Energy justice and the co-opting of indigenous narratives in U.S. offshore wind development

A Community Engagement Model for an Inclusive Just Energy Transition in the South

“…Energy justice offers an analytical framework for evaluating the implications of decision-making in transitioning to clean energy (Bacchiocchi et al, 2022). It also considers where injustices occur, which affected parts of society are ignored, and the existing processes for their remediation to expose and decrease such injustices (Jenkins, McCauley, Heffron, Stephan & Rehner, 2016).…”

“…Energy justice is therefore assessed through three core tenets: distributive justice, recognition justice and procedural justice. Accordingly, for energy injustice to be resolved, the first step must be the identification of the problem, ie distributional justice, which considers who benefits and who carries the costs of change in the energy transition (Bacchiocchi et al, 2022;Jenkins et al, 2016). Owing to factors such as geographic proximity, prior marginalisation and lack of access to benefits, including workforce development, these costs may be disproportionately distributed among communities (Bacchiocchi et al, 2022).…”

“…Accordingly, for energy injustice to be resolved, the first step must be the identification of the problem, ie distributional justice, which considers who benefits and who carries the costs of change in the energy transition (Bacchiocchi et al, 2022;Jenkins et al, 2016). Owing to factors such as geographic proximity, prior marginalisation and lack of access to benefits, including workforce development, these costs may be disproportionately distributed among communities (Bacchiocchi et al, 2022). The second step is the identification of those it affects, ie recognitional justice, which aims to recognise every individual or community who is affected by transformations in the energy system and recognise the socio-political and cultural ramifications of energy policies and decisions on all people (Bacchiocchi et al, 2022;Jenkins et al, 2016).…”

“…Improving access to safe, clean, inexpensive, reliable and sustainable energy, as envisioned by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 17, is widely recognised as essential to dealing with energy poverty and enhancing health and socioeconomic development (Bacchiocchi, Sant & Bates, 2022;Kimemia, Van Niekerk & Seedat., 2021;Nixon, Bhargava, Halford & Gaura, 2021;Pandey & Sharma, 2021;Van Niekerk, Kimemia, Seedat & Annegarn, 2022). Energy poverty is defined as a situation in which households are confronted by everyday challenges in meeting their necessary energy needs owing to a combination of socio-economic, technical, environmental and political factors (Bednar & Reames, 2020).…”

“…The notion of energy justice, also known as "energy equity", refers to the application of basic principles of justice and fairness to the apparent injustice inflicted on people who are deprived of sustainable energy, ie energy-oppressed poor people (Guruswamy, 2010). In short, energy justice is about providing all individuals with safe, affordable and sustainable energy using a critical framework for all energy-related decision-making processes (Bacchiocchi et al, 2022;Graff et al, 2021). Ross, Day et al (2022) contend that, to limit climate change in the future, transitioning to a safe low-carbon energy economy is inescapable, but warns that failure to prioritise energy justice and extend renewable energy access to disadvantaged communities may exacerbate existing inequalities.…”