Achieving energy justice in Malawi: from key challenges to policy recommendations

Darren McCauley (), Rebecca Grant () and Evance Mwathunga ()
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Darren McCauley: Erasmus University Rotterdam
Rebecca Grant: University of Edinburgh
Evance Mwathunga: University of Malawi

Climatic Change, 2022, vol. 170, issue 3, No 10, 22 pages

Abstract: Abstract Addressing energy provision and access in Sub-Saharan Africa is a key global challenge. Drawing on interviews with key stakeholders, this paper applies an energy justice framework in overviewing energy realities and policies in Malawi, where electricity access remains among the lowest in Sub-Saharan Africa. The use of woodfuel remains high for meeting cooking, heating, and lighting needs leading to indoor air pollution, with serious health consequences, and widespread deforestation. Responses to these dual challenges, a lack of electricity access and ongoing woodfuel use, must be rooted in notions of equity, fairness, and justice. Application of energy justice theorising provides insights into how policy stakeholders are responding to complex and interconnected issues of energy generation and access in low-income settings. Overall, a just response to these energy challenges is possible, but only if it is built on local inclusive governance with fairer and effective systems of investment.

Keywords: Energy justice; Environmental justice; Gender; Social inequalities; Energy policy; Energy transitions (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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DOI: 10.1007/s10584-022-03314-1

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