Sustainable energy transitions and social inequalities in energy access: A relational comparison of capabilities in three European countries

Abstract

The influences of energy transitions on social inequity are multidimensional in their attributes and connections. For adequate accountability of their social correlates, policies aiming to implement a transition towards sustainable energy supply and demand have also to be evaluated regarding their influences on social inequalities, namely in terms of energy access and consumption. A capability-based and relational approach is used to monitor the social correlates of the governance of energy transitions. This accountability model is applied to three different European countries: Austria, Belgium, and Bulgaria. They have different characteristics in terms of levels and inequalities regarding material deprivation and energy access as well as patterns of energy transitions. The proposition here is that the capability approach could be usefully adopted to evaluate future implementation of energy transitions and to assess how they could influence inequalities in various aspects of citizen’s daily life. In such a framework, the focus is on potential links between energy transitions and energy inequalities that can be channelled by their respective relations to the capabilities. Data used to quantify the inequalities regarding various capabilities are from the Generations and Gender Programme (GGP).