Energy poverty and social relations: A capabilities approach

Middlemiss, Lucie; Ambrosio-Albalá, Pepa; Emmel, Nick; Gillard, Ross; Gilbertson, Janet; Hargreaves, Tom; Mullen, Caroline; Ryan, Tony; Snell, Carolyn; Tod, Angela

doi:10.1016/j.erss.2019.05.002

Cited by 148 publications

(99 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…There is a myriad potential social impacts from energy community CAIs. For example, local energy communities contribute to local economic development [29,30], address issues of energy poverty [31][32][33], raise awareness and engagement in sustainable energy [6,34,35], and promote energy justice through grassroots democratic processes [36][37][38][39][40]. Barr and Devine-Wright [40] found that community energy projects help to promote a more sustainable and resilient society while offering communities legitimacy, consensus, and voice.…”

Section: Energy Communities As Social Innovationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Collective Action and Social Innovation in the Energy Sector: A Mobilization Model Perspective

Gregg¹,

Nyborg

Hansen

et al. 2020

Energies

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This conceptual paper applies a mobilization model to Collective Action Initiatives (CAIs) in the energy sector. The goal is to synthesize aspects of sustainable transition theories with social movement theory to gain insights into how CAIs mobilize to bring about niche-regime change in the context of the sustainable energy transition. First, we demonstrate how energy communities, as a representation of CAIs, relate to social innovation. We then discuss how CAIs in the energy sector are understood within both sustainability transition theory and institutional dynamics theory. While these theories are adept at describing the role energy CAIs have in the energy transition, they do not yet offer much insight concerning the underlying social dimensions for the formation and upscaling of energy CAIs. Therefore, we adapt and apply a mobilization model to gain insight into the dimensions of mobilization and upscaling of CAIs in the energy sector. By doing so we show that the expanding role of CAIs in the energy sector is a function of their power acquisition through mobilization processes. We conclude with a look at future opportunities and challenges of CAIs in the energy transition.

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Section: Energy Communities As Social Innovationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Collective Action and Social Innovation in the Energy Sector: A Mobilization Model Perspective

Gregg¹,

Nyborg

Hansen

et al. 2020

Energies

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“…They affect the individual disposable income, especially in the poorer part of the population, which is why they are included in analyses related to poverty (Annoni and Węziak-Białowolska, 2016). It is also worth emphasizing that the poverty related to housing costs is a key element of the energy poverty (Burlinson et al, 2018;Mendoza Aguilar et al, 2019;Middlemiss et al, 2019;Primc and Slabe-Erker, 2020;Betto et al, 2020;Castaño-Rosa et al, 2020). The indicators that take into account these costs in the investigated subject area are presented in Table 4.…”

Section: Risk Of Poverty and Social Exclusion In Rural Areas Of Visegmentioning

confidence: 99%

Poverty and Social Exclusion: Is this a Problem in Rural Areas in the Visegrad Group Countries?

Piwowar¹,

Dzikuć²

2020

ERSJ

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Purpose: The aim is to reveal and determine the current state of poverty in rural areas in the regions of the Visegrád Group. By comparing the basic features used for measuring poverty, it has been pointed out that there are spatial differences between the regions analyzed. Design/Methodology/Approach: The basic indicators used in this area include the income measure, the relative poverty indicator (at-risk poverty rate-ARPR) and the aggregate indicator (at-risk-of-poverty and social exclusion-AROPE). Findings: In many households in rural areas, as in Poland and Hungary, there is a problem consisting in the fact that financial resources are insufficient to cover the basic needs. As it results from the analyses (especially from at-risk-of-poverty indicator after deducting housing costs), the level of satisfying the remaining needs in rural areas is very low. Practical Implications: This issue is important not only in theoretical term, but also for application purposes. Many households in the Visegrád Group area experience poverty. According to the analyses, the problem of the risk of poverty concerns especially rural residents in Poland and Hungary. It is necessary to take measures in the sphere of social policy that would limit the threat of social exclusion. Originality/Value: Social exclusion and poverty are alarming problems for modern societies they are obstacles in achieving sustainable social development. The paper discusses important and current issues related to poverty and social exclusion in rural areas in the Visegrád Group countries.

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“…Vulnerable and socially isolated households fare especially badly here as the presence or absence of such relations may be critical to whether or not they can access key services (see Box 1). This suggests that the role of social relations may be especially significant for disadvantaged groups 48 . Meanwhile, agencies must engage in considerable 'relational work' 49 to increase trust in their services.…”

Section: Relations With Agencies and Communitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The importance of social relations in shaping energy demand

Hargreaves

Middlemiss

2020

Nat Energy

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Current efforts to change patterns of energy demand tend to target people as discrete and isolated individuals. In so doing, they ignore the fact that energy use occurs in places such as homes, workplaces and communities in which complex webs of social relations already exist. Here, we argue that more attention should be paid to how people's social relations influence energy demand. We review recent qualitative research to show how social relations shape how much energy people use, when and where they use it, as well as how they respond to interventions. We propose a typology that identifies three types of social relation as especially significant: those with family and friends, with agencies and communities, and those associated with social identities. We show how a focus on social relations can generate new forms of policy and intervention in efforts to build more just and sustainable energy futures. Humans are social animals: our relationships shape our experiences, decisions and actions. Energy demand is no exception: how we consume energy is shaped by relationships of conflict, consensus, collaboration, companionship, solidarity and oppression with our fellow human beings. When people talk about using energy at home, work or in their communities, they also talk about their relationships with others to explain how and why they consume in the ways they do. Stories of teenagers leaving the lights on, or colleagues being perpetually cold in the office are familiar to us all. It follows that attempts to change patterns of energy demand, to make them more flexible 1 , more just 2,3 , or to help decarbonise energy systems 4,5 depend fundamentally on social relations. Relational sociology characterises how people act as structured by the situations they are in, others involved in those situations, and their relations with those others 6. Social relations are therefore seen as shaping, and being shaped by interactions (giving these meaning and significance), reproduced by practices, and important in processes of identity building 6-8. Social relations shift over time, and the history and expected future of a relationship impact on how it is experienced in the present 6. People have patterns of social relations, which differ between societies, groups of people and individuals, and which impact on their access to resources. There is a distinction between 'micro' social relationships in daily life (those with parents, friends or teachers) and 'macro' social relationships (such as relationships of class, gender, or belief) 8 , but these intersect and overlap in people's lives. To help illustrate the multiple ways that social relations shape energy demand, Boxes 1 and 2 provide two vignettes drawn from our own research that show how social relations have

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Energy poverty and social relations: A capabilities approach

Cited by 148 publications

References 30 publications

Collective Action and Social Innovation in the Energy Sector: A Mobilization Model Perspective

Collective Action and Social Innovation in the Energy Sector: A Mobilization Model Perspective

Poverty and Social Exclusion: Is this a Problem in Rural Areas in the Visegrad Group Countries?

The importance of social relations in shaping energy demand

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