New open access article published on ‘The dynamics of urban household energy poverty and energy transition in Mozambique’

Congratulations to team members Carlos Shenga, Joshua Kirshner, Lorraine Howe and their colleague Matthew Cotton on the publication of a new article in People, Place and Policy. The article stems from the POLARIZE project funded by UK Aid/FCDO through the Energy and Economic Growth Applied Research Programme.

Mozambique has ambitious targets to meet achieve universal energy access by 2030 and meet the SDG Goal 7 to ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all. By the end of 2024 the government expects to double domestic electricity access to 64 per cent of the population. Yet the quantitative evaluation of electricity access rates belies challenges of energy service affordability, household budgeting, and fuel and technology availability and choice. With growing concern over issues of energy poverty and energy justice for vulnerable low-income communities, the study provides an in-depth qualitative evaluation of the lived experience of energy access and energy poverty in urban Mozambique, through household interviews in the four biggest cities in the country.

The authors conclude that the alleviation of energy poverty is dependent on greater policy emphasis on small-scale renewable energy investments and increased uptake and implementation in urban localities.

[Image credit: Cooking Dinner by World Bank Photo Collection]