WE LIVE IN A WORLD OF ENERGY INJUSTICE.
One resource that we all need is energy. We need it to cook, keep warm or cool, light our homes and communicate.
Fairness is not a word associated with energy access: Multinational corporations consume more energy than entire nations, yet one in five people globally lack access to electricity. Millions more go without, simply because they cannot afford to pay for it.
Energy access is political
As Global Justice Now explains, “Like with food, much of the mainstream discourse on energy starts from the assumption that there is ‘not enough’ of it. This is a fallacy. Energy injustice has many causes, but a lack of energy resources is not one of them. Indeed, some of the countries with the lowest energy access rates are the ones most endowed with energy resources.”
Around the world, the provision of essential energy has become increasingly about profits over people. Many countries have privatised their energy sectors, which is “partly a result of the agenda pursued by government aid agencies and “development” finance institutions” (The Leap). While privatisation was aimed to improve access, it’s so far failed to achieve this goal. In fact, “far from introducing greater efficiency, privatisation efforts have almost everywhere seen energy prices soar to the detriment of the poor who struggle to afford the bills” (Global Justice Now).
Today, this corporate grip over energy keeps 1.3 billion people without access to electricity.
Energy access is gender biased
Lack of access to energy disproportionately affects women and girls. This is partly due to traditional gender roles, for example, women tend to be responsible for time-consuming fuel collection and cooking.
Furthermore, these activities expose women to indoor air pollution, which can cause serious health impacts.
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