According to Oxfam’s 2022 research paper “Towards a Just Energy Transition: Implications for Communities in Lower- and Middle-Income Countries,” a shift from the use of fossil fuels to renewable energy which maintains the top-down status quo of current energy systems has the danger of likewise perpetuating existing inequalities, including poverty, energy insecurity, health risks, resource exploitation, and land grabbing, among others. A single-minded focus on GHG emissions reduction also runs the risk of further worsening these sectoral and intersectional injustices.
Conversely, a just energy transition will make energy more accessible, improve energy security, generate green jobs, stabilize and economize electricity prices, and decentralize energy generation—these, in addition to reducing pollution and related risks (Oxfam, 2022). In alleviating these issues, energy democratization stands to generate greater public and private support for RE, which in turn will speed up the transition, snowball the primary and co-benefits, and minimize the possibilities of reverting to fossil fuel dependence. Moreover, the inclusive and active engagement of stakeholders will lead to a more holistic understanding of the positive and negative impacts of RE PPPAs and lead to more contextualized, truly sustainable, and community-supported climate actions.