Energy


Chapter 2 GLOBAL GENDER AND ENVIRONMENT OUTLOOK


In addition to the deep energy poverty in low-income countries, energy poverty is also a significant problem in higher-income countries (CAFOD et al. 2015). In these countries, too, energy poverty is gendered, affecting elderly women and female single parents in particular (Pye and Dobbin 2015). More than 2 million people in North America, Eastern Europe, Central Asia and other parts of the developed world currently suffer from energy poverty (CAFOD et al. 2015). The number of households whose energy supply is interrupted because of unpaid bills is growing in many European countries, with recent research showing that the number of countries in which there are “vulnerable consumers” is increasing (Pye and Dobbin 2015). There is no consistent definition of energy poverty or of “vulnerable consumers”. While guidance is lacking on what constitutes vulnerability to energy poverty, indicators include income, level of energy consumption (the higher the level, the more vulnerable users are to price increases), status of tenure and dwelling type (e.g. type of insulation). Very little research includes gender as a social category in vulnerability assessments. In a 2012 European study, more women than men reported they could not afford adequate heating (EIGE 2012). Even in the absence of a comparative data base, it can be assumed that women are particularly affected by higher energy prices given that elderly women and single mothers make up the largest share of the poorest in most European countries, that there is a gender income gap, and that the housing tenure status of women is typically less secure than that of men.


Gendered aspects of centralized energy planning and policy


Gender in energy planning


Formal planning and policy-making in the energy industry tend to be highly centralized. Governments as well as the private sector play strong policy and planning roles. This is partly because energy production has distinctive characteristics, including its strategic role in the economy, the tendency for monopolies to control grid-based energy sectors, high investments and long lead times, and often lightly regulated access to primary energy resources. Energy planning allows governments to assess energy options and their consequences for society, the economy and the environment.


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Energy planning and policy-making at this scale typically focuses on aspects such as energy production capacities, regional or national energy needs and trends, the global energy mix, connectivity and access to modern energy services, and climate change mitigation. Recently, consideration of the public health aspects of energy production has become increasingly prominent with respect to the global energy agenda (IEA 2016; WHO 2012).


Gender aspects of the planning and policy cycles and sectors have little visibility in this policy framework, perpetuating strong inequalities in the energy industry. Globally gender is scarcely mainstreamed in energy policies, even in the case of the newest energy sectors. As of early 2015, 145 countries had enacted policies to regulate and promote renewables in power generation, heating and cooling, and transport (e.g. the European Union had established new regulations governing the energy sector beyond 2020, setting a region-wide goal of a 27% renewable energy share by 2030) (REN21 2015). However, the large majority of these renewable energy support policies (which are driven by the need to mitigate climate change, reduce dependence on imported fuels, develop more flexible and resilient energy systems, and create economic opportunities) are not gender-sensitive (REN21 2015).


Nevertheless, some shifts are evident. Uganda’s


Renewable Energy Policy has special gender strategies, including the promotion of microfinance, to ensure that women can benefit from renewable energy technologies when carrying out their household tasks. India’s national biofuels programme specifically refers to the role of women in cultivating biodiesel crops. The Kenyan government has made considerable progress on recognizing the gender-environment nexus (Box 2.3.1). At COP21, where 140 countries presented their plans for emission reductions (Intended Nationally Determined Contributions, or INDCs), the plans of some 50 countries referred to the importance of gender in combatting climate change (Rojas et al. 2015).


Energy policy is often erroneously considered gender-neutral. However, issues such as investment, tariffs, pricing, access, availability, and infrastructure development that are the traditional purview of energy policy-making are all intrinsically linked to gender roles and responsibilities (Woroniuk and Schalkwyk 1998).


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