Poverty and Sustainable Energy

Dear Colleagues,

Diverse forms of energy insecurity and injustice interact in complex ways with diverse forms of poverty and economic insecurity, a relationship that is captured in the idea of an energy-poverty nexus. In this call for papers for a Special Issue of the journal Sustainability, we invite submissions that explore the energy-poverty nexus, with a particular emphasis on its implications for renewable and sustainable energy technologies and systems. We welcome submissions that explore the energy-poverty nexus theoretically or empirically, using diverse methods, in all countries. We are particularly interested in submissions that link the energy-poverty nexus to the pursuit of decarbonization, carbon neutrality, environmental sustainability, and/or resilience to climate change in energy systems.

We are also particularly interested in submissions that explore the social and political dimensions of sustainable energy transitions, through the lens of the energy-poverty nexus. Potential linkages to be explored could include, but are not limited to:

• the vulnerabilities of low income and marginalized communities to energy transitions;
• the politics of poverty in renewable energy policy;
• the opportunities and challenges for using renewable energy innovation to untangle the energy-poverty nexus;
• specific strategies for linking renewable energy innovation to economic and social value creation for the poor and marginalized;
• economic and environmental injustices and insecurities associated with renewable energy technologies;
• comparative analyses of ownership or governance models for renewable energy systems and their implications for economic security and community empowerment vis-à-vis energy;
• and many others

We welcome submissions that address enduring issues for the energy sector (e.g., the high costs of energy borne by low income households and businesses or the emergence of sacrifice zones within global energy supply chains) as well as submissions dealing with timely issues of high significance today (e.g., the politics of carbon taxes in Europe, the closure of coal-fired power plants in the US, the place of energy as a key enabler for the UN Sustainable Development Goals, or the rise of microgrid-based approaches to ending energy poverty in rural and remote communities in developing countries).

Dr. Clark Miller
Dr. Netra Chhetri
Dr. Nalini Chhetri
Dr. Mary Jane Parmentier
Dr. Faheem Hussain
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• international development energy transitions renewable energy energy justice energy access resilience sustainability poverty sustainable development goals fuel poverty