Energy Access, Poverty, and Development

Sovacool, Benjamin K.; Drupady, Ira Martina

doi:10.4324/9781315579535

Cited by 33 publications

(15 citation statements)

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“…A second limitation, one intimately tied to their position as ‘rule-takers’, is the relationship of the Central American states to the major IFIs. The channelling (or withholding) of grants and concessional finance for targeted energy development assistance programmes serves to privilege some technologies, policies and market segments over others (see also Smits and Bush, 2010; Sovacool and Drupady, 2012), impacting on the energy and emission pathways taken. As key vectors of energy policy prescriptions in the isthmus, greater attention needs to be paid to the role of IFIs in energy transitions.…”

Section: From the Market To An Era Of Interventionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Electricity in Central America: Paradigms, reforms and the energy trilemma

Gent

Tomei

2017

Progress in Development Studies

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A new global energy era is emerging, one driven by the confluence of energy security, climate politics and energy equity issues. This 'energy trilemma' is shaping the global political economy of energy, which in turn influences how decisions are made about how energy is provided-referred to as global energy governance. This paper analyses historical and contemporary developments in Central America's power sectors. This is a region that has long been an implementation space for global policy priorities, but has been overlooked by those engaging with the challenges of the energy trilemma. During the 1990s and 2000s, the statist model of energy governance gave way to a market-led model in the Central American isthmus. This led to the privatisation of state-owned utilities and the promotion of a regional electricity market. During this period, the dominance of largely hydro-based renewable electricity generation diminished to be replaced by imported fossilbased generation. Oil price increases during the early 2000s highlighted the region's dependence on imports, with some countries turning to energy rationing. Increasingly interventionist state policies, which now seek to reduce oil dependence, improve energy efficiency and expand access to electricity, are being pursued in the region. This interventionist turn reflects the pressures of the energy trilemma, although energy security, particularly the need to reduce dependence on imported oil, remains the most important driver.

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Section: From the Market To An Era Of Interventionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Electricity in Central America: Paradigms, reforms and the energy trilemma

Gent

Tomei

2017

Progress in Development Studies

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“…Households' ability to acquire cleaner energy-carriers is an essential component of improving the wellbeing of underprivileged individuals and communities in developing countries [8]. Ruppel and Althusmann [5] demonstrate a correlation between a nation's poverty levels and access to electricity.…”

Section: Accessmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Poor people are likely to face challenges associated with the high upfront cost of acquiring RETs, especially when compared with the low cost of charcoal (which is usually packaged in as varied quantities as possible for even the most energy-poor households to afford) and requisite braziers. In some instances, a household dependent on traditional biomass may be able to afford the recurring cost of a cleaner source of energy such as Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) but fail to afford the obligatory LPG stove and gas cylinder, thus eliminating the likelihood of switching fuels [8]. Although the latest global stand-point indicates that the costs of renewable energy which can be adopted by households are plummeting due to scale economies and technological improvements [6], affordability of RETs is yet to be empirically validated on the local level.…”

Section: Energy Povertymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…From the households' point of view, transition to the use of renewable energy offers many benefits such as relieving people, particularly women and children of the time spent completing household activities manually without the aid of electricity [3], and the drudgery and health problems associated with the collection and use of woody fuels [4]. Other studies indicate positive outcomes such as livelihood improvement through productive uses of energy, sustainable urban planning and architecture, environmental sustainability and equitable energy service provision [5][6][7][8][9]. Apart from their potential to provide sustainable energy services, specific forms of RETs such as solar-powered systems also offer low-income households some form of financial autonomy over the energy service without fear of self-disconnection or similar sanctions from energy utilities.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Review of Renewable Energy Technologies in Zambian Households: Capacities and Barriers Affecting Successful Deployment

et al. 2018

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Modern renewable energy has been hailed as one of the prerequisites for fostering green growth and the achievement of sustainable development. Despite efforts to promote the use of renewable energy in households, its adoption has remained fairly low, hence the need for an inquiry into household capabilities needed for the acquisition and adoption of renewable energy technologies. This paper reviews the requisite capacities of households for the adoption of renewable energy services and expounds on some of the barriers hampering renewable energy among households. It takes a desk research approach to analyse the capacities which should be possessed by Zambian households and possible barriers constraining the widespread deployment of renewable energy technologies. The findings reveal that there is a need for a broader, multidimensional understanding of access to renewable energy in order for deployment to be effective. Barriers to the successful adoption of clean energy technologies include underserved populations, policy inadequacies; an underexploited renewable energy sector and heavy reliance on a service-challenged hydro-power utility. Since most of the aforementioned challenges are institutional in nature, the paper concludes with a recommendation of a baseline assessment to understand knowledge, perceptions, attitudes and drivers for renewable energy technology adoption among households.

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“…(1) Focus on the ultimate goal of human and ecosystem well-beingthe sustainable improvement of "quality of life." This requires a better understanding of the tradeoffs and synergies among all 17 SDGs and how they contribute to overall well-beingfor example, reducing inequality to improve life in rural areas, ensuring universal access to clean energy, increasing productivity while decreasing environmental impact (Sovacool 2014), etc. (2) Create and use better measures of wellbeing to guide decision-makers at all levels.…”

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confidence: 99%

Priority areas at the frontiers of ecology and energy

Chou

Costanza

Earis

et al. 2018

Ecosyst Health Sustain

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The complexity of economic development and humanitarian crises means that energy science and technology should be involved in actions that address almost every major challenges of ecosystem health and sustainability. Energy is the engine of the world economy and the key to ecosystems' functioning, which also has a great impact on global warming. The energy crisis, environmental pollution, overuse of natural resources, water supply shortages, global climate disruption, and deteriorating ecosystems are major challenges to address in order to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In light of the frontiers in energy sciences and disruptive innovation in eco-tech, we recognize the need to review and establish working mechanisms that identify and examine issues that are critical to future sustainable development, to offer advice to decision-makers in different social sectors (public and private), to secure a shared future for mankind, and to achieve shared prosperity and common interests through international communications and collaborations.

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Energy Access, Poverty, and Development

Cited by 33 publications

References 0 publications

Electricity in Central America: Paradigms, reforms and the energy trilemma

Electricity in Central America: Paradigms, reforms and the energy trilemma

Review of Renewable Energy Technologies in Zambian Households: Capacities and Barriers Affecting Successful Deployment

Priority areas at the frontiers of ecology and energy

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