Nexus Between Energy Poverty and Technological Innovations: A Pathway for Addressing Energy Sustainability

Abstract

Pakistan has experienced energy poverty, as most of the people live in rural areas. Poor people are stereotyped as collecting the firewood and using the unclean energy sources to meet their residential energy needs. As a result, respondents in the provinces with the highest rates of energy poverty set a high priority on this research. Structured interviews were used to conduct the research in rural parts of Punjab and Sindh provinces. Due to the apparent country’s large population and rapid industrialization, conventional energy sources cannot meet the country’s present energy needs. Results revealed that energy poverty in rural areas had exposed the residents to security problems such as health dangers, fire accidents, time poverty, financial poverty, illiteracy, and other issues at various levels of severity. As a result, alternative energy sources must be explored. This research aims to determine the best renewable energy choice for Pakistan’s rural areas. In terms of pricing, life duration, operation, and maintenance costs, the results show that solar energy is the best renewable energy source for Pakistan. The key barriers that continue to promote energy poverty have been identified. Finally, the study suggests policy recommendation for public and private sectors to overcome energy related barriers to alleviate energy poverty in rural areas by utilizing maximum solar energy.

Role of fiscal and monetary policies for economic recovery in China

“…Although the impact of political risk on economic volatility has been widely debated, this is not the case here. According to Batool et al (2022) , policy risk shocks are too minor and not adequately amplified. However, Chang et al (2022) showed that policy uncertainty significantly affects economic output.…”

Assessing the role of sustainable strategies in alleviating energy poverty: an environmental sustainability paradigm

“…Therefore, affordability and adaptation of renewable energy technologies should be part of government policies to alleviate energy poverty. Additionally, accepting renewable energy is a vital transition from fossil fuels to mitigate the energy crisis (Agyekum 2020; Batool et al 2022;Emodi and Boo 2015). Based on the above reviews, the seventh hypothesis is formulated as follows:…”

“…Sustainable energy development requires access to clean, inexpensive, and reliable energy sources (Irfan et al 2019). The term "energy poverty" refers to the situation in which the people of a country do not have sufficient access to power to meet fundamental needs such as lighting and cooking (Batool et al 2022). Energy poverty still exists in India; although India possesses renewable energy sources potential, the country can utilize them effectively to combat the energy issues (Rafi et al 2021).…”

“…It is integral to socio-economic development because it raises living standards through GDP growth (Kumar 2020). Therefore, increasing renewable energy sources is essential to combat energy poverty in rural regions (Batool et al 2022). Energy poverty alleviation is one of the main objectives of the Millennium Development Goals (Wang and Lin 2022).…”

“…Therefore, advanced and affordable energy is required to boost employment in rural areas. In addition, it increases work prospects and raises living standards (Batool et al 2022). Energy poverty refers to a lack of reliable and affordable access to energy sources (Halkos and Gkampoura 2021).…”