Governance and political consumerism in Finnish energy policy-making

ARTICLE IN PRESS Energy Policy 37 (2009) 102–110

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Governance and political consumerism in Finnish energy policy-making Ilkka Ruostetsaari University of Turku, Turku, Finland

a r t i c l e in f o

a b s t r a c t

Article history: Received 18 May 2008 Accepted 1 August 2008 Available online 20 September 2008

The research task in the study was, firstly, to analyse citizens’ perceptions of the power structure underlying Finnish energy policy-making. Secondly, we analysed the role of civil society in the energy sector, addressing the question whether Finns feel that they can influence energy policy-making as citizens through general elections (civic participation) or as consumers via their own consumption choices (political consumerism). Methodologically, the study was based on postal survey conducted in 2007 among a random sample representing 18–75-year-old Finns (N ¼ 4000). According to the views expressed, the innermost core of the influence structure of Finland’s energy policy-making today comprises only the Cabinet and Parliament, while the second circle is composed of energy-producer firms and big firms. The European Union, the Ministry of the Environment and the Ministry of Trade and Industry belong to the third circle of influence. The power relations in Finland’s energy sector have continued particularly stable since the late 1980s despite the liberalization and globalization of the energy markets. In order to influence energy policy-making, citizens consider their own consumption choices more useful than voting in elections or contacts with MPs, authorities and energy-producing companies. The least useful devices are radical environmental activism and participation in mass demonstrations. & 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Influence Political consumerism Energy policy

1. Introduction Traditionally, the Finnish energy system has been based on firm governmental control and regulation. The state-owned companies held a monopoly or oligopoly position in the production of electricity and peat, oil refining and import of natural gas. It was characterized by corporatist intermediation, and beyond the authorities a few energy producers, distributors and large buyers played the key roles. By contrast, civil society remained weak: consumer movements or organizations supervising the interests of households and private consumers were not materialized. Due to the dominating role of the authorities and the negligible interest among citizens in participation, the role of this mode of intervention remained somewhat ineffective (Ruostetsaari, 1989). The Electricity Market Act passed in 1995 to a significant extent dismantled governmental regulation and control by introducing market-based steering patterns. The electricity markets were opened to competition and the state-owned companies lost most of their monopolistic positions (Ruostetsaari, 1998). Changes pertaining to the Electricity Act and the Natural Gas Act came into force in 2005 in order to implement new EU directives regulating the internal marketing of electricity and natural gas.

E-mail address: ilkka.ruostetsaari@uta.fi 0301-4215/$ - see front matter & 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.enpol.2008.08.001

Today Finnish energy policy is characterized by several features exceptional in the light of an international comparison. The primary fuel supply is diverse,1 the country is highly-energy intensive,2 and despite the mixture of its energy sources, the country is relatively dependent3 on foreign energy supplies. International interest in Finnish energy policy has been very high for a number of reasons. Firstly, the electricity markets were liberalized very rapidly, among the first countries to do so, even before the EU directive came into force. Secondly, even though the establishment of nuclear power plants had almost ceased abroad, here the construction of a new plant was licensed by Parliament in 2002 after an intensive debate lasting almost two decades. Thirdly, Finland is the sole country in the world where the final placement of spent nuclear fuel in the bedrock has been authorized both on a national (Parliament in 2001) and a local (municipal council in 2000) level. Fourthly, utilization of renewable

1 The IEA (2004) report states that Finland’s primary fuel supply is a mixture of different energy sources: in 2001 oil (28%), biomass (20%), nuclear power (18%), coal (12%) and natural gas (11%). 2 The total primary energy consumption per capita was about 65% higher than the European Union average (according to 2001 statistics) and about 39% higher than the OECD average (IAEA, 2003, p. 277). 3 Crude oil and oil products constitute a major part of imported energy. Other main fuels imported to Finland are coal and natural gas. Indigenous fuels and hydropower cover about 30% of the energy demand. The share of net electricity imports in primary energy sources in 2002 was 3% (IAEA, 2003, p. 278).

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energy is twofold, production of wind power has remained insignificant by international comparison (.2% of total electricity production), but the total share of renewable energy is among the highest in the EU (28.5%), as the forest industry produces most of its energy as a by-product of pulp production (e.g. OECD, 2002; Pineau et al., 2004; Litmanen et al., 1999; Kojo, 2004; Litmanen, 2004; Varho, 2007). Globalization has significantly affected the Finnish energy sector since the early 1990s, reducing the autonomy of domestic actors. Foreign electricity companies have been established in Finland and vice versa. The production and distribution of electricity has been characterized by centralization as well as increased cooperation and concatenation between actors. On the other hand, despite liberalization of the markets, several structures (e.g. monopoly of electricity transfer, functioning of electricity exchange) still debilitate competition (e.g. Purasjoki, 2006). This study forms part of a research project funded by the Academy of Finland research program ‘‘Power and Society in Finland’’. The overall purpose is to analyse changes in the power structure and the role of different actors in various phases of decision-making processes in Finnish energy policy since the late 1980s. The research task of this present study was, however, narrower, namely to analyse citizens’ views of the power structure of Finnish energy policy-making. Next, we analysed the role of civil society in the energy sector; that is, whether Finns feel that they can influence energy policy as citizens through general elections (civic participation) or as consumers via their own consumption choices (political consumerism).

2. Concepts of energy policy and influence Analysis of energy policy has to deal with two kinds of conceptual–methodological challenges: how to define both energy policy and power or influence. Traditionally the concept of energy policy has not been explicitly defined in Finnish governmental energy policy documents (Ruostetsaari, 1986). However, in the research literature energy policy was defined in the late 1980s as political steering conducted by political decision-makers and public authorities focusing on energy management. In other words, energy policy covers research, planning, decision-making, implementation and evaluation pertaining to the goals and measures of political decision-makers and public authorities focusing on the production, purchase, storage, transfer, delivery and consumption of energy (Ruostetsaari, 1989, pp. 22–23).4 Power is one of the most controversial concepts in the social sciences (e.g. Lukes, 1992). Theory has shifted towards an ever more comprehensive conceptualization of power, including new aspects of power in analysis (see e.g. Sayer, 2004; Arts and Van Tatenhove, 2004; Togeby et al., 2003; Foucault, 2000). Power can be seen as possession or resources, as a relationship between actors or as a structural phenomenon. Conceptualizations of structural power appear in a number of versions in power research. Even though power is in a sense immanent in all social arrangements, there is no necessity to reject the concept of power as capacity (Sayer, 2004). Thus, power (as capacity) can be based 4 This is not to say that energy policy is determined exclusively by decisions and measures made by politicians and civil servants. On the contrary, implementation of energy policy depends heavily on the business sector. For instance, firms as well as civic associations seek to influence energy policy in order to promote their own interests and shape de facto its content (on the formation of the concept in Finland, see Ruostetsaari, 1989, pp. 15–24; Paldanius and Sairinen, 1989).

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not only on position and authority vested in formal hierarchies, but also on informal factors such as individual abilities, capabilities and charisma, which are not linked to formal positions (Ruostetsaari, 1992, p. 37). With this in mind we preferred in this study the notion of influence which is the most comprehensible concept (e.g. Wrong, 1980, p. 24), covering not only formal authority structures but also informal aspects such as charisma. An actor (person, organization or institution) has influence if it can purposively affect the behaviour or attitudes of another actor irrespective of whether that other actor is aware of being the object of influence, or of what kind of means or measures this ability rests on (see Ruostetsaari, 2003, pp. 49–50). Influence is not only anchored in governmental institutions but may be seen from the perspectives of governance and policy networks. Governance is a theoretical perspective which recognizes a new understanding of politics and the role of the political system in politics. A simple definition is the need for cooperation between the state, quasi-state, non-state (non-governmental) and private institutions such as corporations to solve collective action problems and to take responsibility for well-being. This means that the components in the political system and its environment are not only intertwined but also highly dependent upon each other. The governance perspective of politics acknowledges that the political landscape has changed significantly. It is no longer the state which is necessarily the primary and dominant actor in politics. Rather, these tasks and responsibilities are often shared and coordinated in less conventional ways and through multilayered networks (Micheletti, 2003, pp. 5–7; Tiihonen, 2004). For instance, the Finnish government cannot enforce its policies regarding energy and environmental protection through its own institutions even if state-owned energy companies play an important role in the energy sector due to the fact that they also function in market competition. These challenges represent new kinds of governability problems. Solutions to these global problems require the cooperation of several states and new modes of politics which involve actors and institutions outside the political system. For political scientists the phenomenon of political consumerism, that is, the politics of consumption, is an example of governance or new steering alternatives and regulatory tools which are developing consequence of different problems experienced by the political system (Micheletti, 2003, p. 5,10). The concept of a policy network refers to a variety of structures of interaction and influence between governmental (politicians, authorities), collective (interest groups) and marketbased (firms) actors ranging from exclusive iron triangles to open issue networks (Van Waarden, 1992; Schneider, 1992).

3. Political consumerism in the context of political participation In many Western democracies ‘‘new politics’’ has mounted a major challenge to the ‘‘official’’ system and structures of ‘‘old politics’’ such as political parties. The focus of people’s attention to politics has moved to a large extent from mass meetings to private homes and from collective activity to individual attachment, as well as from ideologies to personalities. ‘‘New politics’’ is a style of participation which deliberately seeks to distance itself from established channels, thereby questioning the legitimacy as well as the decisions of the government (Hague and Harrop, 2001, p. 113; Pesonen and Riihinen, 2001, p. 125). Modes of political participation can be classified with many ways into different categories. We may, for instance, group them into traditional modes of civic participation (e.g. voting and campaigning in elections or referendums, acting in civic associations or political parties, discussing of politics with other people), peaceful, non-traditional modes (e.g. writing letters to the editors

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of newspapers, contacts with politicians, participation in demonstrations, boycotts and Internet discussions) and illegal or violent forms (e.g. civil disobedience against law, radical activism and political violence) (see Bengtsson and Gro¨nlund, 2005, p. 159).5 Our aim in this study is not to analyse the whole wide spectrum of political participation but to concentrate on the electoral channel and political consumerism which represent both traditional and new modes of political participation. Citizens in the Western world are moving away from many traditional forms of political participation focusing on the political system per se. People are now increasingly attracted to less bureaucratic, hierarchical modes of involvement characterized by looser egalitarian, and informal structures which allow them to express themselves more individually and experience the thrills of participation. They now seek issues and arenas for involvement which are more flexible, network-oriented, hands-on and allow them to combine their daily living with political causes (Micheletti, 2003, pp. 24–25, x). Political consumerism concerns the politics of products, which in a nutshell can be defined as power relations among people and choices as to how resources should be used and allocated globally. Political consumers choose products, producers and services more on the basis of the politics of the product than the product as a material object per se. Their choices are informed by political values, virtues and ethics. They differ from economic consumers, who are simply looking for a good buy, that is, a satisfactory relationship between material quality and economic costs. Political consumers also tend to differ from life-style consumers who shop for products with the sole aim of helping to define and enhance their self-identity (Micheletti, 2003, x). There is a politics of consumer products, which for growing numbers of people implies the need to think politically privately. This politicizes what we have traditionally conceived as private consumer choice and erases the division between political spheres. Political consumerism challenges our traditional thinking about politics as centered in the political system of the nationstate and what we mean by political participation (Micheletti, 2003, pp. 2–3). According to Micheletti, there are five basic reasons which theoretically justify conceiving of consumption as politics. Firstly, consumption is at times an access point or venue for people to express themselves politically. It may be that they have tried unsuccessfully to enter more traditionally political arenas, or that they have been excluded from these arenas from the start. Consumption offers these people an arena to work on their political issues and helps them exercise influence to solve their problems. Secondly, people can use consumption to set the political agenda of other actors and institutions and to pressure them to the negotiating table. When they shop smartly they combine their role as consumers and citizens and have the potential to act as citizen-consumers with the power of agents to develop new content, forms and coalitions to solve problems of risk society and global injustices. Their actions, which combine the public role of citizens with the private role of consumers, can be seen as having agency in that they can help unfold new structures of operation and build new institutions to tackle global problems. Thirdly, consumption is politics in that there is a politics of products which involves classical political issues regarding power relations and the allocation of values in society which are to large degree decided by private corporations. Private corporations are thus vested with political power and can be considered private governments. This means that it is justifiable for 5 The two last mentioned modes may be also called unconventional because their purpose is to influence political decisions directly rather than through the conventional route of elections and political parties (Pesonen and Riihinen, 2001, p. 126).

citizens to be concerned about corporate policy and practices and to seek to influence them politically. Fourthly, consumption offers people market-based political tools like boycotts and buycotts which can be used to engage in political issues and struggles. They may use these means to influence a variety of actors and institutions, including private corporations, governments and civil society. Fifthly, consumption is becoming more political in consequence of political landscape changes and the increasing global presence of transnational enterprises (Micheletti, 2003, pp. 15–16). Political consumerism has been shown to be connected to the citizen agency of young people and of women. The attractiveness of political consumerism for young people is not well researched, but it would appear that an important explanation is the appeal of life-style politics among the young, trends towards individualization and their tendency to find the formal political sphere alienating. Three factors explain the role of women in political consumerism. Firstly, women are assumed to have responsibility for shopping for the family on a daily basis. They are thus more involved with consumer issues than men or children.6 Secondly, studies show that women have a lower risk perception threshold than men. Thirdly, because women have historically been excluded from institutions in the public sphere and their issues have been seen as non-political, they have been forced to create other sites to express their political concerns and work for their political interests (Micheletti, 2003, pp. 17–18). These hypotheses are here tested on the basis of the Finnish data.

4. Method and data Methodologically, this study was based on a postal survey conducted among a random sample representing 18–75-year-old Finns. The field work, covering one reminder round, was carried out in May–October 2007. Even if the rate of response was rather low, 30.0, the large size of the sample (N ¼ 4000) ensures that the data represent well enough the Finnish population at large. Nonetheless, the data deviate in minor respects from the whole population. Older people are somewhat overrepresented. People living in small municipalities (4000–8000 inhabitants) are also slightly overrepresented, while those living in large municipalities (more than 80,000 inhabitants) are underrepresented. The highly educated are somewhat overrepresented; those who had taken their education in the technical sciences are clearly underrepresented but those educated in agriculture and forestry, again are overrepresented in the data compared to the population at large. As far as social stratification is concerned, lower functionaries are underrepresented. People living in their own flats are clearly overrepresented, while individuals living in rented flats or apartment houses are clearly underrepresented. Furthermore, it seems evident that the respondents were somewhat more interested in energy issues that the Finns at large. As many as 44% replied that they were well acquainted with energy issues. As many as 39% reported that they had asked for prize offers from different electricity suppliers and 26% had even changed their electricity supplier. These proportions are somewhat higher in the data compared to the whole population.

5. Changes in the power structure of Finnish energy policy According a study based on expert interviews (politicians, civil servants, energy-production firms, associations of energy production, employers and civil society), the most influential group of 6 However, according to our Finnish data 61% of men and only 28% of women reported that they are well informed on energy issues.

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actors in the field of Finnish energy policy, that is the energy elite in 1987–1988 comprised two political parties (the leading Cabinet parties; the Social Democrats and the Centre Party), three public authorities (the ministries of Trade and Industry, Finance and the Environment), two state-owned energy producers (electricity: Imatran Voima Ltd., oil and natural gas: Neste Ltd.) and one privately owned electricity producer (Pohjolan Voima Ltd.). Private industry was represented among this energy elite by Nokia Ltd. Of associations were included the Co-operation Delegation of Electricity Producers (STYV), the Central Association of Finnish Industry (TKL) and the Central Association of Finnish Forest Industry (SMKL). The research institutions were represented by the state-owned Research Centre of Finland (VTT) and privately owned Ekono Ltd. which was employed regularly by the industry (Ruostetsaari, 1989, pp. 279–296). Despite deregulation and liberalization of the electricity markets in the mid-1990s, the composition of the Finnish energy elite changed only marginally in a decade. According to expert interviews, the number of actors included in the most influential group even decreased 1987–1997. As a result of Finnish policymaking being led firmly by the Cabinet, the Centre Party was replaced by the Conservatives in the energy elite, as was also the case in the Cabinet coalition. TKL and the Central Association of Employers were merged as The Central Association of Finnish Industry and Employers (TT). As the lobbying of the whole industrial sector in the field of energy policy was concentrated in TT, its influence increased compared to its predecessors. In consequence of this merging and the fact that the role of Pohjolan Voima Ltd. as an energy lobby for the forest industry also increased, the role of SMKL decreased. STYV representing Imatran Voima Ltd., industrial electricity producers and municipal electricity works, was discontinued as a result of the abolition of governmental planning and regulation system. Nokia’s position, nowadays Finland’s biggest company, rested in the energy elite in the late 1980s on the fact that it was engaged in the paper industry and owned shares in energy-producing companies. By the late 1990s, Nokia had backed out of these energy-intensive industries and invested strongly in electronics, which is a much less energy-intensive sector. Thus, it could no longer be included in the energy elite but, due to its very important role in Finnish export and the national economy, in the elite of industrial policy. Two state-owned energy companies, Imatran Voima Ltd. and Neste Ltd., were merged as Fortum Ltd. (Ruostetsaari, 1998, pp. 223–224). In what direction has the power structure of Finnish energy policy-making changed since the late 1990s? Unfortunately we do not so far have at our disposal identical expert data compared to previous studies; we had to utilize a postal survey conducted among the population. The respondents were asked in a structured questionnaire to evaluate ‘‘to what degree do the following actors influence decision-making on Finnish energy policy’’.7 Of 31 listed institutions 16 formed the energy elite, the influential group of actors; that is, the respondents ranked them as influential rather than un-influential. This influential group in Finnish energy policy-making is composed of five circles (Table 1). The innermost core of the elite comprises only the Cabinet and Parliament, while the second circle is composed of energyproducer firms and big firms. The European Union, the Ministry of the Environment and the Ministry of Trade and Industry belong to the third circle of influence. It is important to note that the ministry in charge of environmental protection was rated as being more influential than the ministry responsible for the preparation

7 Response alternatives were ‘‘very much, fairly much, fairly little, very little, and can’t say’’ which are combined into three alternatives in Table 1.

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Table 1 The influence of institutions on Finnish energy policy-making (%)

Cabinet Parliament Energy producer firms Big firms European Union Ministry of the Environment Ministry of Trade and Industry Forest industry firms International Energy Agency (IEA) Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry Governmental research institutes Ministry of Finance International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Metal industry firms Mass media Ministry of Transport and Communications Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Private research institutes Ministry of the Interior Electronics industry firms Employer organizations Universities and polytechnics Consumers/citizens Ministry for Foreign Affairs Municipal administration Ministry of Labour Regional councils Ministry of Social Affairs and Health Ministry of Defense Employee organizations Civic associations

A great deal

Little

Can’t say

86 82 78 74 69 68 63 56 54 51 50 49 48 45 44 41 39

7 12 13 17 20 22 22 28 26 32 38 30 29 35 45 39 35

7 6 10 10 11 11 15 16 19 17 13 21 23 19 12 20 26

32 29 27 26 25 24 24 20 20 17 17 14 13 12

52 46 53 52 60 68 53 58 59 55 62 60 63 68

16 25 20 23 15 9 24 23 22 28 21 26 24 20

N ¼ 1158.

of energy policy. According to expert evaluations, the order of these authorities was the reverse in the 1980s and 1990s. The fourth influential circle is composed of forest industry firms, the International Energy Agency (IEA), the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and governmental research institutions. The forest industry is decidedly the most energy-intensive sector among the Finnish industries. The increased role of the ministry since the 1980s and 1990s is based on its role as a promoter of production of bio-energy and renewable energy. The fifth circle in the power structure covers the Ministry of Finance (e.g. taxation of energy, subsidies for energy production), the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), metal industry firms, the mass media, the Ministry of Transport and Communications and Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). There are some differences between men’s and women’s views on the influence of institutions. Men experience the influence of actors perceivable in publicity more influential than women, that is the Cabinet, Parliament, big firms, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Trade and Industry, forest industry firms, energy producers and governmental research institutions. Women more than men underline the influence of international organizations (OECD, IEA), electronics industry firms and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. Both sexes experience the power of the consumer identically, even if women see the role of civic associations as slightly more important. Vocational education and occupation have generally been seen to affect societal attitudes linearly (e.g. Paloheimo, 2005). Education also has an effect on power conceptions in the case of energy policy. The highly educated (degree in polytechnics or university) emphasize the influence of institutions which have a

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formal position in energy policy planning or decision-making, for example the Cabinet, Parliament, European Union, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Trade and Industry and the Ministry of the Environment, as well as energy-intensive business (firms representing forest industry, metal industry and energy production) more than the less educated. Quite to the contrary, the less educated stress more the influence of customers/citizens and civic associations than the highly educated. In fact, there is a statistically very significant connection (.000) between the perceived influence of these institutions and vocational education: the higher the level of education, the lesser the influence of customers/citizens and civic associations is seen to be. While 28% of Finns who have no vocational education feel that consumers/ citizens have a great deal of influence, only 16% of those who have taken a university or polytechnics degree are of the same opinion. In the case of civic associations the proportions are 16% and 8%. Occupational position as a background variable produced differences in influence conceptions very similar to those brought out in education, this being a result of the fact that high education is generally connected with high social position. People in leading positions as employees stress more than most other vocational groups the influence of political institutions (Cabinet, Parliament, EU), competent authorities in energy policy-making (Ministries of Finance, Agriculture and Forestry, Trade and Industry, the Environment) and energy-intensive industries (big firms, forest industry, metal industry, energy production). However, the influence of consumers/citizens is stressed most (39%) by the unwaged even if they stress the influence of most institutions more than other occupational groups. The influence of civic associations is stressed most by the unwaged (21%), pensioners (16%) and students (15%) and least by upper functionaries and those not engaged in working life. Citizens’ power conceptions indicate many elements which differ from those brought out in previous studies dealing the power structures of energy policy and more generally the Finnish society at large. Firstly, respondents emphasized the power of political decision-makers, that is the Cabinet and Parliament. As the Finnish population were asked to evaluate the social influence of different institutions, the order was in 1991 the banks, big firms, TV and radio, press, employers’ organizations and cabinet (Parliament was 13th). In 2001, the order was the Cabinet, European Union, big firms, TV and radio, press and Parliament (Ruostetsaari, 2006, p. 36). Secondly, even if Finnish energy policy-making has previously been seen as technocratic (e.g. Ruostetsaari, 1989), citizens evaluate the research institutions as rather weak actors. Only governmental research institutions were ranked in the influential group. The minor influence of the research institutions, which are independent of energy production, may accentuate the power of energy producers, big firms, ministries and also political decision-makers. This interpretation is supported by the fact that the mass media are seen as a particularly weak actor: they do not create an agenda of public energy policy discussion. In other words, the mass media are seen more or less dependent on experts working in politics, the administration and business, especially energy producers. Thirdly, international organizations are seen as strikingly important actors: all of those listed in the structured question (EU, IEA, IAEA, OECD) were ranked in the influential group. Even if many respondents found evaluation of these institutions difficult (large proportion of ‘‘can’t say’’) this indicates that Finns experience the effects of globalization as very important for Finnish society. Fourthly, the most interesting finding in the study concerned the citizen’s role in energy policy. Even if 68% replied that ‘‘consumers/citizens’’ have little influence and only 24% conceived them as influential, the position of this institution on the list of

influential actors is surprisingly high. Traditionally citizens have ranked themselves as the least influential institution in previous general Finnish power studies (e.g. Ruostetsaari, 1993, 2006). Now the civic associations were ranked as the least influential institution in energy-policy-making, while in previous Finnish power studies they were ranked as more powerful than ‘‘citizens’’. How we can explain this surprising finding? The minor influence attributed to the civic associations may reflect low political efficacy; that is, distrust in one’s own chances to influence through political participation, which have been seen as weaker in Finnish civil society compared to many other countries (e.g. Paloheimo, 2005). However, another explanation may concern the formulation of the response alternative, ‘‘consumers/citizens’’, which links the role of consumer with that of citizen. Are consumers more influential than citizens in the Finnish energy policy-making or vice versa? In other words, can people influence energy policy more through elections as citizens than through their individual consumption choices? This we will analyse in the following sections.

6. Can citizens influence energy policy-making through elections? The mechanism of citizens’ influence through the general elections base on that the Finnish Parliament has in principle an important role in energy policy-making. For instance, the amount of energy investment subsidies and the level of energy taxes will be decided by the Parliament in the context of annual budget proceedings. Parliament has also discussed about strategic goals of the energy policy based on the accounts and strategy reports presented by the Government. Especially in the case of nuclear power the role of Parliament is pronounced: Construction of every single nuclear power plant have to be ratified by Parliament. Energy policy has, however, never dominated Finnish electoral campaigns even if the construction of the 5th nuclear power was debated heatedly in the 1980s and 1990s. This is a result of that even if the Greens is an anti-nuclear power party the Finnish major political parties (excluding the Conservatives) are more or less internally split as far as construction of new nuclear power plants are concerned. According to a survey study, only 15–23% of respondents reported that ‘‘energy/nuclear power’’ was an important issue affecting their electoral choices in 1991–2003 (Borg and Moring, 2005, p. 54). Furthermore, even if the Parliament discussed heatedly on construction of the 5th nuclear power plant, the interest of most MPs has been minor in many strategically important energy issues. This was seen, for instance, in parliamentary debates in the 1990s dealing with the Governmental bills for Electricity Market Act which liberalized the electricity markets and merging two state-owned power companies (Neste, Imatran Voima) (Ruostetsaari, 1998, p. 200). Respondents in the present study were presented the statement that ‘‘energy issues affected my electoral choice in the general elections of 2007’’; 24.5% agreed (totally or partly) with the statement while 61.4% disagreed (totally or partly). Compared to previous studies the proportion is fairly high, which may be explained in that our questionnaire focused exclusively on energy policy and the respondents were somewhat more interested in energy issues than Finns on average. With respect to sex, 28% of women but 22% of men reported that energy issues had an effect on their electoral choice. Vocational education played a minor role. However, 42% of those who had taken the highest level (university or polytechnics) education admitted the effect, while in other educational groups the shares were about 20%. With respect to occupation, the effect of energy issues on electoral choices was highest among students

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Do citizens’ attitudes towards energy policy reflect political consumerism? The respondents in this survey were presented the statement ‘‘I can influence Finland’s energy policy by my own action’’. A quarter of respondents agreed and half disagreed.8 The hypothesis presented by political consumerism that female sex and young age increase civic efficacy was verified; 28% of women but only 22% of men feel that they could influence energy policy by their own action. There is a statistically very significant (.001) dependence between age and civic efficacy: younger people were more confident than older people of their chances to influence energy policy by their own action. However, the dependence was not linear: confidence in one’s own influence was highest among the age group 32–26 years (30%) and lowest among those 21 years old or younger (13%) and those 72 years old or older (14%). The low share among the youngest age group of 21 years old or younger can be explained partly by uncertainty concerning chances to influence, as 47% of respondents replied with ‘‘can’t say’’. Education is generally seen to enhance civic participation by developing skills which are relevant to politics (e.g. analytical and rhetorical skills) (Verba et al., 1995). In the Finnish case education increased civic efficacy, but not straightforwardly. The proportion of those who feel that they could influence energy policy was clearly highest among those with a university degree (32%) but not lowest among people who had no vocational education at all but among those who had taken a vocational course (22%). High professional position in working life, however, did not increase confidence in civic efficacy: the share of people who felt that they could influence energy policy was lowest among leaders (20%) and blue-collar workers (20%) but highest among lower functionaries (31%), upper functionaries, (29%) and students (28%). Citizens’ views on the usefulness of concrete modes of influencing, however, change the picture of political consumerism in the field of energy policy. The respondents were presented a structured question ‘‘Every citizen/consumer can in principle on his/her account influence energy policy through his/her choices. How useful do you experience the following devices in this respect?’’.9 Citizens’ attitudes regarding their possibilities to influence energy policy by consumption choices were very positive. All listed devices based on individual consumption choices were seen rather as useful than useless. The most useful device was instructing children on energy issues, as 94% of respondents experienced it as useful. This was followed by choosing scantly energy-consuming machines, choosing pro-environmental products, walking or cycling instead of driving, reducing private by favouring public transport and generally lowering personal consumption standards.

All in all, views on the usefulness of various devices strongly supported statements proposed by political consumerism. Personal consumption choices were seen as more useful than influencing energy policy through political, administrative or mass media institutions. All individual devices were rated to be more useful than voting in elections or contacts with MPs, contacts with authorities and energy-producing companies, writing letters to the editor of a newspaper about energy issues, writing about energy issues on the Internet discussion pages. The least useful devices were radical environmental activism and participation in mass demonstrations. This favouring of peaceful devices is congruent with the tradition in the Finnish civil society, which has preferred conventional, peaceful, serious, objective, associative and state-focusing modes of influence (see Siisia¨inen, 1998). One striking difference between men and women supported the hypothesis presented by political consumerism. Excluding one device (reducing air travel), women experienced all devices as more useful than men.10 The difference between the sexes was greatest in the case of functioning in civic associations and reducing the use of consumption electronics, but smallest in the case of voting in elections and contacts to MPs. The connection between young age and the experienced usefulness of influencing based on consumption proposed by political consumerism was not clearly supported by the Finnish data. In the case of 10 out of 22 devices mentioned in Table 2 there was a statistically significant connection between age and the perceived usefulness of devices. However, the correlations were low; in the case of the above-mentioned 10, it was negative. In other words, older people stress more the usefulness of these devices (choosing scantly energy-spending machines, generally reducing one’s own consumption standards, contacts with MPs, writing about energy issues on Internet discussion sites, voting in elections, reducing use of consumption electronics and reducing the use of the sauna heated by electricity) than younger people. It is striking that the youngest (21 years old or younger) stressed least the usefulness of many devices compared to older people. For instance, the second youngest age group (22–26 years old) stressed most (20%) but the youngest (21 years or less) least (3%) the usefulness of radical environmental activism. As many as 47% feel it totally useless and 32% somewhat useless in the youngest group! The same pattern also emerged in voting in general elections; the second oldest age group stressed its usefulness most (65%) but the youngest least (47%). Even if the respondents included in this youngest age group were clearly the smallest (N ¼ 38), this may indicate a sense of powerlessness and weak civic efficacy with regard to influencing energy policy. Such a conclusion is also supported by the surprising finding that older people stressed more the usefulness of writing about energy issues in Internet discussion sites. The effect of education on perceptions of the usefulness of modes of influence based on personal choices was stronger compared to the effect of age. In 17 out of 22 devices, the dependence was statistically significant (Pearson Chi-Square o.05) even if correlations were low. In most cases the correlation was negative; that is the higher the level of vocational education, the lower was trust in the usefulness of devices. Correlations were positive in only seven cases (choosing pro-environmental products, walking or cycling instead of driving, dropping or supervision of dwelling temperature, generally lowering personal consumption standards, acting in civil associations, contacts with authorities and voting in elections). However, even if the effect of

8 Of the respondents, 19.5% disagreed totally, 29.8% disagreed partly, 25.6% can’t say, 18.8% agreed partly, and 6.3% agreed totally with the statement. 9 The response alternatives were ‘‘very useful, rather useful, rather useless, very useless, can’t say’’.

10 The differences were even higher, as presented in Table 2 if we analyse exclusively the response alternative ‘‘very useful’’. For instance, as 65% of women perceived choosing pro-environmental products as very useful, the share of men was only 45%.

(43%) and lowest among farmers and the unwaged (15%). However, age had the strongest and statistically very significant effect (.000): energy issues affected most the electoral choices of the youngest groups, albeit that the effect was not altogether linear: it was not the highest among the youngest but among 27–31-year-olds. As the effect of energy issues on citizens’ electoral behaviour in the general elections of 2007 was minor, do people feel that they can influence the Finnish energy policy more as consumers?

7. Can citizens influence more energy policy-making through their consumption choices?

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Table 2 Usefulness of various devices for influencing energy policy

Table 3 The role of actors/activities in solving environmental problems caused by energy production and consumption Men Women All Men Women All

Instructing children on energy issues Choosing scantly spending/‘‘energy-pinching’’ machines Choosing pro-environmental products Walking or cycling instead of driving Reducing private driving by favouring public transport Generally lowering personal consumption standards Dropping or supervision of dwelling temperature Using so-called green electricity (produced by renewable energy) Reducing air travels Reducing the use of consumption electronics Asking for competitive tenders from electricity companies Reducing the use of sauna heated by electricity Voting in elections Discussion of energy issues with other people/friends Acting in civic associations Writing letters about energy issues to the editors of newspapers Writing about energy issues on Internet discussion sites Contacts with MPs Contacts with representatives of energy producing firms Contacts with authorities Participation in demonstrations Radical environmental activism N

93 90 86 88 82 83 81 72

96 94 95 93 90 88 86 81

94 92 90 90 86 86 84 77

70 61 63 60 57 52 35 35

66 72 67 65 58 60 47 42

68 67 65 62 57 56 41 39

29 27 22 19 9 11

32 29 29 26 17 14

30 28 25 23 13 13

579 578

1157

The share of respondents who see devices as useful (very useful or fairly useful) (%).

education was not linear, the group with the highest education (university or polytechnics degree) stressed most the usefulness of devices based on personal choices.11

8. Citizen’s/consumer’s role related to national and international actors Finally we should ask, firstly, what is the citizen’s/consumer’s role related to national and international actors in energy policymaking. Secondly, do people feel that they can influence energy policy more as citizens or as consumers? The respondents were presented the structured question ‘‘What is your opinion, as to how important a role the following actors/activities play in solving environmental problems caused by energy production and consumption’’.12 New technology and inventions clearly play the most important role in solving environmental problems caused by energy production and consumption; 92% of respondents perceived it as an important device. This is congruent with the finding in this survey and previous studies (e.g. Ruostetsaari, 1989) that Finns trust strongly in experts, even more than in politicians concerning energy policy-making. This confidence in experts, technology and R&D was one reason why the Finnish Parliament in the early 2000s could ratify the construction of the 5th nuclear power plant and the final disposal of spent nuclear fuel in Finland’s bedrock. It is evident that also the success story of Nokia in mobile electronics has something to do with the Finnish confidence in technology (Table 3). Beyond the new technology, the most important role is seen to be played by international actors/activities: the decisions of large 11 In fact, this group viewed activities in civil society (especially voting in elections and acting in civil associations but also contacts with authorities, participation in demonstrations and radical environmental activism) as more significant than people with lower education. 12 The response alternatives were ‘‘very important, somewhat important (important), somewhat negligible, totally negligible (negligible) and can’t say’’.

New technology/inventions (e.g. in energy production) Decisions of big developing countries such as China and India Activities of international big firms Extensive, mandatory international environmental agreements Finland’s domestic activities and political decisions EU’s decisions and climate policy Generally activities of firms/market/economic life USA’s decisions and climate policy Activities and choices of individual consumers Activities and choices of individual citizens National educational campaigns Activities of environment associations Activities of civic movements N

95 90 87 85

90 85 84 85

92 87 85 85

81 81 82 83 72 65 57 42 34

86 86 85 81 78 70 69 63 48

84 83 83 81 75 68 63 53 41

577 578

1155

The share of respondents who perceived the role to be important (very or somewhat important) (%).

developing countries such as China and India, the activities of big international firms and extensive, mandatory international environmental agreements. Individual consumers’ activities and choices clearly play a more important role that that of individual citizens. This is congruent with the above-mentioned finding that Finns see individual consumption choices as a more efficient way to influence energy policy-making than voting as citizens in elections. Individual activities and choices of both consumers and citizens are seen to play a more important role than the collective activities of environment associations and civic movements. Women perceived most of the listed actors/activities as more important in solving environmental problems than men. Differences between the sexes are in most cases broad. Men place exclusive stress on the importance of new technology and inventions and decisions of large developing countries clearly more than do women. Respondents’ attitudes to the importance of the listed actors/ activities were statistically dependent on age group only in cases of decisions of large developing countries (Pearson Chi-Square .023), mandatory international environmental agreements (.006) and national educational campaigns (.010). In the two firstmentioned cases, the younger the respondent was the more frequently she or he stressed the importance of actor/activity. In the last-mentioned case, the direction was the reverse. In short, attitudes regarding the importance of most actors/activities in solving environmental problems do not depend linearly on age. This notwithstanding, some age groups evinced striking features. The oldest age group (72 years or older) generally stressed the importance of several actors/activities (8 of 13) less than younger people. On the other hand, the youngest age group (21 or younger) stressed the importance of four actors/activities less than older people. In most cases 27–36-year-old respondents stressed their importance most frequently.

9. Conclusions The research task in this study was, firstly, to analyse citizens’ perceptions of the power structure of Finnish energy policymaking. Secondly, we analysed the role of civil society in the energy sector, inquiring whether Finns see that they can influence energy policy-making as citizens through general elections (civic participation) or as consumers through their own consumption choices (political consumerism). Methodologically the study was

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based on a postal survey conducted in 2007 among a random sample representing 18–75-year-old Finns. According to citizens’ views, the innermost core of the influence structure in Finland’s energy policy-making comprises today only the Cabinet and Parliament, while the second circle is composed of energy-producer firms and big firms. The European Union, the Ministry of the Environment and the Ministry of Trade and Industry belong to the third circle of influence. The fourth influential circle is composed of forest industry firms, the IEA, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and governmental research institutions. Despite the liberalization of Finland’s electricity market in the mid1990s and the globalization of national energy policies (e.g. EU emission trading scheme), composition of the energy elite has changed little since the late 1980s and 1990s. In other words, power relations in Finland’s energy sector have been particularly stable. Studies on civil society, political involvement and social capital have shown that citizens tend nowadays to view politics and political participation in a different light than in the past. According to political consumerism, political consumers choose products, producers and services more on the basis of the politics of the product than the product as a material object per se. They believe that their private choices have political consequences: there is an interconnectedness between their private and public acts. Political consumerism has been hypothesized to be connected to the citizen agency of young people and women (Micheletti, 2003). Even if only a quarter of Finns feel that they could influence energy policy by their own action, citizens’ views on the usefulness of concrete modes of influencing change the picture of political consumerism in the field of energy policy. All devices based on individual consumption choices were seen rather as useful than useless. Citizens’ attitudes to the usefulness of the various devices strongly support the tenets of political consumerism. Personal consumption choices are seen to be more useful than influencing energy policy through political, administrative or media institutions. All individual devices was seen to be more useful than voting in elections or contacts with MPs, authorities and energyproducing companies, writing letters to the editor of a newspaper about energy issues, writing about energy issues on Internet discussion pages. The least useful devices were radical environmental activism and participation in mass demonstrations. Regarding the role of actors/activities in solving environmental problems caused by energy production and consumption, the most important role seen lies with new technology and inventions, followed by international actors/activities: decisions of large developing countries such as China and India, the activities of international big firms and extensive, mandatory international environmental agreements. According to the Finns, the individual consumer’s activities and choices clearly play a more important role than that of individual citizen. This is congruent with the finding that Finns see individual consumption choices as a more efficient way to influence energy policy-making than voting as citizens in elections. Individual activities and choices of both consumers and citizens are seen to play a more important role than the collective activities of environment associations and civic movements. All in all, even if people perceive that politicians are the most powerful actors in energy policy-making they are skeptical about their chances to influence energy policy through political institutions (footnote here: In 2007 two thirds of Finns agreed with the statement that citizens’ opinions have not been heard sufficiently in energy policy decisions (Energy attitudes 2007)). In fact, they feel–as political consumerism suggests–that they can influence energy policy-making more as consumers through consumption choices than as citizens by voting in elections, through contacts with politicians and civil servants or acting in civic associations. This discrepancy may be explained by characteristics of the Finnish Political culture: concurrently Finns can

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be characterized by both high trust on legitimacy of institutions (even political ones) and low civic efficacy in international comparison, that is distrust in one’s own chances to influence institutions. The hypothesis regarding the difference between the sexes was verified by the Finnish data: women stress clearly more than men the importance of consumption choices. The hypothesized effect of age was, however, not clearly verified and findings were ambiguous: on general level younger people were more confident than older people of their chances to influence energy policy by their own action but older people stress more the usefulness of most concrete devices. Furthermore, there is no linear connection between age and the perceived importance of consumption choices. We may argue, however, that political consumerism is a channel of influence of women and younger people even if the youngest (21 years or less) do not trust even on this arena. This is congruent with a finding of a Finnish study (2003) that younger people (18–24 years) have weaker subjective civic efficacy (i.e. impression of own personal chances to influence political processes) than older people (Gro¨nlund et al., 2005, pp. 98–99). Finally, we may ask, whether people make conscious political decisions in order to influence energy policy-making when they make consumption choices, for instance, buying green electricity, or whether they only behave like a good citizen carrying out moral and ethical duties. The findings of our study would indicate that consumption choices are at least partly consciously political decisions. It is evident that a more elaborate analysis of this aspect of political consumerism is warranted. Furthermore, it would appear that there may be a socioeconomic divide in terms of influencing energy policy through civic participation or consumption choices. The higher the level of education, the lesser influence of consumers/citizens and civic associations is seen to be. People who have a leading position in working life stress most the influence of political institutions, competent authorities in energy policy-making and energyintensive industries. Trust in one’s chances to influence by consumption choices is least among leaders (together with bluecollar workers). The unwaged stress more than other vocational groups consumers/citizens’ influence. These findings would suggest that well-off people can influence energy-policy-making through political and other formal institutions, where they are not dependent on political consumerism as much as disadvantaged people. We may ask, can political consumerism become a new democratic channel of civic participation and influencing especially for disadvantaged people not only in the field of energy policy-making, but more generally in politics? References Arts, B., Van Tatenhove, J., 2004. Policy and power. A conceptual framework between the ‘old’ and ‘new’ policy idioms. Policy Sciences 37 (3–4), 339–356. Bengtsson, A˚., Gro¨nlund, K., 2005. Muu poliittinen osallistuminen. In: Paloheimo, H. (Ed.), Vaalit ja demokratia Suomessa. WSOY, Helsinki, pp. 147–168. Borg, S., Moring, T., 2005. Vaalikampanja. In: Paloheimo, Heikki (Ed.), Vaalit ja demokratia Suomessa. WSOY, Helsinki, pp. 47–72. Energy Attitudes, 2007. Research report 25.4.2008. Finnish Energy Industries, Helsinki /http://www.sci.fi-yhdys.eas._07/eas-tied 07.htmS. Visited 27.8.2008. Foucault, M., 2000. The subject of power. In: Faubion, J.D. (Ed.), Power: Essential Works of Foucault 1954–1984, vol. 3. The New Press, New York, pp. 326–348. Gro¨nlund, K., Paloheimo, H., Sundberg, J., Sa¨nkiaho, R., Wass, H., 2005. Kiinnittyminen politiikkaan. In: Paloheimo Heikki, A. (Ed.), Vaalit ja demokratia Suomessa. WSOY, Helsinki, pp. 88–188. Hague, R., Harrop, M., 2001. Comparative Government and Politics. An Introduction, fifth ed. Palgrave, Basingstoke. IAEA, 2003. Country Nuclear Power Profiles. 2003 Country Profiles. Department of Nuclear Energy Division of Nuclear Power. Nuclear Power Engineering Section /http://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/publications/PDF/cnpp2003/CNPP_ Webpage/countryprofiles/Finland/Finland2003.htmS, visited 21.6.2005. IEA, 2004. Energy Policies of IEA Countries, Finland, 2003 Review. International Energy Agency /http://www.iea.org/textbase/nppdf/free/2000/finland2003.pdfS, 14.11.2005.

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