Overline: Studie

Headline: Fostering Community Well-Being Through Energy-Sector Investments

The positive impacts of renewable energy development for people and the planet are widely acknowledged. However, the direct contribution of local renewable energy projects to local community well-being has received limited attention to date. A new study prepared by researchers at the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS) describes a social performance approach to investing in the energy sector that focuses on promoting the well-being of individuals and energy project host communities.

A student installing solar panels. — A trainee at the Strathmore Energy Research Centre in Nairobi, Kenya installing solar panels. Strathmore University Training

01.07.2021

While the Paris Climate Agreement and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, with its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), have been rightfully celebrated as global milestones towards securing livelihoods and opportunities now and in the future, they lack societal ownership among communities, who play a decisive role in driving the necessary sustainability transformation, write IASS researchers Grace Mbungu and Sebastian Helgenberger.

The many positive effects of local energy projects, such as community revenues, are largely regarded as secondary co-benefits, if not entirely ignored by development policies and practices. Tapping into these opportunities for effective policies and practices in climate action and international development calls for a different approach to sustainable energy development: a social performance approach to energy development and investment of the kind outlined by the authors.

An important aspect of this social performance approach is its focus on the direct contribution of sustainable energy investments in fostering the well-being of individuals in a manner that reflects their aspirations for good quality of life. The researchers argue that energy policy should not simply be monitored to assess its incidental co-benefits, but should be intentionally designed and implemented with a view to maximizing the social performance of local energy projects and contributing to the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Publication:
Mbungu, G. K., & Helgenberger, S. (2021). The social performance approach. Fostering community well-being through energy-sector investments. IASS Discussion Paper, June 2021. DOI: 10.48481/iass.2021.017

On this topic

Dossiers

Der Chemiekonzern Bayer stellt bereits Produkte aus CO2 her.

Economic activities and consumer behaviour in developed countries are currently based mainly on the use of fossil-based raw materials, and their emissions are largely responsible for anthropogenic climate change. In efforts to reduce human effects on the climate, the avoidance of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions is and remains the most important measure. But high CO2 emissions go hand in hand with a demand for carbon in the form of many of the goods that we need on a daily basis, for example for the production of plastics or fuels. Can it therefore make sense to consider the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) as a source of carbon? Since the 1970s, scientists have been researching carbon capture and utilization (CCU) technologies. The aim of these technologies is to re-cycle the CO2 contained in emissions as a feedstock for industrial processes. This captured CO2 could replace fossil-based carbon as a component of materials and energy carriers, thereby creating a carbon cycle.

Prototyp eines supraleitenden Stromkabels.

In the coming decades, the development of renewable energy sources (RES) such as wind and solar will play a major role in reducing our reliance on fossil fuels and making our energy system more sustainable. But the places where RES are available or would be most efficient are often located far away from the densely populated and industrial areas where the energy is needed: on the open sea in the case of offshore wind and in sunnier climes in the case of solar. This means that the construction of new power lines needs to go hand in hand with RES development. In Germany for instance, expanding the electrical grid has become a crucial precondition for the success of the Energiewende.

News

Can the transition to a zero-carbon society in the Global South propel sustainable development? A team led by scientists from the Research Institute for Sustainability (RIFS) has developed the first quantitative approach to measure the extent to which energy transitions in the Global South incorporate elements of energy justice.

Green hydrogen is considered a promising energy resource.

To reach climate neutrality, Europe’s industry will need large quantities of carbon-neutral hydrogen in the future. Many European countries, including Germany, are planning large investments to develop and ramp up the hydrogen industry needed for this. Within the HyPat research project, a new study by RIFS Potsdam, Fraunhofer ISI and the German Energy Agency (dena) makes five recommendations to the EU and the Member States.

Green hydrogen will likely play a crucial role in the global energy transition. RIFS Fellow Beatriz Couto Ribeiro is assessing the opportunities for Latin American economies to enter green hydrogen value chains. In this interview, she explains her research.

Overline: Studie

Headline: Fostering Community Well-Being Through Energy-Sector Investments

Tags:

Sabine Letz