IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/enepol/v129y2019icp1080-1089.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Household energy transition in Sahelian cities: An analysis of the failure of 30 years of energy policies in Bamako, Mali

Author

Listed:
  • Gazull, Laurent
  • Gautier, Denis
  • Montagne, Pierre

Abstract

In West Africa, household energy transition has so far mainly been synonymous with the conversion from woodfuel to LPG. This paper analyses the failure of 30 years of household energy transition policies in Mali by combining two major frameworks: Multi-Level Perspective (MLP) and Social Practice Theory (SPT). Based on empirical field studies undertaken in Bamako since 1985 and on literature review, two historical narratives are presented, one focusing on the dynamics of the dominant woodfuel regime and the other on changes in cooking practices. The MLP analysis showed that all elements seemed aligned for destabilization of the dominant regime, yet the woodfuel regime has resisted and is maintained. The SPT analysis showed that the stability of cooking, eating and fuel purchasing practices did not converge towards and even opposed the transition to LPG. This paper shows that the MLP and SPT frameworks offer complementary perspectives for understanding transitions in developing countries. It concludes that the definition and implementation of energy policies need to integrate an analysis of daily practices and should consider that energy transition is not synonymous with the replacement of one fuel by another, but with new opportunities to diversify ways of cooking.

Suggested Citation

  • Gazull, Laurent & Gautier, Denis & Montagne, Pierre, 2019. "Household energy transition in Sahelian cities: An analysis of the failure of 30 years of energy policies in Bamako, Mali," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 129(C), pages 1080-1089.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:129:y:2019:i:c:p:1080-1089
    DOI: 10.1016/j.enpol.2019.03.017
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301421519301806
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.enpol.2019.03.017?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Bernhard Truffer & Lars Coenen, 2012. "Environmental Innovation and Sustainability Transitions in Regional Studies," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 46(1), pages 1-21, November.
    2. Tom Hargreaves & Noel Longhurst & Gill Seyfang, 2013. "Up, Down, round and round: Connecting Regimes and Practices in Innovation for Sustainability," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 45(2), pages 402-420, February.
    3. Geels, Frank W., 2010. "Ontologies, socio-technical transitions (to sustainability), and the multi-level perspective," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(4), pages 495-510, May.
    4. Geels, Frank W. & Schot, Johan, 2007. "Typology of sociotechnical transition pathways," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(3), pages 399-417, April.
    5. Geels, Frank W., 2012. "A socio-technical analysis of low-carbon transitions: introducing the multi-level perspective into transport studies," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 24(C), pages 471-482.
    6. Shove, Elizabeth & Walker, Gordon, 2010. "Governing transitions in the sustainability of everyday life," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(4), pages 471-476, May.
    7. Jacobsson, Staffan & Johnson, Anna, 2000. "The diffusion of renewable energy technology: an analytical framework and key issues for research," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 28(9), pages 625-640, July.
    8. Verbong, Geert & Geels, Frank, 2007. "The ongoing energy transition: Lessons from a socio-technical, multi-level analysis of the Dutch electricity system (1960-2004)," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(2), pages 1025-1037, February.
    9. Geels, Frank W., 2002. "Technological transitions as evolutionary reconfiguration processes: a multi-level perspective and a case-study," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 31(8-9), pages 1257-1274, December.
    10. Sylvy Jaglin & Marie-Hélène Zérah, 2010. "Eau des villes : repenser des services en mutation. Introduction," Revue Tiers-Monde, Armand Colin, vol. 0(3), pages 7-22.
    11. Tracey Crosbie & Simon Guy, 2008. "En'lightening' energy use: the co-evolution of household lighting practices," International Journal of Environmental Technology and Management, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 9(2/3), pages 220-235.
    12. Arnold, J.E. Michael & Kohlin, Gunnar & Persson, Reidar, 2006. "Woodfuels, livelihoods, and policy interventions: Changing Perspectives," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 34(3), pages 596-611, March.
    13. Li, Francis G.N. & Trutnevyte, Evelina & Strachan, Neil, 2015. "A review of socio-technical energy transition (STET) models," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 100(C), pages 290-305.
    14. Cline-Cole, R. A. & Main, H. A. C. & Nichol, J. E., 1990. "On fuelwood consumption, population dynamics and deforestation in Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 18(4), pages 513-527, April.
    15. Leach, Gerald, 1992. "The energy transition," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 20(2), pages 116-123, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Cheo, Ambe Emmanuel & Adelhardt, Nora & Krieger, Tim & Berneiser, Jessica & Sanchez Santillano, Federico Alberto & Bingwa, Brendon & Suleiman, Nischa & Thiele, Patricia & Royes, Alvaro & Gudopp, Danie, 2022. "Agrivoltaics across the water-energy-food-nexus in Africa: Opportunities and challenges for rural communities in Mali," Discussion Paper Series 2022-03, University of Freiburg, Wilfried Guth Endowed Chair for Constitutional Political Economy and Competition Policy.
    2. Katharina Löhr & Custódio Efraim Matavel & Sophia Tadesse & Masoud Yazdanpanah & Stefan Sieber & Nadejda Komendantova, 2022. "Just Energy Transition: Learning from the Past for a More Just and Sustainable Hydrogen Transition in West Africa," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(12), pages 1-23, December.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Sebastian Fastenrath & Boris Braun, 2018. "Lost in Transition? Directions for an Economic Geography of Urban Sustainability Transitions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-17, July.
    2. Svensson, Oscar & Nikoleris, Alexandra, 2018. "Structure reconsidered: Towards new foundations of explanatory transitions theory," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(2), pages 462-473.
    3. Fuenfschilling, Lea & Truffer, Bernhard, 2014. "The structuration of socio-technical regimes—Conceptual foundations from institutional theory," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 43(4), pages 772-791.
    4. Markard, Jochen & Raven, Rob & Truffer, Bernhard, 2012. "Sustainability transitions: An emerging field of research and its prospects," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 41(6), pages 955-967.
    5. Seyfang, Gill & Gilbert-Squires, Amber, 2019. "Move your money? Sustainability Transitions in Regimes and Practices in the UK Retail Banking Sector," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 156(C), pages 224-235.
    6. Jano-Ito, Marco A. & Crawford-Brown, Douglas, 2016. "Socio-technical analysis of the electricity sector of Mexico: Its historical evolution and implications for a transition towards low-carbon development," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 567-590.
    7. Pesch, Udo, 2015. "Tracing discursive space: Agency and change in sustainability transitions," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 90(PB), pages 379-388.
    8. Sorrell, Steve, 2018. "Explaining sociotechnical transitions: A critical realist perspective," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(7), pages 1267-1282.
    9. Elisabeth M. C. Svennevik, 2021. "Providers and Practices: How Suppliers Shape Car-Sharing Practices," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-14, February.
    10. Jørgensen, Ulrik, 2012. "Mapping and navigating transitions—The multi-level perspective compared with arenas of development," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 41(6), pages 996-1010.
    11. Ford, Rebecca & Walton, Sara & Stephenson, Janet & Rees, David & Scott, Michelle & King, Geoff & Williams, John & Wooliscroft, Ben, 2017. "Emerging energy transitions: PV uptake beyond subsidies," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 138-150.
    12. Jenkins, Kirsten & Sovacool, Benjamin K. & McCauley, Darren, 2018. "Humanizing sociotechnical transitions through energy justice: An ethical framework for global transformative change," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 66-74.
    13. Cheng Wang & Tao Lv & Rongjiang Cai & Jianfeng Xu & Liya Wang, 2022. "Bibliometric Analysis of Multi-Level Perspective on Sustainability Transition Research," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-31, March.
    14. Hamid El Bilali, 2020. "Transition heuristic frameworks in research on agro-food sustainability transitions," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 22(3), pages 1693-1728, March.
    15. Hynes, Mike, 2016. "Developing (tele)work? A multi-level sociotechnical perspective of telework in Ireland," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 21-31.
    16. Barbanente, Angela & Grassini, Laura, 2022. "Fostering transitions in landscape policies: A multi-level perspective," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 112(C).
    17. Markard, Jochen & Truffer, Bernhard, 2008. "Technological innovation systems and the multi-level perspective: Towards an integrated framework," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(4), pages 596-615, May.
    18. Hassan Qudrat-Ullah & Mark McCarthy Akrofi & Aymen Kayal, 2020. "Analyzing Actors’ Engagement in Sustainable Energy Planning at the Local Level in Ghana: An Empirical Study," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(8), pages 1-20, April.
    19. Canitez, Fatih, 2019. "Pathways to sustainable urban mobility in developing megacities: A socio-technical transition perspective," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 141(C), pages 319-329.
    20. Erlinghagen, Sabine & Markard, Jochen, 2012. "Smart grids and the transformation of the electricity sector: ICT firms as potential catalysts for sectoral change," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 895-906.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:129:y:2019:i:c:p:1080-1089. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/enpol .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.