Justice in
low carbon energy

This project was undertaken in 2012 for the Interdisciplinary Cluster on Energy Systems, Equity and Vulnerability (InCluESEV). It aims to synthesize the research undertaken by the InCluESEV group and other sources to explore the justice implications of low carbon energy development, with particular reference to CCS, nuclear power and micro-renewables. It compares and contrasts the implications of these different types and scales of technology, using a broad understanding of justice - including both distributional and procedural aspects; and a whole-system analysis of energy demand and supply.

The research concludes that the justice implications of choices in low-carbon energy can be significant. In general, support for micro-renewables, within a paradigm of decentralised energy, appears to have fewer impacts on justice than CCS or nuclear, but even in this case, the methods of financing and implementation can be critical. 

The full report and a shorter summary can both be downloaded below.

More on the InCluESEV project can be found at http://www.lancaster.ac.uk/lec/sites/incluesev/