Access to cleaner cooking fuel in India: the regional and gender disparities

Jayshree Dutta () and Santosh Kumar Sahu ()
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Jayshree Dutta: Indian Institute of Technology Madras
Santosh Kumar Sahu: Indian Institute of Technology Madras

Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, 2025, vol. 27, issue 5, No 71, 11645-11674

Abstract: Abstract Access to clean energy and gender equality are two of the most crucial sustainable development goals (SDGs) that affect households directly. But for a country like India, cooking and procuring fuels are intertwined with intrahousehold gender dynamics, making it even more vital to study them together. Here, we utilise the data from a large-scale rural survey across six energy-poor Indian states to formulate a Clean Fuel Empowerment Index for households. We employ Exploratory Factor Analysis, reducing factor multidimensionality into five major domains of determinants spanning female-led household decisions, awareness, and economic aspects. Further, we use linear and quantile regression methods to investigate the power dynamic within the household by asking whether a female head of the household influences the overall household's empowerment status. Our results confirm that female-led decision-making is the lowest for fuel stackers and only dirty fuel users and, therefore, a significant differentiator from “only clean fuel” users. Our results signify that female-led households and females with decision-making capacity within families are crucial in empowering a home to access clean fuel. Hence, gender-inclusive energy policy could be a significant driving force toward the transition to clean energy.

Keywords: Clean energy access; Energy ladder; Energy poverty; Gender inequality; Women empowerment; Energy justice; Gender inclusive energy policy; SDG 7; SDG 5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1007/s10668-023-04373-9

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