This article examined the research landscape of energy justice within the social sciences, providing a detailed overview of key developments, trends, and methodologies in this emerging field of study. The study began by identifying the leading journals in the field and mapping co-authorship networks, followed by an analysis of keyword co-occurrences to pinpoint the central themes in the literature. The findings highlight key areas of energy injustice, including accessibility, affordability, and environmental and technological factors. The article further inspected the underlying drivers of these disparities and the actions being taken to address them, emphasizing the critical role of emerging community pressures in shaping policy decisions. Additionally, the study reviewed five case studies that underscore the need for ongoing policy adaptation and illustrate the significant impact of advocacy in the development and implementation of equitable energy policies. The paper concludes by stressing the importance of rethinking current energy policy approaches to create a more inclusive, sustainable, and just energy future.
Citation: Pasquale Marcello Falcone, Grazia Errichiello. Energy Justice in the 21st century: policy interventions and advocacy for a fair energy transition[J]. AIMS Environmental Science, 2025, 12(4): 594-614. doi: 10.3934/environsci.2025027
This article examined the research landscape of energy justice within the social sciences, providing a detailed overview of key developments, trends, and methodologies in this emerging field of study. The study began by identifying the leading journals in the field and mapping co-authorship networks, followed by an analysis of keyword co-occurrences to pinpoint the central themes in the literature. The findings highlight key areas of energy injustice, including accessibility, affordability, and environmental and technological factors. The article further inspected the underlying drivers of these disparities and the actions being taken to address them, emphasizing the critical role of emerging community pressures in shaping policy decisions. Additionally, the study reviewed five case studies that underscore the need for ongoing policy adaptation and illustrate the significant impact of advocacy in the development and implementation of equitable energy policies. The paper concludes by stressing the importance of rethinking current energy policy approaches to create a more inclusive, sustainable, and just energy future.
| [1] |
McCauley D, Heffron R (2018) Just transition: Integrating climate, energy and environmental justice. Energy Policy 119: 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2018.04.014. doi: 10.1016/j.enpol.2018.04.014
|
| [2] |
Casati P, Moner-Girona M, Khaleel S I, et al. (2023) Clean energy access as an enabler for social development: A multidimensional analysis for Sub-Saharan Africa. Energy for Sustainable Development 72: 114–126. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esd.2022.12.003. doi: 10.1016/j.esd.2022.12.003
|
| [3] |
Chan C, Delina L L (2023) Energy poverty and beyond: The state, contexts, and trajectories of energy poverty studies in Asia. Energy Res Soc Sci 102: 103168. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2023.103168. doi: 10.1016/j.erss.2023.103168
|
| [4] |
Chen W A, Chen C F, Tomasik S, et al. (2024) Flexibility justice: Exploring the relationship between electrical vehicle charging behaviors, demand flexibility and psychological factors. Energy Res Soc Sci 118: 103753. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2024.103753. doi: 10.1016/j.erss.2024.103753
|
| [5] |
Powells G, Fell M J (2019) Flexibility capital and flexibility justice in smart energy systems. Energy Res Soc Sci 54: 56–59. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2019.03.015. doi: 10.1016/j.erss.2019.03.015
|
| [6] |
Chen W A, Chen C, Tomasik S (2024) Investigating intentions and barriers in adopting decentralized home energy management systems: A justice dimension of demand flexibility. Energy Build 318: 114458. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2024.114458. doi: 10.1016/j.enbuild.2024.114458
|
| [7] |
Errichiello G, Falcone P M, Popoyan L (2025) Navigating climate policy: The influence of lobbying trends and narratives in Europe. Environ Sci Policy 163: 103974. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2024.103974 doi: 10.1016/j.envsci.2024.103974
|
| [8] |
Ankrah I, Appiah-Kubi M, Antwi E O, et al. (2025) A spotlight on fossil fuel lobby and energy transition possibilities in emerging oil-producing economies. Heliyon 11: e41287. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e41287. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e41287
|
| [9] |
Fuller S, McCauley D (2016) Framing energy justice: perspectives from activism and advocacy. Energy Res Soc Sci 11: 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2015.08.004. doi: 10.1016/j.erss.2015.08.004
|
| [10] | Stokes L C (2020) Short circuiting policy: Interest groups and the battle over clean energy and climate policy in the American States. Oxford University Press. 2020. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780190074258.001.0001 |
| [11] |
Castrejon-Campos O, Aye L, Hui F K P (2020) Making policy mixes more robust: An integrative and interdisciplinary approach for clean energy transitions. Energy Res Soc Sci 64: 101425. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2020.101425. doi: 10.1016/j.erss.2020.101425
|
| [12] | Yasmeen R, Tao R, Shah W U H (2023) Economic growth and environmental technology simultaneously important for reducing energy poverty and ecological footprint in E7 economies: do political institutions play a role? Environmental Science and Pollution Research 30: 65102–65118, Apr. 2023, 10.1007/s11356-023-26923-4. |
| [13] |
Raghutla C, Chittedi K R (2022) Energy poverty and economic development: evidence from BRICS economies. Environmental Science and Pollution Research 29: 9707–9721, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-16174-6 doi: 10.1007/s11356-021-16174-6
|
| [14] |
Khan A, Chenggang Y, Hussain J, et al. (2021) Impact of technological innovation, financial development and foreign direct investment on renewable energy, non-renewable energy and the environment in belt & Road Initiative countries. Renew Energy 171: 479–491. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2021.02.075 doi: 10.1016/j.renene.2021.02.075
|
| [15] |
Botrel C A, Rekker S, Wade B, et al. (2024) Understanding the lobbying actions taken by the Australian renewable energy industry. J Clean Prod 434: 139674. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2023.139674 doi: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2023.139674
|
| [16] |
Debnath R, Simoes G M F, Bardhan R, et al. (2020) Energy justice in slum rehabilitation housing: an empirical exploration of built environment effects on socio-cultural energy demand. Sustainability 12: 3027. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12073027 doi: 10.3390/su12073027
|
| [17] |
Ramirez J, Böhm S (2021) Transactional colonialism in wind energy investments: Energy injustices against vulnerable people in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. Energy Res Soc Sci 78: 102135. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2021.102135 doi: 10.1016/j.erss.2021.102135
|
| [18] |
Soriano-Hernández P, Mejía-Montero A, van der Horst D (2022) Characterisation of energy poverty in Mexico using energy justice and econophysics. Energy for Sustainable Development 71: 200–211. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esd.2022.09.005. doi: 10.1016/j.esd.2022.09.005
|
| [19] |
Healy N, Stephens J C, Malin S A (2019) Embodied energy injustices: Unveiling and politicizing the transboundary harms of fossil fuel extractivism and fossil fuel supply chains. Energy Res Soc Sci 48: 219–234. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2018.09.016 doi: 10.1016/j.erss.2018.09.016
|
| [20] |
Ferrall-Wolf I, Gill-Wiehl A, Kammen D M (2023) A bibliometric review of energy justice literature. Frontiers in Sustainable Energy Policy 2: 1175736. https://doi.org/10.3389/fsuep.2023.1175736 doi: 10.3389/fsuep.2023.1175736
|
| [21] |
Buonocore E, Picone F, Russo G F, et al. (2018) The scientific research on natural capital: a bibliometric network analysis. Journal of Environmental Accounting and Management 6: 381–391. https://doi.org/10.5890/JEAM.2018.12.010 doi: 10.5890/JEAM.2018.12.010
|
| [22] |
Jangjoo S, Tang T (2025) Renewable energy transitions from the ground up: Building a framework for local action despite limited state support. Cities 158. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2025.105737 doi: 10.1016/j.cities.2025.105737
|
| [23] | Mose T M, Hazrati M (2019) Is energy justice in the fossil fuel industry a paradox? in The Palgrave Handbook of Managing Fossil Fuels and Energy Transitions, 2019: 529–549. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-28076-5_19 |
| [24] |
Heindl P, Schüßler R, Löschel A (2014) The German energy transition from the perspective of social justice. Wirtschaftsdienst 94: 508–514. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10273-014-1705-7 doi: 10.1007/s10273-014-1705-7
|
| [25] |
Aliakbari R, SafdariPour A, Kowsari E, et al. (2025) Energy justice within low-carbon circular economy; geostatistical analysis; policymaking; and economical nexuses. J Clean Prod 495. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2025.144940 doi: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2025.144940
|
| [26] |
Fan S, Zha S, Zhao C, et al. (2022) Using energy vulnerability to measure distributive injustice in rural heating energy reform: A case study of natural gas replacing bulk coal for heating in Gaocheng District, Hebei Province, China. Ecological Economics 197. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2022.107456 doi: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2022.107456
|
| [27] |
Hartwig M, Emori S, Asayama S (2023) Normalized injustices in the national energy discourse: A critical analysis of the energy policy framework in Japan through the three tenets of energy justice. Energy Policy 174: 113431. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2023.113431. doi: 10.1016/j.enpol.2023.113431
|
| [28] |
Lacey-Barnacle M, Robison R, Foulds C (2020) Energy justice in the developing world: a review of theoretical frameworks, key research themes and policy implications. Energy for Sustainable Development 55: 122–138. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esd.2020.01.010 doi: 10.1016/j.esd.2020.01.010
|
| [29] |
Tarekegne B (2020) Just electrification: Imagining the justice dimensions of energy access and addressing energy poverty. Energy Res Soc Sci 70: 101639. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2020.101639 doi: 10.1016/j.erss.2020.101639
|
| [30] | H. Ritchie and M. Roser, 'Access to energy. Springer, 2019. |
| [31] |
Bhattacharyya S C (2012) Energy access programmes and sustainable development: A critical review and analysis. Energy for Sustainable Development 16: 260–271. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esd.2012.05.002. doi: 10.1016/j.esd.2012.05.002
|
| [32] | Dubois U, Meier H (206) Energy affordability and energy inequality in Europe: Implications for policymaking. Energy Res Soc Sci 18: 21–35. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2016.04.015 |
| [33] |
Bouzarovski S, Simcock N (2017) Spatializing energy justice. Energy Policy 107: 640–648. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2017.03.064. doi: 10.1016/j.enpol.2017.03.064
|
| [34] |
Marks D, Zhang J (2019) Circuits of power: Environmental injustice from Bangkok's shopping malls to Laos' hydropower dams. Asia Pac Viewp 60: 296–309. https://doi.org/10.1111/apv.12242 doi: 10.1111/apv.12242
|
| [35] |
Falcone P M, D'Alisa G, Germani A R, et al. (2020) When all seemed lost. A social network analysis of the waste-related environmental movement in Campania, Italy. Polit Geogr 77. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polgeo.2019.102114 doi: 10.1016/j.polgeo.2019.102114
|
| [36] |
D'Alisa G, Germani A R, Morone P (2017) Political ecology of health in the Land of Fires: A hotspot of environmental crimes in the south of Italy. J Polit Ecol 24. https://doi.org/10.2458/v24i1.20782 doi: 10.2458/v24i1.20782
|
| [37] |
Wright W J (2021) As above, so below: Anti‐Black violence as environmental racism. Antipode 53: 791–809. https://doi.org/10.1111/anti.12425 doi: 10.1111/anti.12425
|
| [38] | Bullard R D (2021) Sacrifice zones: the front lines of toxic chemical exposure in the United States. 2011, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. |
| [39] |
Sovacool B K, Martiskainen M, Hook A, et al. (2019) Decarbonization and its discontents: a critical energy justice perspective on four low-carbon transitions. Clim Change 155: 581–619. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-019-02521-7 doi: 10.1007/s10584-019-02521-7
|
| [40] |
Niaz M U (2022) Socio-Economic development and sustainable development goals: a roadmap from vulnerability to sustainability through financial inclusion. Economic research-Ekonomska istraživanja 35: 3243–3275. https://doi.org/10.1080/1331677X.2021.1989319 doi: 10.1080/1331677X.2021.1989319
|
| [41] | Buzar S (2016) Energy poverty in Eastern Europe: hidden geographies of deprivation. Routledge, 2016. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315256504 |
| [42] |
Bartiaux F, Schmidt L, Horta A, et al. (2016) Social diffusion of energy-related practices and representations: Patterns and policies in Portugal and Belgium. Energy Policy 88: 413–421. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2015.10.046. doi: 10.1016/j.enpol.2015.10.046
|
| [43] |
Smith K R, Frumkin H, Balakrishnan K, et al. (2013) Energy and human health. Annu Rev Public Health 34: 159–188. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-publhealth-031912-114404 doi: 10.1146/annurev-publhealth-031912-114404
|
| [44] | Bullard R (2019) Addressing environmental racism. J Int Aff 73: 237–242. |
| [45] | Feenstra M, Özerol G (2021) Energy justice as a search light for gender-energy nexus: Towards a conceptual framework. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 138: 110668. ttps: //doi. org/10.1016/j. rser. 2020.110668 |
| [46] | Sunikka-Blank M (2020) Why are women always cold? Gendered realities of energy injustice. in Inequality and Energy 2020: 173–188. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-817674-0.00008-4 |
| [47] |
Garba I, Bellingham R (2021) Energy poverty: Estimating the impact of solid cooking fuels on GDP per capita in developing countries-Case of sub-Saharan Africa. Energy 221: 119770. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2021.119770 doi: 10.1016/j.energy.2021.119770
|
| [48] |
Falcone P M, Tutore I (2025) Mapping the Nexus: A Bibliometric Analysis and Social Network Analysis of Transformative Innovation Policies and Sustainable Development Goals. Bus Strategy Environ 34: 2423–2435. https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.4104. doi: 10.1002/bse.4104
|
| [49] |
Dou Y, Zhao J, Dong X, et al. (2021) Quantifying the impacts of energy inequality on carbon emissions in China: A household-level analysis. Energy Econ 102: 105502. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eneco.2021.105502. doi: 10.1016/j.eneco.2021.105502
|
| [50] |
Giganti P, Barra C, Falcone P M (2025) Unveiling the nexus of institutional quality and renewable energy utilizing a Topic Modelling approach. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 214: 115516. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2025.115516. doi: 10.1016/j.rser.2025.115516
|
| [51] |
Henry M S (2019) Extractive fictions and postextraction futurisms: Energy and environmental injustice in Appalachia. Environ Humanit 11: 402–426. https://doi.org/10.1215/22011919-7754534 doi: 10.1215/22011919-7754534
|
| [52] |
Walker G, Day R (2012) Fuel poverty as injustice: Integrating distribution, recognition and procedure in the struggle for affordable warmth. Energy Policy 49: 69–75. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2012.01.044. doi: 10.1016/j.enpol.2012.01.044
|
| [53] |
Khan M, Majeed M T (2023) Financial sector development and energy poverty: empirical evidence from developing countries. Environmental Science and Pollution Research 30: 46107–46119. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-25585-6 doi: 10.1007/s11356-023-25585-6
|
| [54] | Falcone, Pasquale Marcello (2023) Sustainable Finance and the Global Health Crisis. Taylor & Francis https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003284703 |
| [55] |
Alford-Jones K (2022) How injustice can lead to energy policy failure: A case study from Guatemala. Energy Policy 164: 112849. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2022.112849. doi: 10.1016/j.enpol.2022.112849
|
| [56] |
Rehman I H, Kar A, Banerjee M, et al. (2012) Understanding the political economy and key drivers of energy access in addressing national energy access priorities and policies. Energy Policy 47: 27–37, 2012. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2012.03.043 doi: 10.1016/j.enpol.2012.03.043
|
| [57] | Stock R (2021) Illuminant intersections: Injustice and inequality through electricity and water infrastructures at the Gujarat Solar Park in India. Energy Res Soc Sci 82: 102309. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2021.102309 |
| [58] |
Winkler H, Simões A F, La Rovere E L, et al. (2011) Access and affordability of electricity in developing countries. World Dev 39: 1037–1050. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2010.02.021 doi: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2010.02.021
|
| [59] |
Lopolito A, Falcone P M, Sica E (2022) The role of proximity in sustainability transitions: A technological niche evolution analysis. Res Policy 51: 104464. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2021.104464 doi: 10.1016/j.respol.2021.104464
|
| [60] | Patnaik A, Son J, Feng A, et al. Racial Disparities and Climate Change—PSCI. Princeton University: Princeton, NJ, USA, 2020. |
| [61] |
Bomberg E, McEwen N (2012) Mobilizing community energy. Energy Policy 51: 435–444. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2012.08.045 doi: 10.1016/j.enpol.2012.08.045
|
| [62] | Gupte M (2010) Accommodating marginalized groups in the planning process. National, regional and global institutions, infrastructures and governance 1, 2010. |
| [63] |
MacArthur J L (2016) Challenging public engagement: participation, deliberation and power in renewable energy policy. J Environ Stud Sci 6: 631–640. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13412-015-0328-7 doi: 10.1007/s13412-015-0328-7
|
| [64] | Energiewende A, 'insights on Germany's Energiewende. Berlin Germany: Agora Energiewende O. 2, p. 13, 12AD. |
| [65] | Beveridge R, Kern K (2013) 'The Energiewende in Germany: background, developments and future challenges. Renewable Energy L. & Pol'y Rev. 4: 3. |
| [66] |
Rogge K S, Johnstone P (2017) Exploring the role of phase-out policies for low-carbon energy transitions: The case of the German Energiewende. Energy Res Soc Sci 33: 128–137. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2017.10.004. doi: 10.1016/j.erss.2017.10.004
|
| [67] |
Schweizer P J, Renn O, Köck W, et al. (2016) Public participation for infrastructure planning in the context of the German "Energiewende". Util Policy 43: 206–209. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jup.2014.07.005. doi: 10.1016/j.jup.2014.07.005
|
| [68] | India Government - Ministry of Power, 'Governmentof India's UJALA & Street Lighting National Programme Complete Five Successful years of Illuminating India. 2020. |
| [69] |
Mir D A, Doll C N H, Lindner R, et al. (2020) Explaining the diffusion of energy-efficient lighting in India: A technology innovation systems approach. Energies (Basel) 13: 5821. https://doi.org/10.3390/en13215821 doi: 10.3390/en13215821
|
| [70] |
Fowlie M, Meeks R (2021) The economics of energy efficiency in developing countries. Rev Environ Econ Policy 15: 238–260. https://doi.org/10.1086/715606 doi: 10.1086/715606
|
| [71] | Weber L (2023) Community Solar. National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States), 2023. |
| [72] | Gai D H B, Shittu E, Attanasio D, et al. (2021) Examining community solar programs to understand accessibility and investment: Evidence from the U. S. (2021) Energy Policy 159: 112600. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2021.112600. |
| [73] |
Saad‐Filho A (2015) Social policy for neoliberalism: the Bolsa Família programme in Brazil. Dev Change 46: 1227–1252. https://doi.org/10.1111/dech.12199 doi: 10.1111/dech.12199
|
| [74] |
Martins A P B, Monteiro C A (2016) Impact of the Bolsa Família program on food availability of low-income Brazilian families: a quasi experimental study. BMC Public Health 16: 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-016-3486-y doi: 10.1186/s12889-016-3486-y
|
| [75] | Sacchet T, Mariano S, Carloto CM (2020) Women, Gender and Conditional Cash Transfers: Interdisciplinary Perspectives from Studies of Bolsa Família. Routledge, 2020. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429286131 |
| [76] | Neslen A (2016) Morocco to switch on first phase of world's largest solar plant. The Guardian 4, 2016. |
| [77] |
Terrapon-Pfaff J, Fink T, Viebahn P, et al. (2019) Social impacts of large-scale solar thermal power plants: Assessment results for the NOORO I power plant in Morocco. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 113: 109259. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2019.109259 doi: 10.1016/j.rser.2019.109259
|
| [78] |
Hanger S, Komendantova N, Schinke B, et al. (2016) Community acceptance of large-scale solar energy installations in developing countries: Evidence from Morocco. Energy Res Soc Sci 14: 80–89. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2016.01.010. doi: 10.1016/j.erss.2016.01.010
|