When a hospital in Uganda fell behind on paying its electricity bills, the cost became huge: hundreds of patients -- including infants -- paid with their lives. Human rights lawyer David Kabanda is pursuing legal against the company, the energy regulator and the solicitor general, arguing that the decision to cut power denied these people their right to life, which is protected under the Uganda constitution. In making the case for the right to energy, David discusses why people need to be literate about their rights -- and about energy itself.

Making a Case for the Right to Energy

Much work focusing on access to energy as a basic human right aims to establish minimum levels of energy supply or find ways to bring down consumption and costs. This podcast shifts the discussion to social dimensions of energy deprivation, with in-depth exploration of the concepts of ‘energy justice’ and the ‘capabilities approach’. In much existing human rights law, the preamble specifically mentions the goal of enabling people to have ‘a dignified life.’ This topic sparked a great deal of interest at the COST ENGAGER event entitled “Co-Creating the Right to Energy from Theory to Practice.” Listen in to hear from Dr. Katrin Grossman, Jade Munroe, Irene Pijuan-Gonzalez and Dr. Neil Simcock.

Energy Access and the Right to a Dignified Life

Visiting homes in rural Armenia to learn about how people get and use energy is like stepping back in time.  Men collect wood and dry dung; women spend most of their days 'managing' the stove -- for heating, cooking and household chores. Alyssa Bougie, Astghine Pasoyan and Norayr Ben Ohanian talk EnAct through barriers to energy access that leave particular groups vulnerable -- as well as efforts underway to introduce new technologies and overcome old myths. 
To read more, visit EnAct's COLD@HOME website:

Tackling high rates of energy poverty in rural Armenia

In rural Armenia, people are deeply conscious of the value forests bring them. But many rely on wood and dung for heating their homes and cooking -- and deforestation is advancing at an alarming rate. Can alternative energy sources and more sustainable practices save the trees while making both men and women less 'time poor'? Listen in as Alyssa Bougie and Astghine Pasoyan give EnAct insights on new possibilities and potential barriers.

Energy in Armenia: Fuel wood and deforestation

'Fuel poverty' is the phrase coined in the 1980s by Dr. Brenda Boardman to describe the situation in which people in the UK could not afford enough energy to stay warm in winter. Often, they are forced to make difficult choices like whether to 'heat or eat'. 

Thirty years on, it is estimated that 50 million households across Europe now live in fuel -- or energy - poverty. This has prompted the European Commission to fund the EU Energy Poverty Observatory, a consortium of academics, think tanks, policy makers and social organizations. 

A 30-min interview with Dr. Boardman is a great primer for anyone new to this topic. For more information, visit EnAct's website COLD@HOME: www.coldathome.today

Fixing Fuel Poverty - Dr. Brenda Boardman

Drôles De Lames

La Petite Vatel

Musique Pour Trotteuse

Roz Des Sables

Calls to have access to energy recognised as a basic human right are gaining momentum, not least through the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the European Green Deal.  
In this first podcast of a new series, EnAct speaks to Marlies Hesselman, Lecturer at the University of Groningen, about what it would take to reach that goal and hear about progress towards it.  Much to learn from listening in -- most importantly the range of existing precedents on which to build new cases! 
With financial support from the ENGAGER network, EnAct launches a series of four podcasts based on a conference entitled "Co-Creating the Right to Energy in Theory and Practice".  
A network of researchers investigating energy poverty, ENGAGER is funded by COST (European Cooperation in Science & Technology)through the European Commission. The aim of COST is enable scientists to grow their ideas by sharing them with peers.

Energy Access as a Basic Human Right

In this second podcast examining access to energy as a basic human right, we probe the work of Dr. Chian-Weoi Shyu, an associate professor at the National Chung Cheng University in Taiwan. After completing energy access field work in remote areas of China and Tibet, Chian-Weoi set himself the challenge of -- with the mindset of a policy maker -- thinking systematically about how to implement the right to energy.  Listen in as Chian-Weoi explains the five fundamental rights and three supplement rights he believes government should work towards to empower their citizens in relation to energy.

The Right to Energy: A Policy Framework

Energy underpins everything everyone does, every day. Yet 3.2 billion people on the planet, primarily in Africa and Asia, still have no access to modern energy - or are said to live in a state of 'energy poverty'.  

In other countries, people are disadvantaged by energy systems that are unreliable or energy prices being unaffordable.  

EnAct investigates why energy poverty persists in different contexts, and explores solutions being rolled out in the areas of technology, policy, business and financing.  

Energy Access and the Right to a Dignified Life

EnAct

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