For decades, energy researchers have sought to understand the energy needs of human development. However, research methods and policy analysis have been rooted in aggregate economic relationships that ignore the heterogeneity and multidimensionality of the human condition. How should we then understand how to rapidly transition to a clean economy without exacerbating persistent poverty and inequality? In recent decades, improved modeling and data analysis tools have enabled new innovative approaches to characterizing household-level outcomes. These methods include defining new multidimensional indicators for the material underpinnings of a ‘decent life’ and tying them using industrial ecology and energy modeling methods to environmental impact. I discuss several research advances that reveal synergies between poverty eradication, inequality reduction and climate mitigation in the Global South. These findings debunk conventional wisdom about the ‘climate-development conflict’. This work also identifies limitations of sustainable development indicators related to energy poverty. I also discuss new approaches using new datasets created with AI to study how climate policies in the US can benefit disadvantaged communities. In the future, such empirical work can also inform how household behavior is represented in energy models that project the adoption of clean energy technologies.
Lunch provided. Register here.