Energy justice and gender

Globally, many of the most pervasive inequalities are those embedded in unequal gender relations. Despite this, gender has only recently emerged as a focus in conversations about energy justice. Understanding gender as an intersectional axis of social power that shapes social relations in an unequal way, this chapter reviews global energy-gender debates. In doing do, we set out a framework for understanding the ways in which energy justice is shaped by gender relations, and vice versa. We illustrate this framework with multi-scalar examples from the European context, evaluating both national scale gender-energy indicators and detailed qualitative evidence from households in Poland, Czechia and Greece. We set out an agenda for possible future research and policy on gendered energy injustices that considers: intersectional energy injustices; temporal dimensions of gendered energy injustice; and the importance of mixed methods approaches

Conceptualising energy use and energy poverty using a capabilities framework

In this article we conceptualise energy use from a capabilities perspective, informed by the work of Amartya Sen, Martha Nussbaum and others following them. Building on this, we suggest a corresponding definition of energy poverty, as understood in the capabilities space. We argue that such an understanding provides a theoretically coherent means of comprehending the relationship between energy and wellbeing, and thus conceptualising energy deprivation, that makes sense across settings including both the global North and South: a coherence which has previously been lacking. At the same time, it has the flexibility to be deployed in a way that is sensitive to local contexts. Understanding energy use in the capabilities space also provides a means for identifying multiple sites of intervention, including some areas that are currently largely overlooked. We argue that this is advantageous for attempts to address energy poverty in the context of climate change and imperatives for the containment of aggregate energy consumption

Editorial: energy justice in the era of green transitions

The need to rapidly decarbonise our energy systems to address the challenge of climate breakdown is now widely accepted. It is also increasingly recognised that processes of decarbonisation ought to be undertaken in a manner that considers issues of justice and equity

Vulnerability to fuel and transport poverty

This briefing highlights the groups of people that academic research has identified as vulnerable to experiencing fuel poverty and transport poverty. Fuel and transport poverty are distributed across the UK, although the groups affected in each place can vary and the characteristics can be different depending on the location and make up of households

Necessary energy uses and a minimum standard of living in the United Kingdom:energy justice or escalating expectations?

Access to affordable energy is a core dimension of energy justice, with recent work examining the relation between energy use and well-being in these terms. However, there has been relatively little examination of exactly which energy uses should be considered basic necessities within a given cultural context and so of concern for energy justice. We examine the inclusion of energy-using necessities within the outcomes of deliberative workshops with members of the public focused on defining a minimum-standard of living in the UK and repeated biannually over a six year period. Our secondary analysis shows that energy uses deemed to be necessities are diverse and plural, enabling access to multiple valued energy services, and that their profile has to some degree shifted from 2008 to 2014. The reasoning involved is multidimensional, ranging across questions of health, social participation, opportunity and practicality. We argue that public deliberations about necessities can be taken as legitimate grounding for defining minimum standards and therefore the scope of ‘doing justice’ in fuel poverty policy. However we set this in tension with how change over time reveals the escalation of norms of energy dependency in a society that on climate justice grounds must radically reduce carbon emissions

Body weight-based iodinated contrast immersion timing for human fetal postmortem microfocus computed tomography

Objectives The aim of this study was to evaluate the length of time required to achieve full iodination using potassium tri-iodide as a contrast agent, prior to human fetal postmortem microfocus computed tomography (micro-CT) imaging. Methods Prospective assessment of optimal contrast iodination was conducted across 157 human fetuses (postmortem weight range 2-298 g; gestational age range 12-37 weeks), following micro-CT imaging. Simple linear regression was conducted to analyse which fetal demographic factors could produce the most accurate estimate for optimal iodination time. Results Postmortem body weight (r2 = 0.6435) was better correlated with iodination time than gestational age (r2 = 0.1384), producing a line of best fit, y = [0.0304 × body weight (g)] − 2.2103. This can be simplified for clinical use whereby immersion time (days) = [0.03 × body weight (g)] − 2.2. Using this formula, for example, a 100-g fetus would take 5.2 days to reach optimal contrast enhancement. Conclusions The simplified equation can now be used to provide estimation times for fetal contrast preparation time prior to micro-CT imaging and can be used to manage service throughput and parental expectation for return of their fetus. Advances in knowledge A simple equation from empirical data can now be used to estimate preparation time for human fetal postmortem micro-CT imaging