Understanding Energy Poverty in China: Measurement, Impacts, and Policy Interventions

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

1.     The statistics mentioned (2.52 billion people lacking access to clean energy and 970 million without electricity) reference a specific source (IEA, 2013), but using outdated data in a more recent paper may mislead readers about the current situation. An updated reference or more recent data is advisable.

2.     In the lines between 110 to 115, the explanation of the Multidimensional Energy Poverty Index (MEPI) is conceptually limited. It is described as focusing only on "cooking energy types" and "energy consumption," which denote "accessibility" and "affordability." However, MEPI typically incorporates broader dimensions such as energy reliability, modern energy usage, or other socioeconomic factors. Limiting MEPI to these two dimensions might not fully capture its intent or application.

3.     Highlight the limitations of physical energy consumption measures, such as their inability to capture the quality of energy services or the broader socioeconomic impacts of energy poverty.

4.     In the Single dimensional measurement section, please explain that the dual thresholds aim to identify households that face both high energy costs and low residual incomes, addressing previous oversights in energy poverty measurement.

5.     Highlight that the MIS is primarily used to assess the impact of energy costs on basic living standards, with its role in informing broader policy decisions being a secondary application.

6.     In the Multidimensional measurement of energy poverty section, reframe the critique to clarify that while adding an environmental dimension could enhance the EPVI, its primary focus is on socioeconomic vulnerability and household energy performance, not broader environmental considerations.

7.     Acknowledge that while reliability and safety are important dimensions, their inclusion may depend on the specific regional and socioeconomic focus of the index.

8.     The statement that "2.6 billion people will still lack access to modern cooking equipment by 2030" under existing policies does not account for potential policy shifts or global commitments to address energy poverty, such as Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG 7).

9.     In the section of impact of energy poverty, please specify the types of consumer vulnerability caused by energy poverty, such as heat-related illnesses, respiratory diseases from indoor air pollution, or mental stress due to high energy costs.

10.  In the Policy intervention section, add a note about how the findings of Zeenat et al. (2024) might not be directly applicable to non-European or low-income countries. Highlight that the effectiveness of green finance may vary depending on the country’s stage of development, available infrastructure, and the capacity to mobilize and manage green finance.

11.  Elaborate on the connection between racial discrimination and access to energy, particularly in the context of South Africa, where historical inequalities have led to unequal access to basic services like electricity. Discuss how energy access policies should be designed to address structural inequalities and ensure that marginalized communities benefit from subsidies.

12.  The conclusion paragraph suggests that energy poverty can be effectively addressed using well-designed indicators and proxies. However, it does not address the practical challenges of collecting comprehensive data, especially in low-income or remote areas where energy poverty is most severe.

13.  The suggestion to gather first-hand data on variables like "local natural conditions, resource endowment, cultural habits" is broad and lacks specificity about how these factors contribute to energy poverty or what specific data should be collected.

14.  This study is generally well-conducted and provides valuable insights, although it contains a few grammatical errors, and some of the references are somewhat outdated. Nevertheless, it presents a thorough analysis and contributes meaningfully to the field.

Comments on the Quality of English Language

 The English could be improved to more clearly express the research.

Author Response

Thank you for reviewers’ further comments and suggestions. The two reviewers have put forward some important new problems for our paper, we have revised the paper and given explanations. The specific answers for each question are as follows:

1. The statistics mentioned (2.52 billion people lacking access to clean energy and 970 million without electricity) reference a specific source (IEA, 2013), but using outdated data in a more recent paper may mislead readers about the current situation. An updated reference or more recent data is advisable.

Thanks, we have updated with IEA 2024 report

2. In the lines between 110 to 115, the explanation of the Multidimensional Energy Poverty Index (MEPI) is conceptually limited. It is described as focusing only on "cooking energy types" and "energy consumption," which denote "accessibility" and "affordability." However, MEPI typically incorporates broader dimensions such as energy reliability, modern energy usage, or other socioeconomic factors. Limiting MEPI to these two dimensions might not fully capture its intent or application.

Thank you, we have added with more dimensions

3. Highlight the limitations of physical energy consumption measures, such as their inability to capture the quality of energy services or the broader socioeconomic impacts of energy poverty.

Thanks, we have added limitations for physical energy consumption measures

4. In the Single dimensional measurement section, please explain that the dual thresholds aim to identify households that face both high energy costs and low residual incomes, addressing previous oversights in energy poverty measurement.

Thanks, explanations of double thresholds have been added

5. Highlight that the MIS is primarily used to assess the impact of energy costs on basic living standards, with its role in informing broader policy decisions being a secondary application.

Thanks, the main purpose of the MIS indicator has been supplemented

6. In the Multidimensional measurement of energy poverty section, reframe the critique to clarify that while adding an environmental dimension could enhance the EPVI, its primary focus is on socioeconomic vulnerability and household energy performance, not broader environmental considerations.

Thanks, the criticism that environmental considerations were not taken into account has been changed

7. Acknowledge that while reliability and safety are important dimensions, their inclusion may depend on the specific regional and socioeconomic focus of the index.

Thanks, regional idiosyncratic considerations have been added to the indicators.

8. The statement that "2.6 billion people will still lack access to modern cooking equipment by 2030" under existing policies does not account for potential policy shifts or global commitments to address energy poverty, such as Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG 7).

Thanks, the policy was taken into account and the original text was revised

9. In the section of impact of energy poverty, please specify the types of consumer vulnerability caused by energy poverty, such as heat-related illnesses, respiratory diseases from indoor air pollution, or mental stress due to high energy costs.

Thank you,the types of consumer vulnerabilities are supplemented in detail.

10. In the Policy intervention section, add a note about how the findings of Zeenat et al. (2024) might not be directly applicable to non-European or low-income countries. Highlight that the effectiveness of green finance may vary depending on the country’s stage of development, available infrastructure, and the capacity to mobilize and manage green finance.

Thanks, green finance has been discussed.

11. Elaborate on the connection between racial discrimination and access to energy, particularly in the context of South Africa, where historical inequalities have led to unequal access to basic services like electricity. Discuss how energy access policies should be designed to address structural inequalities and ensure that marginalized communities benefit from subsidies.

Thank you,complements the link between racial discrimination and access to energy, and how structural inequalities can be addressed

12. The conclusion paragraph suggests that energy poverty can be effectively addressed using well-designed indicators and proxies. However, it does not address the practical challenges of collecting comprehensive data, especially in low-income or remote areas where energy poverty is most severe.

Thank you,supplemented with how comprehensive data is collected

13. The suggestion to gather first-hand data on variables like "local natural conditions, resource endowment, cultural habits" is broad and lacks specificity about how these factors contribute to energy poverty or what specific data should be collected.

Thanks, recommendations on how to collect data are added, as well as how these variables relate to energy poverty.

14. This study is generally well-conducted and provides valuable insights, although it contains a few grammatical errors, and some of the references are somewhat outdated. Nevertheless, it presents a thorough analysis and contributes meaningfully to the field.

   Thanks, we have revised and refined the paper.

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The authors have reviewed the research of various scholars on the issue of energy poverty. The topic of the manuscript is very relevant, and the results obtained by the authors are of interest. At the same time, I have several comments on this manuscript, namely:

1. The authors do not always indicate the sources of information. I ask the authors to check the entire text of the manuscript for references to sources of information, starting from the first sentence of the Introduction (lines 20-24). This is especially true for sentences that provide numerical data.

2. A certain drawback of this manuscript is the lack of a “Materials and Methods” section. The authors should indicate the criteria by which the analyzed publications were selected, their number, years of publication, etc. If the authors decide not to create a separate section, then these issues should be described in the Introduction.

3. In general, the authors make little use of modern methods of bibliographic analysis, in particular, keyword searches, etc. I recommend that authors take this remark into account in their further research.

4. The review carried out by the authors is not always critical enough. In all sections where the literature review is directly carried out, the shortcomings and gaps that exist in the modern literature on the chosen topic should be clearly indicated. Please check.

5. Based on the gaps identified in the literature, more attention should be paid to the directions of further research on energy poverty issues. In general, the establishment of such directions is one of the most important results of any review article. The authors partially describe the directions of further research, in particular in section 8. But it would be worth expanding this description a little and more clearly linking it to the material presented in sections 2-6.

6. The manuscript is completely devoid of tables and figures. At the same time, their presence improves the perception of the material and allows it to be systematized. For example, a table or figure could be provided with a grouping of methods and indicators for assessing energy poverty (section 3). It might also be worth supplementing subsection 4.3 “Comparison of energy poverty between China and other countries” with a table.

Author Response

Thank you for reviewers’ further comments and suggestions. The two reviewers have put forward some important new problems for our paper, we have revised the paper and given explanations. The specific answers for each question are as follows:

      1.The authors do not always indicate the sources of information. I ask the authors to check the entire text of the manuscript for references to sources of information, starting from the first sentence of the Introduction (lines 20-24). This is especially true for sentences that provide numerical data.

Thank you ,we have labeled the source.

2. A certain drawback of this manuscript is the lack of a “Materials and Methods” section. The authors should indicate the criteria by which the analyzed publications were selected, their number, years of publication, etc. If the authors decide not to create a separate section, then these issues should be described in the Introduction.

Thanks,because our paper is the review,the measurement of energy poverty may be considered as the part of “the materials and methods”

 

3. In general, the authors make little use of modern methods of bibliographic analysis, in particular, keyword searches, etc. I recommend that authors take this remark into account in their further research.

Thank you for the advices,it’s helpful for us,we will continue to analyze the energy poverty with the modern methods in the further research.

 

4. The review carried out by the authors is not always critical enough. In all sections where the literature review is directly carried out, the shortcomings and gaps that exist in the modern literature on the chosen topic should be clearly indicated. Please check.

Thank you,consideration has been given to the shortcomings of the selected literature

 

5. Based on the gaps identified in the literature, more attention should be paid to the directions of further research on energy poverty issues. In general, the establishment of such directions is one of the most important results of any review article. The authors partially describe the directions of further research, in particular in section 8. But it would be worth expanding this description a little and more clearly linking it to the material presented in sections 2-6.

Thanks, section 8 has been extended and linked to sections 2-6.

6. The manuscript is completely devoid of tables and figures. At the same time, their presence improves the perception of the material and allows it to be systematized. For example, a table or figure could be provided with a grouping of methods and indicators for assessing energy poverty (section 3). It might also be worth supplementing subsection 4.3 “Comparison of energy poverty between China and other countries” with a table.

Thanks, the tables have been supplemented.

Round 2

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

accept

Author Response

Thank you for reviewers’ comments and affirmation.

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

In my opinion, the text of the manuscript has improved significantly. I am satisfied with the way the authors took my comments into account. At the same time, I have a few more comments, mostly of a technical nature, namely:

1. The authors should re-check the presence of all necessary references to sources of information, starting from the first paragraph of the Introduction.

2. The sentences in lines 323-324, 351 and 388 should be better formatted as the titles of subsections 3.3.1, 3.3.2 and 3.3.3.

3. In the Conclusions, it is advisable to pay more attention to the areas of further research devoted to eliminating the causes of energy poverty indicated in section 5.

Author Response

Thank you for reviewers’ further comments and suggestions.  we have revised the paper and given explanations. The specific answers for each question are as follows:

comments 1:The authors should re-check the presence of all necessary references to sources of information, starting from the first paragraph of the Introduction.

Response1:Thanks,we have checked the reference one by one

comments 2:The sentences in lines 323-324, 351 and 388 should be better formatted as the titles of subsections 3.3.1, 3.3.2 and 3.3.3.

Response 2:Thank you for the suggestions,we have revised  and changed those sentense as title 3.3.1

comments 3:In the Conclusions, it is advisable to pay more attention to the areas of further research devoted to eliminating the causes of energy poverty indicated in section 5.

Response 3:Thanks,we have rewrite the conclusions according to the section 5.

Thanks again.