Energy justice – the triumvirate of tenets revisited and revised

Abstract

It has been over a decade since the article that kickstarted energy justice research was published in 2012. It focused on the ‘triumvirate of tenets’ of justice, which were distributive, procedural and recognition justice. Today in 2023, and with significant developments of the 2015 Paris Agreement and the UN Sustainable Development Goals, there needs to be a revision. Over time, the three tenets have become five as scholars began to advance thinking on energy justice into policymaking. Energy justice now is creating an impact, and policymakers and governments are beginning to recognise its value for meeting energy and climate targets. Energy justice can be a vehicle for investment and also for improving the socio-economic performance of an economy. Adopting the now five principles (tenets) of energy justice reduces the inherent risks in the energy sector and more broadly in society. The now five principles (moving beyond tenets) of energy justice are: distributive, procedural, restorative, recognition and cosmopolitan justice. These have been integrated into significant law and policy documents in the United States and Colombia, in 2022 and 2023. It is just a matter of time before many other countries begin to utilise them to achieve transformative change in their societies.

Keywords:

• energy justice
• triumvirate of tenets
• energy justice principles
• future-proofing
• social contract

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1 D McCauley and others, ‘Advancing Energy Justice: The Triumvirate of Tenets’ (2013) 32(3) International Energy Law Review 107

2 According to GoogleScholar data – which is openly accessible online – as of 18 September 2023

3 Some key research material on the topic that has been produced over the years is the following which includes an article in Nature Energy – see further below: G Bombaerts, A Spahn and E Laes, ‘Structuring Values and Normative Frameworks using Schwartz’s Value Theory to Map the Three Tenets of Energy Justice’ (2023) 104 Energy Research and Social Science 103244; M Fang and others, ‘Social Media and Energy Justice: A Global Evidence’ (2023) 125 Energy Economics 106886; MP Fortier and others, ‘Introduction to Evaluating Energy Justice across the Life Cycle: A Social Life Cycle Assessment Approach’ (2019) 236 Applied Energy 211; B Sovacool and others, ‘Energy Decisions Reframed as Justice and Ethical Concerns’ (2016) 1 Nature Energy 16024; K Jenkins and others, ‘Energy Justice: A Conceptual Review’ (2016) 11 Energy Research and Social Science 174

4 It is worth noting that the author of this article was a leading co-author of the original 2013 article.

5 For more, see Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), AR6 Synthesis Report: Climate Change 2023 (2023) <www.ipcc.ch> accessed 10 August 2023

6 RJ Heffron, ‘Applying Energy Justice into the Energy Transition’ (2022) 156 Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 111936

7 RJ Heffron, ‘Energy Law in Crisis: an energy justice revolution is needed’ (2022) 15(3) Journal of World Energy Law & Business 167–172

8 RJ Heffron and D McCauley, ‘The Concept of Energy Justice across the Disciplines’ (2017) 105 Energy Policy 658

9 This data is searchable, open access, via the website www.sciencedirect.com. The data was last checked and confirmed on 10 August 2023.

10 United States Department of Energy, ‘Justice40 Initiative Environmental Justice Fact Sheet’ (2022) <www.energy.gov/sites/default/files/2022-07/Environmental%20Justice%20Explainer%207_25_22.pdf> accessed 10 August 2023

11 S Baker, S DeVar and S Prakash, The Energy Justice Workbook (Initiative for Energy Justice 2019)

12 S Carley, C Engle and DM Konisky, ‘An Analysis of Energy Justice Programs across the United States’ (2021) 152 Energy Policy 112219

13 S Conley, DM Konisky and M Mullin, ‘Delivering on Environmental Justice? US State Implementation of the Justice40 Initiative’ (2023) 53 (3) Publicus: The Journal of Federalism 349

14 This was first expressed in the following paper: RJ Heffron, ‘Energy Law for the Next Generation, towards 2030 to 2050’ (2023a) 41(2) Journal of Energy and Natural Resources Law 131

15 RJ Heffron and L De Fontenelle, ‘Implementing Energy Justice through a New Social Contract’ (2023) 41(2) Journal of Energy and Natural Resources Law 141

16 M Holder, ‘UN Chief: Fossil Fuel Firms without Credible Net Zero Plans “Should Not Be in Business”’ (BusinessGreen, 2023) <www.businessgreen.com/news/4073987/chief-fossil-fuel-firms-credible-net-zero-plans-business> accessed 10 August 2023

17 United Nations Environment Programme, Future-Proofing Infrastructure to Address the Climate, Biodiversity and Pollution Crises (UNEP 2021)

18 RJ Heffron, ‘Repurposing for the Just Transition: Energy Companies Need to Future-Proof Their Structure and Strategy’ (2023b) 16(3) Journal of World Energy Law and Business 302