IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jeners/v16y2023i16p6075-d1220898.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Energy Inequality Indicators: A Comprehensive Review for Exploring Ways to Reduce Inequality

Author

Listed:
  • Lina Volodzkiene

    (Lithuanian Energy Institute, Breslaujos Str. 3, LT-44403 Kaunas, Lithuania)

  • Dalia Streimikiene

    (Lithuanian Energy Institute, Breslaujos Str. 3, LT-44403 Kaunas, Lithuania)

Abstract

Society faces challenges in achieving a climate-neutral society due to deepening energy inequality. The pandemic led to reduced emissions but also caused an economic downturn. Geopolitical tensions since 2022 raised energy prices, affecting affordability. To address these issues, this research aims to conduct a systematic literature review to explore the content, conceptualization, and distinguishing factors of energy inequality compared to similar concepts as well as to identify energy inequality dimensions and its indicators and explore ways to reduce it. A systematic literature review explored recent publications on energy inequality from 2019 to 2023, encompassing both pre-pandemic and pandemic-affected periods. This review analyzed 203 articles, with 61 of them directly focusing on energy inequality indicators. This research is conducted in several stages. Firstly, this article clarifies the concept of energy inequality and highlights its differences from related terms. Secondly, this study investigates the effects of energy inequality taking into account its diverse dimensions, and it categorizes these dimensions and their respective indicators based on their specific contexts. Thirdly, recommendations are provided for potential approaches to reduce energy inequality. The methodology integrates an examination of macroeconomic energy inequality statistics. The resulting findings hold the potential to significantly contribute towards cultivating a more environmentally conscious trajectory. Moreover, these outcomes play a pivotal role in advancing energy justice and effectively tackling the multifaceted challenges posed by energy inequality.

Suggested Citation

  • Lina Volodzkiene & Dalia Streimikiene, 2023. "Energy Inequality Indicators: A Comprehensive Review for Exploring Ways to Reduce Inequality," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(16), pages 1-28, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:16:y:2023:i:16:p:6075-:d:1220898
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/16/16/6075/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/16/16/6075/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Fry, Jane M. & Farrell, Lisa & Temple, Jeromey B., 2022. "Energy poverty and retirement income sources in Australia," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 106(C).
    2. Elisabeth A. Shrimpton & Dexter Hunt & Chris D.F. Rogers, 2021. "Justice in (English) Water Infrastructure: A Systematic Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-18, March.
    3. Igawa, Moegi & Managi, Shunsuke, 2022. "Energy poverty and income inequality: An economic analysis of 37 countries," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 306(PB).
    4. Dalia Streimikiene & Grigorios L. Kyriakopoulos, 2023. "Energy Poverty and Low Carbon Energy Transition," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(2), pages 1-15, January.
    5. Shaoqi Sun & Yuanli Xie & Yunmei Li & Kansheng Yuan & Lifa Hu, 2022. "Analysis of Dynamic Evolution and Spatial-Temporal Heterogeneity of Carbon Emissions at County Level along “The Belt and Road”—A Case Study of Northwest China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(20), pages 1-20, October.
    6. Davillas, Apostolos & Burlinson, Andrew & Liu, Hui-Hsuan, 2022. "Getting warmer: Fuel poverty, objective and subjective health and well-being," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 106(C).
    7. Rafi, Muhammed & Naseef, Mohemmad & Prasad, Salu, 2021. "Multidimensional energy poverty and human capital development: Empirical evidence from India," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 101(C).
    8. Shiqi Jiang & Lingli Qi & Xinyue Lin, 2022. "The Impacts of COVID-19 Shock on Intergenerational Income Mobility: Evidence from China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(18), pages 1-20, September.
    9. Maximilian Zarte & Agnes Pechmann & Isabel L. Nunes, 2022. "Problems, Needs, and Challenges of a Sustainability-Based Production Planning," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-19, March.
    10. Omri, Anis & Omri, Henda & Slimani, Sana & Belaid, Fateh, 2022. "Environmental degradation and life satisfaction: Do governance and renewable energy matter?," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 175(C).
    11. Ann-Christine Link & Yuanzao Zhu & Raphael Karutz, 2021. "Quantification of Resilience Considering Different Migration Biographies: A Case Study of Pune, India," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-21, October.
    12. Usman Mehmood & Ephraim Bonah Agyekum & Salman Tariq & Zia Ul Haq & Solomon Eghosa Uhunamure & Joshua Nosa Edokpayi & Ayesha Azhar, 2022. "Socio-Economic Drivers of Renewable Energy: Empirical Evidence from BRICS," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(8), pages 1-10, April.
    13. Shang, Hua & Jiang, Li & Pan, Xianyou & Pan, Xiongfeng, 2022. "Green technology innovation spillover effect and urban eco-efficiency convergence: Evidence from Chinese cities," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 114(C).
    14. Xinhua Tong & Shurui Guo & Haiyan Duan & Zhiyuan Duan & Chang Gao & Wu Chen, 2022. "Carbon-Emission Characteristics and Influencing Factors in Growing and Shrinking Cities: Evidence from 280 Chinese Cities," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(4), pages 1-17, February.
    15. Sunikka-Blank, Minna & Galvin, Ray, 2021. "Single parents in cold homes in Europe: How intersecting personal and national characteristics drive up the numbers of these vulnerable households," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 150(C).
    16. Sea Jin Kim & Woo-Kyun Lee & Jun Young Ahn & Wona Lee & Soo Jeong Lee, 2021. "Analysis of Developmental Chronology of South Korean Compressed Growth as a Reference from Sustainable Development Perspectives," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-22, February.
    17. Javier Felipe-Andreu & Antonio Valero & Alicia Valero, 2022. "Territorial Inequalities, Ecological and Material Footprints of the Energy Transition: Case Study of the Cantabrian-Mediterranean Bioregion," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(11), pages 1-22, October.
    18. Steve Harris & Jan Weinzettel & Gregor Levin, 2020. "Implications of Low Carbon City Sustainability Strategies for 2050," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(13), pages 1-23, July.
    19. Bauer, Tina & de Jong, Wil & Ingram, Verina & Arts, Bas & Pacheco, Pablo, 2022. "Thriving in turbulent times: Livelihood resilience and vulnerability assessment of Bolivian Indigenous forest households," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    20. González, Rosa Marina & Marrero, Gustavo A. & Rodríguez-López, Jesús & Marrero, Ángel S., 2019. "Analyzing CO2 emissions from passenger cars in Europe: A dynamic panel data approach," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 129(C), pages 1271-1281.
    21. Awaworyi Churchill, Sefa & Smyth, Russell & Farrell, Lisa, 2020. "Fuel poverty and subjective wellbeing," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    22. Sun, Yanwei & Li, Ying & Wang, Run & Ma, Renfeng, 2022. "Measuring dynamics of solar energy resource quality: Methodology and policy implications for reducing regional energy inequality," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 197(C), pages 138-150.
    23. Ssennono, Vincent Fred & Ntayi, Joseph M. & Buyinza, Faisal & Wasswa, Francis & Aarakit, Sylvia Manjeri & Mukiza, Chris Ndatira, 2021. "Energy poverty in Uganda: Evidence from a multidimensional approach," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 101(C).
    24. Zhenjie Gong & Yanhu He & Xiaohong Chen, 2022. "Evaluation of Regional Water Use Efficiency under Green and Sustainable Development Using an Improved Super Slack-Based Measure Model," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(12), pages 1-17, June.
    25. Tony G. Reames & Dorothy M. Daley & John C. Pierce, 2021. "Exploring the Nexus of Energy Burden, Social Capital, and Environmental Quality in Shaping Health in US Counties," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(2), pages 1-13, January.
    26. Ahmad, Fayyaz & Draz, Muhammad Umar & Chandio, Abbas Ali & Ahmad, Munir & Su, Lijuan & Shahzad, Farrukh & Jia, Mingqi, 2022. "Natural resources and environmental quality: Exploring the regional variations among Chinese provinces with a novel approach," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    27. Kahouli, Sondès, 2020. "An economic approach to the study of the relationship between housing hazards and health: The case of residential fuel poverty in France," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    28. Lee, Chien-Chiang & Xing, Wenwu & Lee, Chi-Chuan, 2022. "The impact of energy security on income inequality: The key role of economic development," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 248(C).
    29. Best, Rohan & Hammerle, Mara & Mukhopadhaya, Pundarik & Silber, Jacques, 2021. "Targeting household energy assistance," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    30. Jiang, Shaohua & Mentel, Grzegorz & Shahzadi, Irum & Ben Jebli, Mehdi & Iqbal, Najaf, 2022. "Renewable energy, trade diversification and environmental footprints: Evidence for Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 187(C), pages 874-886.
    31. Stefan Bouzarovski & Harriet Thomson & Marine Cornelis, 2021. "Confronting Energy Poverty in Europe: A Research and Policy Agenda," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-19, February.
    32. Omri, Anis & Omri, Henda & Slimani, Sana & Belaid, Fateh, 2022. "Environmental degradation and life satisfaction: Do governance and renewable energy matter?," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 175(C).
    33. Wang, Na & Fu, Xiaodong & Wang, Shaobin & Yang, Hao & Li, Zhen, 2022. "Convergence characteristics and distribution patterns of residential electricity consumption in China: An urban-rural gap perspective," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 254(PB).
    34. Gisela M. Oliveira & Diogo Guedes Vidal & Maria Pia Ferraz & José Manuel Cabeda & Manuela Pontes & Rui Leandro Maia & José Manuel Calheiros & Esmeralda Barreira, 2019. "Measuring Health Vulnerability: An Interdisciplinary Indicator Applied to Mainland Portugal," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(21), pages 1-18, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Ren, Yi-Shuai & Jiang, Yong & Narayan, Seema & Ma, Chao-Qun & Yang, Xiao-Guang, 2022. "Marketisation and rural energy poverty: Evidence from provincial panel data in China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 111(C).
    2. Jun Zhang & Yuang He & Jing Zhang, 2022. "Energy Poverty and Depression in Rural China: Evidence from the Quantile Regression Approach," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(2), pages 1-21, January.
    3. Rodriguez-Alvarez, Ana & Llorca, Manuel & Jamasb, Tooraj, 2021. "Alleviating energy poverty in Europe: Front-runners and laggards," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 103(C).
    4. Mei Song & Jia Zhang & Xiaohao Liu & Liyan Zhang & Xuguang Hao & Mengxue Li, 2023. "Developments and Trends in Energy Poverty Research—Literature Visualization Analysis Based on CiteSpace," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-21, January.
    5. Prakash, Kushneel & Awaworyi Churchill, Sefa & Smyth, Russell, 2022. "Are you puffing your Children's future away? Energy poverty and childhood exposure to passive smoking," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 114(C).
    6. Igawa, Moegi & Piao, Xiangdan & Managi, Shunsuke, 2022. "The impact of cooling energy needs on subjective well-being: Evidence from Japan," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 198(C).
    7. Awaworyi Churchill, Sefa & Smyth, Russell, 2022. "Local area crime and energy poverty," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 114(C).
    8. Lilia Karpinska & Sławomir Śmiech, 2021. "Escaping Energy Poverty: A Comparative Analysis of 17 European Countries," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(18), pages 1-16, September.
    9. Richard S. J. Tol, 2023. "Navigating the energy trilemma during geopolitical and environmental crises," Papers 2301.07671, arXiv.org.
    10. Awaworyi Churchill, Sefa & Smyth, Russell, 2022. "Protestantism and energy poverty," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 111(C).
    11. Burlinson, Andrew & Giulietti, Monica & Law, Cherry & Liu, Hui-Hsuan, 2021. "Fuel poverty and financial distress," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).
    12. Muhammad Shafiullah & Zhilun Jiao & Muhammad Shahbaz & Kangyin Dong, 2023. "Examining energy poverty in Chinese households: An Engel curve approach," Australian Economic Papers, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 62(1), pages 149-184, March.
    13. Xuefeng Li & Han Yang & Jin Jia, 2022. "Impact of energy poverty on cognitive and mental health among middle-aged and older adults in China," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 9(1), pages 1-13, December.
    14. George E. Halkos & Panagiotis-Stavros C. Aslanidis, 2023. "Addressing Multidimensional Energy Poverty Implications on Achieving Sustainable Development," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(9), pages 1-30, April.
    15. Nie, Peng & Li, Qiaoge, 2022. "Energy Poverty and Health Care Expenditures: Evidence from the China Family Panel Studies," IZA Discussion Papers 15479, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    16. Prakash, Kushneel & Munyanyi, Musharavati Ephraim, 2021. "Energy poverty and obesity," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 101(C).
    17. Nie, Peng & Li, Qiaoge & Sousa-Poza, Alfonso, 2021. "Energy poverty and subjective well-being in China: New evidence from the China Family Panel Studies," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 103(C).
    18. Dogan, Eyup & Chishti, Muhammad Zubair & Karimi Alavijeh, Nooshin & Tzeremes, Panayiotis, 2022. "The roles of technology and Kyoto Protocol in energy transition towards COP26 targets: Evidence from the novel GMM-PVAR approach for G-7 countries," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 181(C).
    19. Paudel, Jayash, 2021. "Why Are People Energy Poor? Evidence From Ethnic Fractionalization," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).
    20. Paul Simshauser, 2022. "The 2022 energy crisis: horizontal and vertical impacts of policy interventions in Australia's national electricity market," Working Papers EPRG2216, Energy Policy Research Group, Cambridge Judge Business School, University of Cambridge.

    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:gam:jeners:v:16:y:2023:i:16:p:6075-:d:1220898. 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: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    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.