Addressing energy injustice in the Global South

  • July 30, 2020
Addressing energy injustice in the Global South

Ramit Debnath is lead author on a paper on a new framework which uses artificial intelligence to highlight energy injustices in the Global South.

Our methodology aims to empower the use of public deliberations, especially with underprivileged groups, in energy and climate policymaking process.

Ramit Debnath

A new framework which uses artificial intelligence to analyse textual data on energy use and behaviour could help policymakers develop a deeper understanding of energy injustices in the Global South.

The study, Grounded reality meets machine learning: A deep-narrative analysis framework for energy policy research, was led by Gates Cambridge Scholar Ramit Debnath [2018] and is published in the journal Energy Research and Social Sciences.

It is based on the idea that, while text-based data sources like narratives and stores have become an increasingly popular means of gaining critical insights which are useful in energy and climate debates, their application in policymaking remains superficial.

Ramit led the study, which is a collaboration between researchers at the University of Cambridge and the University of Oxford.

The deep-narrative analysis framework they developed uses artificial intelligence and grounded theory to analyse narratives of injustices associated with energy access and affordability in the high-rise slum rehabilitation housing of Mumbai, India.

These slum rehabilitation housing programmes are critical for poverty alleviation strategies in the Global South. Occupants’ narratives show that substandard design of houses affects the energy use behaviour of occupants, causing a poverty penalty. It also found that this leads to increased stress due to higher energy bills, pushing people into further energy poverty. In addition, the narratives revealed that a lack of community spaces and mobility options in the high-rise buildings in Mumbai also contribute to the distributive injustice of living there.

Ramit Debnath, who is doing a PhD in Energy Policy in the Behaviour and Building Performance Group and is affiliated with the Energy Policy Research Group at the Judge Business School, said: “Our methodology provides a statistical basis for the narrative analysis that makes is reverifiable and reproducible in evidence-based policymaking. It aims to empower the use of public deliberations, especially with underprivileged groups, in energy and climate policymaking process.”

The study is co-authored by Dr Sarah Darby, Associate Professor in Environmental Change Institute at the University of Oxford, Dr Ronita Bardhan, University Lecturer in Sustainability of the Built Environment at the University of Cambridge, Gates Cambridge alumnus, Dr Kamiar Mohaddes, University Senior Lecturer in Economics & Policy at the Cambridge Judge Business School and Dr Minna Sunikka-Blank, University Senior Lecturer in Architecture at the University of Cambridge.

Latest News

The process of history-making

Olin Moctezuma-Burns [2020] is keen not to repeat the patterns of some past researchers and to give back to the communities she studies. For that reason she recently co-organised an international gathering of Imagining Futures projects on archiving indigenous and traditional knowledges in Sotuta, Yucatan. The meeting brought together people from Colombia, Peru, Kenya, Tanzania, […]

How might extreme heat contribute to human migration?

Rising temperatures due to climate change are likely influencing human migration patterns, according to a new study co-authored by Gates Cambridge Scholar Dr Kim van Daalen [2018]. The study, led by Rita Issa of University College London, is published today in the open-access journal PLOS Climate. It looks at the role of heat in human […]

Scholar scoops prestigious science innovation fellowship

Freja Ekman has been named one of the 2023 class of Hertz Fellows as the prestigious fellowship celebrates its 60th year. The 15 fellowships in applied science, engineering and mathematics are awarded by Fannie and John Hertz Foundation, a non-profit organisation for innovators in science and technology. Winners will have their graduate studies funded for […]

Scholar hosts first UN communications technology access meeting in India

Gates Cambridge Scholar Pradipta Biswas has hosted a UN meeting on improving access to communications technology – the first ever held in India. The meeting of ITU-T Study Group 9 (SG-9) on “Broadband Cable and Television/Audiovisual content transmission and integrated broadband cable networks”  was held in May at the Indian Institute of Science in Bengaluru […]