Energy poor need more energy, but do they need more carbon? Evaluation of people's basic carbon needs

In the era of low-carbon energy transitions, both climate and energy justice studies have raised concerns about the deterioration of energy poverty triggered by carbon mitigation policies. Nevertheless, no in-depth analysis has thus far examined the relationship between people suffering energy poverty and their carbon dioxide emissions. This study addresses the issue by presenting a novel approach to measuring people's basic carbon needs (BCN), which are defined as the amount of carbon emissions needed to achieve (socially and materially) adequate levels of domestic energy services. The results, using Japan as a case study, reveal the differences in people's BCN based on climatic, socio-demographic, and dwelling factors, showing that people in energy poverty need greater carbon emissions to fulfil their basic energy needs than the affluent population. In upcoming low-carbon energy transitions, people's BCN must be reduced while satisfying their basic energy needs. However, this study shows that the carbon intensity of domestic energy services for energy poverty households is high, leading carbon mitigation policies such as carbon pricing to adversely affect them without suitable countermeasures. Hence, ensuring access to low-carbon energy for all, including the energy poor, is essential to engender an inclusive low-carbon energy transition.