The political economy of energy poverty: A review of key challenges

This review specifically investigates the concepts of energy poverty and energy ladders. It provides the most current available data on energy poverty, electrification, and dependency on biomass fuels for cooking. It elaborates on the relationship between energy access and millennium development goals, especially the connection between modern energy services and development, public health, gender empowerment, and the degradation of the natural environment. It notes that energy poverty has serious and growing public health concerns related to indoor air pollution, physical injury during fuelwood collection, and lack of refrigeration and medical care in areas that lack electricity. It argues that energy poverty affects both the gender roles within society and the educational opportunities available to children and adults. It documents that the environmental impacts of energy poverty encompass deforestation and changes in land use, as well as the emission of greenhouse gases. The final section of the review underscores the structural elements of the global energy system that entrench and sustain energy poverty. (C) 2012 International Energy Initiative. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.