(Un)Just Energy Transition
Decarbonization at whose Expense? By Ismael Izquierdo and Adriana Abril The Agenda 2030, the Paris Agreement, and the Net-Zero emissions 2050 stress the relevance of achieving clean and affordable energy for all while reducing carbon emissions. Despite that, hundreds of millions of people in the least-developed countries in the African region still lack access to electricity. In contrast, the energy use per person increases steadily in high-income regions so that an average person in Iceland, Canada, or the United States consumes in one month what an Indian does in two years, 14 months, and one year respectively. Even if those three high-income countries strongly depend on heating due to winter, India needs energy for cooling and air conditioning. This example illustrates the huge inequalities at the foundation of our current energy systems. A feminist approach to energy systems intends to uncover those asymmetries in the benefits and harms of a just and equal energy transition. Bell, Dagget, and Labuski, a group of researchers from Virginia Tech in the US, invite us to reflect on how “[...] energy-intensive lifestyles were and are made possible by the underdevelopment of the Global South, and by violence enacted upon marginalized communities and ecosystems”.
Renewables like solar and wind rely heavily on extracting critical minerals from countries of the Global South. Hydroelectric dams can cause human displacement, environmental degradation and negatively affect the livelihoods of local communities. A profit-driven growth can overshadow the geopolitical and systemic inequalities at the foundation of this “green deal.” Besides an issue of technology and financial investment, the path towards just energy systems requires questioning what is at the center of the discussion: is it people and biodiversity or profit and unsustainable economic growth? Warming up for the discussion: energy in a nutshell What is energy? It is the capacity to do some work, e.g., heating your tea, cooling your house or apartment, charging your phone, or, simpler than that, just dancing. We learn that “energy can neither be created nor destroyed - only converted from one form of energy to another”: the law of conservation of energy. But what is the trick with this law? Well, it is hidden in the energy source because some are more efficient in transforming from one form of energy to another. Therefore, depending on the context, i.e., geography, weather, and resource availability, some sources and their respective harness technology can be preferred over others. It is clear that it is impossible to build hydroelectric projects everywhere, cover the world with solar panels and wind turbines, or depend totally on fossil fuels.
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