The Legitimacy and acceleration in green energy initiatives and transitions (LEGIT) project explores how democratic participation shapes the legitimacy of green energy projects in Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden. As the Nordic countries push for a faster green transition—through renewable energy developments, critical mineral extraction, and electricity grid upgrades—tensions have emerged. These include environmental impacts, unevenly shared costs and benefits, and challenges to local and minority rights.

Photo credit: Vitaliymateha.

Democratic engagement is seen as essential for legitimacy, yet the urgency and scale of the transition may limit meaningful involvement. LEGIT investigates the role that citizen participation can and does play in legitimising green initiatives, and how it compares to other forms of justification.

Using a comparative approach, the project analyses national policies and case studies of energy projects, drawing on interviews and document analysis. It employs qualitative comparative analysis to assess how various forms of democratic involvement influence public perceptions of legitimacy.

The project is a collaboration between Syke (Finland), the University of Copenhagen (Denmark), NIFU (Norway), and Linköping University (Sweden), bringing together leading experts on sustainability transitions.