/ Across Sub-Saharan Africa, 72% of hospitals lack access to reliable electricity; many rely on diesel generators, which are costly and highly polluting.
Diverse challenges need tailored solutions
At present, some 2.5 bln people still rely on traditional fuels (wood, dung and biomass) for cooking and heating. This makes tackling energy poverty in the kitchen the biggest challenge within Sustainable Development Goal No 7 (SDG7), universal access to affordable, reliable and modern energy services.
But other types of energy poverty persist. Lack of electricity is widespread across the poorest countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America, particularly in rural areas. Where villages have been electrified in recent decades, often the level of generation supports only very basic needs such as lighting and charging mobile phones. Without sufficient power for equipment and appliances, billions of people remain trapped in livelihoods that require manual labour for poor pay.
But many feel ill-equipped to make wise decisions because, as multiple studies show, most know relatively little about ‘the invisible force’ they rely on, every minute of every day. To deliver a just, clean energy transition, energy stakeholders must include citizens in the process.
Even in rich, modern economies, a large share of citizens may be classified as energy poor. While modern services are largely available, acquiring enough energy to support health and well-being may be unaffordable. Often, this reflects poor quality housing that requires excessive amounts of energy to achieve thermal comfort, whether warmth in winter or cooling in summer.
Recognising that different contexts require different solutions, EnAct believes different types of energy injustice warrant their own channels. Our existing and/or proposed websites aim to serve as news channels and growing resources of topic-specific content. Our pilot site, COLD@HOME is the most developed and represents the wealth of material we hope to develop on other topics.
/ In 2013, medical conditions linked to chronic cold cost the UK National Health Service ~GPB 848 mln.
EnAct’s pilot project, COLD@HOME features reporting from across the EU and North America, investigating the harsh reality that more and more people are unable to afford sufficient energy services in climates that straddle bitterly cold winters and increasingly hot summers.
In addition to exploring how the combination of poor-quality housing, low incomes and high energy costs affects individual families, it makes the case that underconsumption of energy leads to illnesses and excess seasonal deaths that carry high costs for national health services.
Solutions reporting highlights technical, policy, financing and civic/social interventions that have been proven effective and warrant adaption and scaling up to other contexts.
Delivering a just, clean energy transition is a universal goal that requires coordinated action across all levels of society. International targets can only be met by enabling actors who best understand people’s energy needs and local contexts.
EnAct recognises that energy injustices vary widely across the globe. Installing distributed renewables in rural and remote areas requires a different enabling ecosystem than fixing poor quality housing that makes energy services unaffordable. Different actors need to implement different solutions.
With this in mind, EnAct hosts a suite of websites to on specific aspects of the global energy access challenge. The main site offers content relevant across all streams and provides links to the lates content on other sites.
/ Across Africa, 80-90% of farm tasks are still done manually – often by women.
Extreme heat, floods, droughts and fires, ecosystems in distress. Already, the world’s most vulnerable populations are having to cope with climate change – often with direct effects on their meagre and unstable incomes.
Long a pioneer in off-grid electrification, SELCO Foundation has turned its attention to how distributed renewable energy (DRE) systems can ensure local communities thrive. By developing technologies across the entire supply chains for agriculture and animal husbandry, coupling them with solutions for cooling and last-mile healthcare, SELCO Foundation is bringing energy independence to the local level.
Together, EnAct and SELCO Foundation are keen to launch a reporting hub to draw attention to the full range of actors who are tackling this increasingly urgent challenge.
/ Women pay the most for lack of access to energy, through free labour, poor health and lost opportunities.
Whether collecting wood and feeding the fire or controlling the thermostat and paying the bills, women tend to be the ‘managers’ of household energy. When energy costs exceed the available budget, they are the first to ‘do without’ – going hungry to feed their kids or keeping the heat off while home during the day.
Historically, women have been grossly underrepresented in the energy sector, making up roughlty 25% of the total workforce with 45% of positions being in administrative rather than managerial. Slowly, the share is rising as women innovators develop solutions that make sense ‘for the sisterhood’ and empower peers with entrepreneurship and employment opportunities across the value chain.
Believing this disconnect deserves special attention, EnAct proposes to create a global network of Women Journalists for Energy Justice with the aim of better understanding what women need to know what women need to know about, raising the profiles women already in the sector and attracting more women to become involved.
Engage with EnAct
Billions of people are directly or indirectly affected by lack of access to affordable energy services. And thousands are actively working on solutions. EnAct is keen to raise awareness of both sides of this vitally important story.
As such, we are actively seeking funders and collaborators to expand our reporting. For more information, see ‘Ways to Engage’ or contact us directly: info@en-act.org
The ENERGY ACTION Project
EnAct is a project of ACT 4, a non-profit association registered in France (No. de Siret: 805 036 936 00013) that supports cultural initiatives that raise awareness of and engagement in social issues.
CONTACT
14 blvd Anatole France, 93300 Aubervilliers, France
marilyn.smith@en-act.org
+33 616 018 932