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Session 5: Energy poverty and access

In the fifth session, we explored how to tackle energy poverty and ensure access to energy for everyone while fighting the climate crisis.

DIY Solar Panel Workshop with Demand Energy Equality. Credit: Flickr, 10 10, Moss Community Energy Launch

This is session 5 of the Democratising Energy Peer Learning Course by Platform London and Transnational Institute.

Presentation

Dorothy-Grace M. Guerrero shared on the need for a gendered perspective on energy justice. She discussed her work with WoMin — African Women Unite Against Destructive Resource Extraction. A few things you will find in the interview (12.5 minutes long):

1. Why women accessing energy for themselves and their families is seen as a “labour of love” as opposed to a valid economic activity and what this means for energy access;understanding the development process (and imperialism) in order to change and fight the current energy system;

2. Understanding the development process (and imperialism) in order to change and fight the current energy system;

3. The rise of the far right — and what this means for our work in energy democracy.

Schemes for energy access – for who?

In Women Building Power, WoMin discuss three different approaches to women’s energy poverty.

In the Welfare approach, governments subsidise fuel to ease the burden of energy poverty.

In the Women entrepreneurs approach, organisations provide loans and trainings to help small renewable energy and ‘appropriate technology’ businesses start up.

And the Energy transformation approach (WoMin’s own) advocates for a system transformation and “says African women must make their expertise and their voices heard”. (For more detail, see the WoMin’s Energy: a Women’s Rights Issue booklet.)

Webinar

The webinar featured contributions from:

M’Lisa Lee Colbert, researcher (Canada)

Namory Diakhate, co-founder, ElleSolaire (Senegal)

Further reading

Understanding Energy Inequality

Energy: a Women’s Rights Issue

Women Building Power: Towards Climate & Energy Justice for Women in Africa

To Fight Energy Poverty, Africa Embraces Both Renewable and Non-Renewable Energy (thinking about the fight for renewables, and who is and isn’t part of that fight)

Energy struggles: combating energy poverty in Catalonia

Fuel Poverty Action (UK-based) & “6 ways to fight fuel poverty“

To continue the Democratising Energy Peer Learning Course:

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