- Resilient to current and future disruptions
- Holistically planned and delivered to draw on place-based strengths and positively contribute to communities and environmental ecosystems
What we want
Supply
Melbourne's energy system is nature-positive and contributes to climate justice
What we're measuring
No sufficiently relevant data identified yet
Demand
Everyone has reliable, affordable access to enough energy to meet their needs
What we're measuring
Proportion of residential electricity customers on tailored financial assistance
Placing Energy in the system
Local to global connections
Melbourne’s energy system is far from self-contained, and a representation of Energy as a dimension of the Melbourne Doughnut is incomplete without acknowledging how energy is sourced and distributed:
- Energy used in Greater Melbourne relies on regional, national and global resources, making local supplies dependent on conditions constraints and disruptions at these scales.
- Likewise, waste products from Melbourne’s energy systems and consumption (including pollution and physical waste from energy infrastructure) place pressure on ecological systems at regional, national and global levels.
- Melbourne’s strengths in sustainable energy solutions and knowledge demonstrate the potential for the city to contribute to growth of global renewable energy resources and systems.
Learn more
How was this dimension developed?
The Energy dimension of the Greater Melbourne City Portrait, including the conceptual framing and data selection, has been developed in collaboration with sector experts from academia, government and industry. A detailed description of the City Portrait methodology is outlined in the About section of the website.
Where can I access the data?
Data for Energy, along with the other Social Founation dimensions are available in the Social Foundations Dataset.
For Ecological Celing dimensions, see the Ecological Ceiling Dataset.
Where can I find more information on Energy in a regenerative Melbourne?
The City Portrait is informed by extensive research and resources on Doughnut Economics and related frameworks, as well as sector-specific research associated with each dimension. More detailed research that has informed the Energy dimension is available to explore via Altiorem's library.
How can I get involved?
To get involved with ongoing development of the City Portrait or learn more about Regen Melbourne, email alison@regen.melbourne