energy poverty

Introduction

Energy poverty is a multifaceted issue that affects millions of people worldwide, impacting their access to modern energy services, economic development, health, and overall well-being. This synthesis explores the various dimensions of energy poverty, its causes, consequences, and potential interventions as discussed in recent research.

Key Insights

Social Relations and Energy Poverty:
- Good social relations can enable access to energy services and are also a product of such access. Structural factors like resource access, social roles, and poverty discourses shape this connection.
Capabilities Approach:
- Conceptualizing energy use from a capabilities perspective provides a coherent means of understanding the relationship between energy and well-being across different settings. This approach identifies multiple intervention sites, including overlooked areas.
Public Health and Environmental Impact:
- Energy poverty has serious public health concerns related to indoor air pollution, physical injury during fuelwood collection, and lack of refrigeration and medical care. It also leads to environmental impacts like deforestation and greenhouse gas emissions.
Measurement and Methodology:
- There is significant variation in energy poverty estimates across regions and methodologies. A systematic analysis suggests the need for a uniform methodology that includes local and regional factors.
Rural Electrification and Improved Stoves:
- In rural Bangladesh, policies supporting rural electrification and improved biomass stoves can significantly reduce energy poverty. A demand-based approach defines the energy poverty line as the threshold where energy consumption rises with household income.
Multiple-Indicator Approach:
- A multiple-indicator approach to energy poverty in the EU considers factors like infrastructure, energy efficiency, social and economic poverty, and well-being. This approach provides a more comprehensive understanding of energy vulnerability.
Economic Development:
- Energy poverty is closely linked to economic poverty, affecting low-income individuals with limited access to modern energy fuels. Access to energy and water is crucial for economic development and achieving Millennium Development Goals .
Energy Governance:
- Effective energy governance at global, regional, and local levels is essential to address energy poverty. Strengthening regulatory environments and institutions can help meet the needs of the poor, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa.
Household Energy Needs and Vulnerability:
- In the EU, energy poverty is influenced by high energy prices, low household incomes, inefficient buildings, and specific household energy needs. It is prevalent in Eastern, Central, and Southern Europe, affecting already vulnerable groups.

Conclusion

Energy poverty is a complex issue that intersects with social relations, public health, environmental sustainability, and economic development. Addressing it requires a multifaceted approach that includes improving social relations, adopting a capabilities perspective, implementing effective governance, and using comprehensive measurement methodologies. Policies supporting rural electrification, improved stoves, and multiple-indicator approaches can significantly mitigate energy poverty and enhance overall well-being.

Summary

Introduction

Key Insights

Conclusion

Sources and full results

Energy poverty and social relations: A capabilities approach

Good social relations can both enable and be a product of access to energy services, and addressing energy poverty should consider the quality of these relationships.

Conceptualising energy use and energy poverty using a capabilities framework

Understanding energy use and energy poverty from a capabilities perspective provides a coherent and flexible framework for addressing energy poverty across global settings and identifying intervention sites.

The political economy of energy poverty: A review of key challenges

Energy poverty impacts public health, gender roles, education, and the environment, with structural elements of the global energy system perpetuating it.

Meta-analysis of empirical evidence on energy poverty: The case of developing economies

Energy poverty affects 71.1 percent of the population in developing economies, with methodological factors, citations, and regional factors influencing estimates.

Energy poverty in rural Bangladesh

58 percent of rural households in Bangladesh are energy poor, with policies supporting rural electrification and improved biomass stoves potentially reducing this issue.

Towards a multiple-indicator approach to energy poverty in the European Union: A review

A multiple-indicator approach to fuel poverty in the European Union can better understand its impact on household comfort, health, and wellbeing, improving policy decisions and methodological implications.

On Measuring Energy Poverty in Indian Households

This paper presents a novel two-dimensional measure of energy poverty and distribution, revealing a significant reduction in energy poverty in Indian households from 1983 to 2000.

Energy Poverty and Economic Development

Energy poverty and limited access to modern energy fuels and clean water hinder economic development and contribute to health problems and deforestation.

Energy governance and poverty

Energy governance systems need improvement to effectively address energy poverty, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, with a focus on improving access to modern energy services.

Energy poverty in the European Union: landscapes of vulnerability

Energy poverty in the European Union is primarily caused by high energy prices, low household incomes, inefficient buildings and appliances, and specific household energy needs, with a focus on household needs, built environment flexibility, and social resilience.

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