Arkhurst, B. K., Hawthorne, W., Ferrall-Wolf, I., Fu, K., & Anderson, K. (2024). Incorporating energy justice throughout clean-energy R&D5 in the United States: A review of outcomes and opportunities. Cell Reports Sustainability, 1(2). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crsus.2024.100018 [open access]
Abstract
It is widely acknowledged that a successful clean-energy transition is instrumental to climate change mitigation. However, clean-energy researchers and engineers rarely address the degree to which the success and consequences of the transition depend on its incorporation of equity and justice principles. In this review, we draw on inter-related literatures to discuss failures resulting from equity-myopic approaches to clean-energy research, development, demonstration, deployment, dispatch, and disposal (R&D5) and explore opportunities, tools, and frameworks for energy practitioners to employ when attempting to incorporate justice into their work. We find that opportunities to incorporate energy justice are greatest at the earliest stages of the R&D5 continuum. As inequities persist into later stages of R&D5, they may lead to maladaptive technology development and the inequitable impacts thereof. We thereby articulate how embedding principles of energy justice throughout R&D5 not only enables a successful clean-energy transition but also ensures that the transition is sustainable.
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