From Energy Privilege To Energy Justice: A Framework For Embedded Sustainable Development

Addressing concerns of justice related to energy has gained increased international attention with the adoption of the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals. However, scholarship has largely neglected connections between the concepts of sustainable development and energy justice, and offers few related evaluative tools. Moreover, the dominant energy development paradigm-what I term `energy privilege'-has received limited attention and theoretical grounding. By critically engaging theory from Karl Polanyi with concepts from environmental justice and political theory, the article develops a framework to differentiate between `embedded' and `disembedded' sustainable development. This framework is then applied to develop a set of principles and criteria by which energy projects, initiatives, and systems can be assessed in terms of contributing to energy justice as compared to energy privilege. The resulting framework focuses on how energy-related resources, rights, and representation take shape across the three interlocking spheres of sustainable development: the economic, the environmental, and the social. It provides a practicable tool for communities and decision-makers to evaluate the extent to which individual projects and broader energy systems are both just and sustainable.