Energy, Poverty, and Development

Historical energy transitions: Speed, prices and system transformation

“…A key problem in present-day developing economies is providing universal access to energy services to poorer members of society (Karekezi et al 2012, Lee et al 2016. Historical experiences of the unequal access to energy services and policies to meet a large latent demand have not been properly understood, and they are likely to be of great relevance to present-day developing countries, with large shares of the population at the margins of the energy service revolutions.…”

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“…Consuming less fuel saves time and money, leaving people with more disposable income and allowing them to invest more in their future. Access to modern forms of energy is essential to overcome poverty, promote economic growth and employment opportunities, support the provision of social services, and, in general, promote sustainable human development [Karekezi et al, 2012].…”

Energy Poverty and Its Implication on Standard of Living in Kirinyaga, Kenya

“…This scenario is most pronounced in rural areas in developing countries because they have limited access to clean energy sources, especially for cooking. The share of poor household's income spent on fuels forms a significant proportion of their expenditure and sometimes can overtake other essential items like schooling and health costs when local fuel prices rise [77]. The average share of Africa's household spending used on energy is 13%; thus the households suffer energy poverty because they spends more than 10% of their income on all fuel [30,31].…”