The Green Divide: How sustainable solutions can close the energy poverty gap

Öz

This study examines energy poverty, a worldwide issue that hinders socioeconomic advancement and disproportionately impacts marginalised groups by restricting their access to opportunities. Economic inequality is a major contributing element, as income disparities have a direct impact on the availability, affordability, and dependability of energy, especially in emerging and developing nations. We also see that environmental deterioration caused by unsustainable energy usage exacerbates the issue. Our study examines energy poverty and income inequality data using a regression model that incorporates Panel-Corrected Standard Errors (PCSE) and Feasible Generalised Least Squares (FGLS) approaches, highlighting the crucial role that sustainable energy access plays in accomplishing the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Our quantitative results (where coefficients represent the point change in inequality indices per unit change in independent variables) indicate that government investment in infrastructure considerably reduces energy poverty; for instance, FGLS government spending coefficients were -0.014 for Gini and -0.063 for Palma. Adoption of renewable energy has a mixed effect; the FGLS-Palma model indicates a significant negative effect (-1.155), while other models show positive coefficients (e.g., FGLS-Gini: 0.059), suggesting possible regressive distributional issues or high initial technology transfer costs during the early stages of transition. Importantly, energy poverty is made worse by urbanisation (PCSE-Palma urbanisation coefficient: 0.420), and if rising income gaps are not adequately addressed, the problem will only get worse. To guarantee widespread access and promote long-term global fairness, this research promotes comprehensive policy reforms that give priority to technical innovation, international cooperation, and investments in sustainable energy infrastructure.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Energy poverty
• Income inequality
• Panel data analysis (PCSE/FGLS)
• Sustainable development goals (SDGs)
• Urbanisation

Kaynakça

1. [1] Asghar N, Amjad M.A, Rehman H.U, Munir M, Alhajj R. Achieving sustainable development resilience: Poverty reduction through affordable access to electricity in developing economies. J Clean Prod. 2022; 376: 134040.
2. [2] Bode A. To what extent can community energy mitigate energy poverty in Germany? Front Sustain Cities. 2022; 4: 1005065.
3. [3] Bouzarovski S, Petrova S. A global perspective on domestic energy deprivation: Overcoming the energy poverty–fuel poverty binary. Energy Res Soc Sci. 2015; 10: 31–40.
4. [4] Brown D, Hall S, Martiskainen M, et al. Conceptualising domestic energy service business models: A typology and policy recommendations. Energy Policy. 2022; 161: 112704.
5. [5] Churchill S.A, Smyth R. Ethnic diversity, energy poverty and the mediating role of trust: Evidence from household panel data for Australia. Energy Econ. 2020; 133: 901–913.
6. [6] Deller S.C, Conroy T, Markeson B. Social capital, religion and small business activity. J Econ Behav Organ. 2018; 155: 365–381.
7. [7] Feeny S, Trinh T.A, Zhu A. Temperature shocks and energy poverty: Findings from Vietnam. Energy Econ. 2021; 99: 105310.
8. [8] Gouveia J.P, Seixas J, Palma P, Duarte H, Luz H, Cavadini G.B. Positive Energy District: A model for historic districts to address energy poverty. Front Sustain Cities. 2021; 3: 648473.

9. [9] Heger M, Zens G, Bangalor M. Does the environment matter for poverty reduction? The role of soil fertility and vegetation vigor in poverty reduction. The World Bank: Washington, DC, USA; 2018.
10. [10] Helm D. The European framework for energy and climate policies. Energy Policy. 2014; 64: 29–35.
11. [11] Hills J. Fuel poverty: The problem and its measurement. Interim report of the fuel poverty review. Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion, LSE. 2011.
12. [12] IEA. World Energy Outlook 2021. 2021. https://www.iea.org/reports/world-energy-outlook-2021. Accessed 26 Dec 2021. Imelda. Cooking that kills: Cleaner energy access, indoor air pollution, and health. J Dev Econ. 2020; 147: 102548.
13. [13] Lin B, Kaewkhunok S. The role of socio-culture in the solar power adoption: The inability to reach government policies of marginalised groups. Renew Sustain Energy Rev. 2021; 144: 111035.
14. [14] Masron T.A, Subramaniam Y. Does poverty cause environmental degradation? Evidence from developing countries. J Poverty. 2019; 23: 44–64.
15. [15] Munyanyi M.E, Mintah K, Baako K.T. Energy-related deprivation and housing tenure transitions. Energy Econ. 2021; 98: 105235.
16. [16] Neaime S, Gaysset I. Financial inclusion and stability in MENA: Evidence from poverty and inequality. Financ Res Lett. 2018; 24: 230–237.
17. [17] Nguyen P.C, Su D.T. The influences of government spending on energy poverty: Evidence from developing countries. Energy. 2022; 238: 121785.
18. [18] Nussbaumer P, Bazilian M, Modi V. Measuring energy poverty: Focusing on what matters. Renew Sustain Energy Rev. 2012; 16(1): 231–243.
19. [19] Oum S. Energy poverty in the Lao PDR and its impacts on education and health. Energy Policy. 2019; 132: 247–253.
20. [20] Raihan A, Muhtasim D.A, Farhana S, Pavel M.I, Faruk O, Rahman M, Mahmood A. Nexus between carbon emissions, economic growth, renewable energy use, urbanisation, industrialisation, technological innovation, and forest area towards achieving environmental sustainability in Bangladesh. Energy Clim Chang. 2022; 3: 100080.
21. [21] Rao F, Tang Y, Chau K, Iqbal W. Assessment of energy poverty and key influencing factors in N11 countries. Sustain Prod Consum. 2022; 30: 1–15.
22. [22] Rieskamp J, Hoffrage U. Inferences under time pressure: How opportunity costs affect strategy selection. Acta Psychol. 2008; 127(2): 258–276.
23. [23] Shi Z, Qamruzzaman M. Re-visiting the role of education on poverty through the channel of financial inclusion: Evidence from lower-income and lower-middle-income countries. Front Environ Sci. 2022; 10: 873652.
24. [24] Shyu C.W. A framework for ‘right to energy’ to meet UN SDG7: Policy implications to meet basic human energy needs, eradicate energy poverty, enhance energy justice, and uphold energy democracy. Energy Res Soc Sci. 2021; 79: 102199.
25. [25] Simcock N, Frankowski J, Bouzarovski S. Rendered invisible: Institutional misrecognition and the reproduction of energy poverty. Geoforum. 2021; 124: 1–9.
26. [26] Zhao J, Dong K, Dong X, et al. How does renewable energy alleviate energy poverty? A global analysis. Renew Energy. 2022; 186: 299–311.