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Energy justice, unequal access to affordable warmth, and capability deprivation: A quantitative analysis for Belgium

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  • Bartiaux, Françoise
  • Vandeschrick, Christophe
  • Moezzi, Mithra
  • Frogneux, Nathalie

Abstract

This paper explores the energy justice nexus, drawing on Sen and Nussbaum’s concept of capabilities. Our contribution operationalises most of the ten capabilities defined by Nussbaum, and examines them for all households of a single country (Belgium) in relation to household access to energy and especially to affordable warmth. We argue that the three dimensions highlighted by environmental-justice theories – income distribution, procedures producing unequal distributional outcomes, and cultural and political recognition of vulnerable and marginalised social groups – are more evident when posed contra the range of differences between energy-poor households and other types of households of a country. Thus, we propose a five-group typology of households that also takes into account the social aid granted in the country. Using Belgium as an example, this typology is used to compare across these five groups with respect to the extent to which energy poverty is associated with other difficulties of daily life beyond just housing and health. A new simple statistical index is developed to summarise these comparisons. The approach of the energy justice nexus is thus systemic rather than causal between access to energy and potential capabilities’ deprivation. The data used is a large-scale quantitative survey that is part of the Generation and Gender Programme (GGP), and it enables to proxy most of Nussbaum’s capabilities with several questions asked in this GGP survey. As these GGP surveys are standardised and realised in 16 countries, our approach is transferable to other nations/regions as well. Results show that energy poverty in Belgium is associated with deprivation of several capabilities, in more areas than expected: not only regarding housing, health, and mobility, but also regarding access to culture and recreational activities, as well as the feeling of fulfilment and ontological security. Furthermore, the comparison between energy-poor people and other energy-access groups makes the issue of social stigma clearer, and thus so the dimension of political recognition. In terms of policy, these results suggest to fighting energy poverty as a transversal issue.

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  • Bartiaux, Françoise & Vandeschrick, Christophe & Moezzi, Mithra & Frogneux, Nathalie, 2018. "Energy justice, unequal access to affordable warmth, and capability deprivation: A quantitative analysis for Belgium," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 225(C), pages 1219-1233.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:225:y:2018:i:c:p:1219-1233
    DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2018.04.113
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    6. Lucie Middlemiss, 2022. "Who is vulnerable to energy poverty in the Global North, and what is their experience?," Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Energy and Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 11(6), November.
    7. Koďousková, Hedvika & Bořuta, Dominik, 2022. "Energy poverty in Slovakia: Officially defined, but misrepresented in major policies," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 168(C).
    8. Debnath, R. & Bardhan, R. & Darby, S. & Mohaddes, K. & Sunikka-Blank, M. & Coelho, A C V. & Isa, A., 2020. "A deep-narrative analysis of energy cultures in slum rehabilitation housing of Abuja, Mumbai and Rio de Janeiro for just policy design," Cambridge Working Papers in Economics 20101, Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge.
    9. Gordon, Joel A. & Balta-Ozkan, Nazmiye & Nabavi, Seyed Ali, 2022. "Beyond the triangle of renewable energy acceptance: The five dimensions of domestic hydrogen acceptance," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 324(C).
    10. Xinfang Wang & Rosie Day & Dan Murrant & Antonio Diego Marín & David Castrejón Botello & Francisco López González & Jonathan Radcliffe, 2021. "A Capabilities-Led Approach to Assessing Technological Solutions for a Rural Community," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-21, March.
    11. Wang, Shangrui & Cao, Anran & Wang, Guohua & Xiao, Yiming, 2022. "The Impact of energy poverty on the digital divide: The mediating effect of depression and Internet perception," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    12. Tarasova, Ekaterina & Rohracher, Harald, 2023. "Marginalising household users in smart grids," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
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