Publication - Energy Safety Nets

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Title

Energy Safety Nets

Publisher

CAFOD and ODI

Author

Andrew Scott and Sam Pickard

Published in

September 2018

Abstract

The paper is the first publication from a joint programme of work of CAFOD and ODI that aims to investigate the availability and impact of support for access to modern energy services by very poor and vulnerable people. It follows a preliminary scoping of the evidence on the potential for social assistance measures to enable access to modern energy services. It will be followed by in-depth case study research to learn lessons from experiences to date of the use of social assistance to support access to energy. This research is included in the work programme of Sustainable Energy for All’s People Centred Accelerator initiative.

The key messages are as follows:

• A broad range of measures could be described as energy safety nets, from general energy subsidies to highly targeted measures for specific social groups. However, the literature on social safety nets often excludes them.

• General energy consumer subsidies are inefficient in reducing energy poverty, but their removal could be damaging for poor people who cannot afford the full cost of modern energy services.

• Social safety nets and cash transfers may not be the answer for energy access objectives. Cash transfers may be used for other expenditure and general social safety nets require time and resources to develop.

• Targeted energy subsidies could be an alternative, though their effectiveness in reducing energy poverty is little understood. There is a need for detailed country case studies, to explore where and how targeted subsidies could reduce energy poverty.

URL

link to the document

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