Energy

Citation:

Żuk, Piotr, and Anna Pacześniak. 2020. “Sustainable Development, Energy Transition, and Climate Challenges in the Context of Gender: The Framework of Gender Determinants of Environmental Orientation in Poland.” Sustainability 12 (21). doi:10.3390/su12219214.

Authors: Piotr Żuk, Anna Pacześniak

Abstract:

How does gender affect attitudes towards ecology? This question is of particular interest in a society where conservative and populist power elites perceive the concepts of “gender” and “ecology” as manifestations of “foreign” cultural influences. In turn, the dependence of the Polish energy system on coal forces us to look for various social factors that may support energy transition and the principles of sustainable development. The article outlines the results of computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI) research on a representative sample of Polish society composed of 1.001 people and analyses the gender differentiation of attitudes towards the policy of sustainable development in Poland. The results presented in this article clearly show that women in Poland constitute an important support for ecological activities and energy transition. This is also the case with the entire progressive vision of politics: Women have become its main driver and an opportunity for change.

Keywords: climate change, development, ecology, energy transition, gender

Topics: Environment, Climate Change, Gender, Women, Infrastructure, Energy Regions: Europe, Central Europe Countries: Poland

Year: 2020

Citation:

Shabdin, N. H., and R. Padfield. 2017. “Sustainable Energy Transition, Gender and Modernisation in Rural Sarawak.” Chemical Engineering Transactions 56: 259-64.

Authors: N. H. Shabdin , R. Padfield

Abstract:

In the past two decades policy-makers have highlighted the need for societies to use energy in a more sustainable way. In support of a general trend towards evidence based, policy-making academic research in sustainable energy related fields has gathered pace. In particular, research has concentrated largely on technologies, energy economics and broad concepts of smart energy system. Research focusing on the social sciences of sustainable energy, including topics such as human behaviour change, gender impacts, household scale studies etc. – have tended to receive limited attention from research sponsors and until recently assumed to have limited impact on a transition to a sustainable energy future. Yet recent research in these topics has shown to have great potential in achieving positive social and environmental impact. In line with increasing interest in the social science of sustainable energy transitions, this study examines social behaviour and energy practices of rural communities without access to twenty-four hour electricity in Sarawak, East Malaysia. The research aims to understand the impact of modernity in influencing rural communities’ energy transition with a particular focus on the role women play in energy behaviour at the household level. Five case studies was undertaken in the villages of Kampung Sibu Laut, Mersan, Telaga Air, Boyan and Gersik. Through purposive sampling 25 households in total were selected from these five villages. Consistent with triangulation methodological approaches the fieldwork involved a number of research methods such as a household energy survey, semi-structured interviews, focus groups and ethnographic style methods (i.e. participant observation). Investigating multiple data sources allows a deeper understanding and increased reliability of findings. Initial findings reveals women across the village play a key role in managing the household’s energy needs, and specifically, energy efficiency and energy conservation aspects. Household income also influenced the behaviour of householders with regards to energy saving. For instance, wealthier families owned more electric goods and gadgets as compared with poorer families; thus, energy demand is assumed higher in the former households. Meanwhile, villages without twenty-four hour access to affordable electricity have less energy demand while it is also noted that many of the younger generation have migrated to the town. The research also reveals that besides geographical challenges in rural Sarawak, villages close to protected ecosystems, such as Ramsar sites, have limited development. In this way, electrical appliances were far fewer as compared with villages where there is more consistent electricity supply.

Topics: Environment, Gender, Women, Households, Infrastructure, Energy Regions: Asia, Southeast Asia Countries: Malaysia

Year: 2017

Citation:

Patnaik, Sasmita, and Shaily Jha. 2020. “Caste, Class and Gender in Determining Access to Energy: A Critical Review of LPG Adoption in India.” Energy Research & Social Science 67. doi:10.1016/j.erss.2020.101530.

Authors: Sasmita Patnaik, Shaily Jha

Abstract:

Complex interrelationships between caste, class and gender in India define opportunities and access to energy for certain social groups differently than others. An understanding of access to energy through these lenses allows us to design energy policies differently, accounting for the socio-economic inequality in pricing, subsidies and implementation of policies. This paper attempts to evaluate access to energy through the lens of caste, class and gender. We use an integrated framework (Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) ) to analyse Government of India's most recent and possibly the largest initiative for the provision of clean cooking energy - Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY), and assess the extent to which PMUY is able to enhance use of LPG by overcoming the existing caste, class and gender-based exclusion. The analysis of PMUY has been supported through theoretical insights from the literature and empirical evidence from India's largest multidimensional energy access database – ACCESS 2018. Though the scheme recognises the pre-existing inequities, our analysis suggests a focus on caste, class and gender in the implementation procedures would be imperative for the scheme along with others focused on LPG access to achieve its objective.

Topics: Caste, Class, Gender, Infrastructure, Energy Regions: Asia, South Asia Countries: India

Year: 2020

Citation:

Muza, O., and R. Debnath. 2020. “Socially Inclusive Renewable Energy Transition in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Social Shaping of Technology Analysis of Appliance Uptake in Rwanda.” Cambridge Working Papers in Economics, University of Cambridge, London.

Authors: O. Muza, R. Debnath

Abstract:

Rural off-grid renewable energy solutions often fail due to uncertainties in household energy demand, insufficient community engagement, inappropriate financial models, policy inconsistency and lack of political will. Social shaping of technology (SST) of specific household electric appliances provides a critical lens of understanding the involved sociotechnical drivers behind these constraints. This study employs an SST lens to investigate appliance uptake drivers in Rwanda using the EICV5 micro dataset, such that these drivers can aid in policy design of a socially inclusive renewable energy transition. The methodology includes a systemic and epistemological review of current literature on the drivers of appliance uptake in the Global South. These drivers were then analysed using binary logistic regression on 14,580 households. Results show that appliance uptake is highly gendered and urban-centric in Rwanda. The type of appliance determines its diffusion across the welfare categories, commonly referred as to Ubudehe categories. Regression results show that mobile phones, radios and TV-sets have a higher likelihood of ownership than welfare appliances (refrigerator and laundry machine) by low-income households. There is also a high likelihood of uptake of power stabilisers in urban-higher income households, indicating poor power quality and distributive injustices. Policy implications were drawn using the lens of disruptive innovation.

Keywords: energy transition, off-grid system, Sub-Saharan Africa, social shaping of technology, gender, disruptive innovation

Topics: Gender, Households, Infrastructure, Energy Regions: Africa, Central Africa, East Africa Countries: Rwanda

Year: 2020

Citation:

Mohideen, Reihana. 2018. “Energy Technology Innovation in South Asia: Implications for Gender Equality and Social Inclusion.” Working paper, Asian Development Bank, Manila.

Author: Reihana Mohideen

Abstract:

This working paper addresses how energy systems and services in South Asia can improve women’s economic empowerment and well-being. It focuses on integrating gender equity considerations into technology design and on drawing women into this process for equal employment opportunities. South Asia’s low-carbon energy transition has significant implications for gender equality and social inclusion. The rising energy demand and the commitment to mitigate climate change are the driving force in energy technology innovation. This paper is the beginning of an ongoing research project that will also include a pilot program to field test a gender equality and social inclusion reference energy system.

Topics: Environment, Climate Change, Gender, Women, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Infrastructure, Energy Regions: Asia, South Asia

Year: 2018

Citation:

Johnson, Oliver W., Jenny Yi-Chen Han, Anne-Louise Knight, Sofie Mortensen, May Thazin Aung, Michael Boyland, and Bernadette P. Resurrección. 2020. “Intersectionality and Energy Transitions: A Review of Gender, Social Equity and Low-Carbon Energy.” Energy Research & Social Science 70. doi: 10.1016/j.erss.2020.101774.

Authors: Oliver W. Johnson, Jenny Yi-Chen Han, Anne-Louise Knight, Sofie Mortensen, May Thazin Aung, Michael Boyland, Bernadette P. Resurrección

Abstract:

Transitions to low-carbon energy systems are essential to meeting global commitments to climate change mitigation. Yet “greening” energy systems may not make them any fairer, inclusive or just. In this paper, we review the academic literature to understand the state of knowledge on how diffusion of low-carbon technologies impacts gender and social equity in intersectional ways. Our findings indicate that renewable energy projects alone cannot achieve gender and social equity, as energy interventions do not automatically tackle the structural dynamics embedded within socio-cultural and socio-economic contexts. If existing power asymmetries related to access and resource distribution are not addressed early on, the same structural inequalities will simply be replicated and transferred over into new energy regimes.

Keywords: energy transitions, low-carbon energy, climate change, renewable energy, social equity, gender equality

Topics: Gender, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Gender Equity, Infrastructure, Energy, Intersectionality

Year: 2020

Citation:

Fernández-Baldor, Álvaro, Pau Lillo, and Alejandra Boni. 2015. “Gender, Energy, and Inequalities: A Capabilities Approach Analysis of Renewable Electrification Projects in Peru.” In Sustainable Access to Energy in the Global South: Essential Technologies and Implementation Approaches, edited by Silvia Hostettler, Ashok Gadgil, and Eileen Hazboun, 193-204. Cham: Springer.

Authors: Álvaro Fernández-Baldor, Pau Lillo, Alejandra Boni

Abstract:

Technology, despite being very important, is not the only factor that ensures the success of an intervention. There are many different elements to take into account when planning projects, especially in complex environments such as the least-developed areas of the world. However, development aid interventions have generally been focused on supplying a technological goods or services instead of focusing on people, thus missing out on the project’s potential for social transformation. This paper analyzes four renewable energy-based electrification projects implemented by the nongovernmental organization Practical Action in the rural area of Cajamarca, Peru. Using the Capabilities Approach, the research examines the effect of the projects on the things people value. It confirms that projects provide different benefits to the communities (reducing air pollution caused by candles and kerosene, improving access to communication through television and radio, providing the possibility of night study under appropriate light, etc.), but also detects an expansion of the capabilities in other areas not considered by the nongovernmental organization such as those related to religion, leisure, or community participation. However, the expansion of capabilities is different for men and women. The study reveals the limitations of interventions designed to supply technology, electrification in this particular case, which do not take into account certain elements that can cause the use of technology to contribute unequally to the expansion of people’s capabilities. The research concludes that technological projects can generate inequalities and some recommendations are presented in order to address these issues when planning interventions.

Keywords: real option, gender inequality, Capability Approach, supervisory board, practical action

Topics: Development, Gender, Infrastructure, Energy, NGOs Regions: Americas, South America Countries: Peru

Year: 2015

Citation:

Clancy, Joy, Gül Özerol, Nthabiseng Mohlakoana, Mariëlle Feenstra, and Lillian Sol Cueva, eds. 2020. Engendering the Energy Transition. London: Palgrave Macmillan.

Authors: Joy Clancy, Gül Özerol, Nthabiseng Mohlakoana, Mariëlle Feenstra, Lillian Sol Cueva

Keywords: gender and energy, energy transition, gender and development, sustainable development, gender and energy poverty, gender equality, sustainable energy for all, climate change mitigation, ecofeminism, energy poverty, feminist political ecology, neoliberalism

Annotation:

Summary:
This book brings together diverse contributions exploring the integration of gender equality in current national energy policies and international energy frameworks across the Global South and North. Taking a multi-disciplinary approach, this collection contributes to building a body of independent empirical evidence about the impacts of the energy transition on socio-economic outcomes, with a focus on gender differentiated choices of energy forms.

The book includes short reflections in each chapter allowing the reader to explore the content from an alternative perspective. The common thread enabling the book to actively contribute to engendering the energy transition is its approach to the topic from a primarily ‘gender’ driven perspective. The book draws many useful lessons from practice and shares gender mainstreaming tools for use across the Global South and the North. Such an approach brings novel insights from theoretical, methodological and practical perspectives, which further promotes cross-disciplinary learning and will be of interest to researchers and practitioners from across the Energy and Gender disciplines. (Summary from Springer)
 

Table of Contents:

1. Engendering the Energy Transition: Setting the Scene
Joy Clancy, Gül Özerol, Nthabiseng Mohlakoana, Mariëlle Feenstra, Lillian Sol Cueva

2. Energy Transition and Gender in the Informal Street Food Sector in Africa
Maïmouna Diouf, Nthabiseng Mohlakoana, Secou Sarr, Bacary Seydi

3. Gender, Firewood and Health: The Potential of Ethnography to Inform Policy and Practice
Margaret Matinga, Joy Clancy

4. Gender-Sensitive Analysis of Water Governance: Insights for Engendering Energy Transitions
Gül Özerol, Leila M. Harris

5. Bargaining Climate Adaptation through a Gender Lens: An Inquirty into Decision-Making Processes in Tanzanian Farm Households
Katrien Van Aelst, Nathalie Holvoet

6. On the Possibility and Politics of Feminist Energy Analytics in University Campus Spaces
Ingrid L. Nelson

7. How Gender Equality Principles Are Integrated in National Energy Polices and Frameworks
Ana Rojas, Maria Prebble

8. A View from the North: Gender and Energy Poverty in the European Union
Mariëlle Feenstra, Joy Clancy

9. Climate Finance Allocation Practices to Support Gender Responsive Energy Transitions: GCF Case-Study
Svetlana Frenova

10. Reflection on “Energy Transition and Gender in the Informal Street Food Sector in Africa”
Henny A. Romijn

11. Reflection on “Gender, Firewood and Health”
María Cristina Osorio Vázquez

12. Reflection on “Gender-Sensitive Analysis of Water Governance: Insights for Engendering Energy Transitions”
Morag Goodwin

13. Reflection on “Bargaining Climate Adaptation through a Gender Lens: An Inquirty into Decision-Making Processes in Tanzanian Farm Households”
Charlotte Ray

14. Why a Feminist Political Ecology Approach Is Relevant for Assessing Energy Access in Developing Countries
Annemarije Kooijman

15. Reflection on “How Gender Equality Principles Are Integrated in National Energy Polices and Frameworks”
Maryse Helbert

16. Reflection on “A View from the North: Gender and Energy Poverty in the European Union”
Mariama Williams

17. Reflection on “Climate Finance Allocation Practices to Support Gender Responsive Energy Transitions: GCF Case-Study"
Andrea Rodriguez Osuna

18. Reflections on Kick-Starting Lasting Change: From Policy to Practice and Beyond
Charlotte Taylor

19. Reflections from a Feminist Political Ecology Perspective
Wendy Harcourt

20. Reflection on Gender Research Informing Development Policy on Energy and Climate
Frank van der Vleuten

21. Reflection on Engendering the Energy Transition
Joy Clancy

Topics: Gender, Gender Mainstreaming, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Infrastructure, Energy

Year: 2020

Citation:

Burney, Jennifer, Halimatou Alaofè, Rosamond Naylor, and Douglas Taren. 2017. “Impact of a Rural Solar Electrification Project on the Level and Structure of Women's Empowerment.” Environmental Research Letters 12 (9). doi:10.1088/1748-9326/aa7f38.

Authors: Jennifer Burney, Halimatou Alaofè, Rosamond Naylor, Douglas Taren

Abstract:

Although development organizations agree that reliable access to energy and energy services—one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals—is likely to have profound and perhaps disproportionate impacts on women, few studies have directly empirically estimated the impact of energy access on women's empowerment. This is a result of both a relative dearth of energy access evaluations in general and a lack of clarity on how to quantify gender impacts of development projects. Here we present an evaluation of the impacts of the Solar Market Garden—a distributed photovoltaic irrigation project—on the level and structure of women's empowerment in Benin, West Africa. We use a quasi-experimental design (matched-pair villages) to estimate changes in empowerment for project beneficiaries after one year of Solar Market Garden production relative to non-beneficiaries in both treatment and comparison villages (n = 771). To create an empowerment metric, we constructed a set of general questions based on existing theories of empowerment, and then used latent variable analysis to understand the underlying structure of empowerment locally. We repeated this analysis at follow-up to understand whether the structure of empowerment had changed over time, and then measured changes in both the levels and likelihood of empowerment over time. We show that the Solar Market Garden significantly positively impacted women's empowerment, particularly through the domain of economic independence. In addition to providing rigorous evidence for the impact of a rural renewable energy project on women's empowerment, our work lays out a methodology that can be used in the future to benchmark the gender impacts of energy projects.

Topics: Development, Economies, Gender, Women, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Infrastructure, Energy Regions: Africa, West Africa Countries: Benin

Year: 2017

Citation:

Baruah, Bipasha, and Mini Govindan. 2015. “Engaging with Gender and Other Social Inequalities in Renewable Energy Projects.” In Sustainable Access to Energy in the Global South: Essential Technologies and Implementation Approaches, edited by Silvia Hostettler, Ashok Gadgil, and Eileen Hazboun, 189-92. Cham: Springer.

Authors: Bipasha Baruah, Mini Govindan

Abstract:

The scholarship and discourse on climate change has been dominated by natural scientists. Social scientists have only recently become involved in the debate, while natural scientists have been researching the topic for much longer. Consequently, the mainstream discourse on climate change continues to be about large-scale economic instruments and complex computer models. More recently, social scientists have pointed out the limitations of techno-centric approaches and put forward alternative frameworks such as sustainable development, climate justice, human rights, and environmental ethics for conceptualizing and operationalizing the sociocultural dimensions of climate change. They have also explored and documented some of the positive and negative consequences of adopting “green” technologies to respond to the climate crisis. However, issues related to gender equity have remained under-studied even in the work of social scientists. This chapter and the three chapters that follow (Chaps.  17– 19) are a modest contribution toward addressing this knowledge gap through empirical research conducted in Peru, South Sudan, and Nigeria to understand the gendered implications and outcomes of the development and expansion of renewable energy technologies. We hope that this research will highlight the need to engage more critically and proactively with gender and other social inequalities while designing and disseminating such technologies.

Keywords: social inequality, gender equity, green economy, climate justice, gender inequity

Topics: Environment, Climate Change, Gender, Infrastructure, Energy Regions: Africa, East Africa, West Africa, Americas, South America Countries: Nigeria, Peru, South Sudan

Year: 2015