Measuring the unmeasured: development of a conceptual and analytical framework for assessing systemic energy injustice
Date
2022
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Publisher
University of Delaware
Abstract
This dissertation proposes a new assessment framework that can characterize and analyze energy injustice on a systemic level. Different forms of injustice found in modern energy systems share a common root cause: a strong preference for efficiency over equity. To examine and address this underlying premise of modern energy systems, we need a new perspective from which we can assess the structural and ideological drivers of ‘systemic energy injustice.’ Based on this new system-scale conception of energy justice, I introduce an area-based assessment framework that utilizes two analytical strategies: statistical and energy justice indicator analyses. Both strategies employ geographically grouped energy and socioeconomic data for investigating the spatial dimension of systemic energy injustice. ☐ I analyzed South Korea’s nuclear power landscape to demonstrate the utility of the new assessment framework. The results show that socioeconomically vulnerable regions are burdened by the most risk of harm created by Korea’s nuclear power. On the other hand, the most affluent areas are free of risk and benefit the most from falsely characterized ‘cheap and safe’ nuclear energy that often threatens the safety and well-being of other regions in the country. This systemic condition of energy injustice observed in Korea’s nuclear power network is not a random incident—it is a result of political and economic decisions that have prioritized efficiency over equity in national energy development. Finally, I review three energy-society transformation experiments designed to address the root cause of systemic energy injustice and conclude by suggesting ideas for future research on just energy transitions.
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Keywords
Assessment framework, Energy justice, Energy transition, Nuclear power, South Korea, Systemic energy