Energy Transitions and Social Equity: Evaluating the ‘Just’ Transition
Abstract: This research details the societal impacts of varying energy policy approaches and the progress of the energy transition toward a renewable energy-based regime internationally. Using indicators relevant to energy policy and the energy transition, five critical social equity impacts of environmental improvement, health, employment, participation and energy cost are investigated from the viewpoint of a ‘just’ transition. We identify the quantitative social equity impacts of the shift toward renewable energy-based electricity from 1990 to 2015, for 117 nations with differing development levels, energy resources and policies. We find that increased levels of renewable energy deployment do not improve social equity for most nations. Further, richer nations enjoy better social equity outcomes as a result of deploying renewable energy and, regionally speaking, Northern European nations achieve superior results, while African nations lose out both for the transition and social equity outcomes overall. Our results are particularly important for developing nations, who face the ‘development curse’, whereby electricity needs are met by fossil fuels prior to the large-scale penetration of renewables - engendering negative social equity outcomes. The holistic evaluation of energy transitions and social equity outcomes enables proactive policy development, contributing to the realization of a just transition.
Bio: Andrew is an Associate Professor in the International Institute for Carbon-Neutral Energy Research and the Graduate School of Economics at Kyushu University. As the lead investigator for Multiscale Science and Engineering for Energy and the Environment, his research focuses primarily on energy systems and the people-technology-systems nexus. This broad research effort covers theoretical and quantitative evaluations of the global energy transition with a focus on social equity outcomes, the hydrogen economy and technology portfolios which can contribute to a future low-carbon energy system. Within the Graduate School of Economics, Andrew teaches Energy Economics, focusing on energy systems, policy and sustainability evaluation, while progressing research which uncovers linkages between economic development and environmental outcomes.
