Moving beyond informal action: sustainable energy and the humanitarian response system

Abstract

Energy and humanitarian action have long been uneasy bedfellows. In the field, many humanitarian practitioners lack the time or remit to engage with a complex issue such as energy, and the topic to date has received relatively little attention from the private, development and academic sectors. This paper hopes to provide more clarity on energy in forced displacement settings by analysing how energy is interwoven with the humanitarian cluster system. This paper has two aims: (1) to assess existing evidence in the sector and explain the links between energy and each of the humanitarian clusters and (2) to provide recommendations on how humanitarian response efforts can transition from informal action to a comprehensive response on sustainable energy provision. This paper is the first to investigate the role of energy using the cluster system as a framework and contributes to a rapidly evolving field of research and practice on energy in humanitarian contexts. Our analysis demonstrates that energy is not fully integrated within humanitarian programme planning. Further, it highlights pathways for improving humanitarian outcomes enabled by improved energy practices. We identify ten ways clusters can integrate action on energy to support crisis-affected communities.

Enhancing the environmental sustainability of emergency humanitarian medical cold chains with renewable energy sources

“…High-valued HMCC items are among the most critical supplies delivered in emergency humanitarian operations (Comes et al , 2018; Dolinskaya et al , 2018). To keep the chain cold and safe, constant energy supply is required (Mackay et al , 2019), which, to date, is mostly ensured with fossil-centric energy services, such as diesel or kerosene generators (Grafham and Lahn, 2018; Thomas et al , 2021). Emergency settings, however, pose a volatile environment for securing energy access (Comes et al , 2018).…”

“…The responsibility of HOs is to guarantee access to clean energy services before, during, and after the emergency; a goal towards which RESs in emergency HMCCs contribute to (OCHA -United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, 2010;McCarney et al, 2013;Robertson et al, 2017;Thomas et al, 2021). The interviews and case example from practice shed light on what the current literature suggests: RESs offer one feasible alternative to be used in nodes, where access to secure electricity is not guaranteed.…”

“…Environmentally sustainable energy services are, so far, scarcely addressed in academic literature despite the importance of using clean energy services in emergency HMCCs to address the risks in relation to sustainability and cold chain infrastructure disturbances (Comes et al, 2018;Dolinskaya et al, 2018;Thomas et al, 2021;The World Economic Forum, 2021; The Based on a review of academic and practice literature, interviews from practitioners and case examples, this research aims to analytically generalise the phenomenon. The phenomenon is illustrated in a novel framework of typical emergency HMCC that forms a contextual basis for future research on the topic.…”

“…The provision of renewable energy sources (RES) is increasing in global supply chains’ energy solutions to promote climate resilient development in response to recent energy crisis and climate change risks (IPCC – Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2022; World Economic Forum, 2022). The current trends in the energy sector towards electrification, increased use of RES and more local energy sourcing is also a pressing issue for humanitarian organisations (HOs) (Frennesson et al , 2021; Thomas et al , 2021). During emergency humanitarian aid operations, humanitarian medical cold chain (HMCC) items are among the most critical supplies delivered (Comes et al , 2018; Dolinskaya et al , 2018).…”

Humanitarian Energy. A Literature Review

“…As presented in the chapter above, the academic paper by Thomas et al (2021) introduces the topic of energy within humanitarian systems, providing an overview of how energy and humanitarian clusters are connected. As part of their approach energy access includes cooking, heating, and cooling as well as the electricity needs for people in displaced settings, including also the energy used by practitioners in their usual activities.…”