Jul 04, 2021 15:00:00

'Households suffering from extreme poverty' consume more than twice as much energy as wealthy households

It is generally believed that the more wealthy people live, the more energy they consume, and it has been pointed out that

'wealth is a major factor in climate change.' However, Marta Baltruszewicz, who studies the energy footprint at the Department of Global Environmental Sciences at the University of Leeds, said, 'People in developing countries at extreme poverty levels have more energy than wealthy people living in the same country. 'We are consuming,' he reported, arguing that it is important to eliminate inequality in order to reduce the environmental burden.

Household final energy footprints in Nepal, Vietnam and Zambia: composition, inequality and links to well-being --IOPscience
https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/abd588

Reducing poverty can actually lower energy demand, finds research
https://theconversation.com/reducing-poverty-can-actually-lower-energy-demand-finds-research-159600

'In the end, the general strategy for ending extreme poverty relies on the belief that'we need to grow the economic pie',' Baltruszewicz said. In other words, it is believed that society as a whole can save poor households by producing more goods and services and creating a booming economy in which consumers can consume them. However, in reality, there is inequality between those who can and cannot benefit from the boom, and there are many cases where people in extreme poverty cannot benefit.

Baltruszewicz also said that the problem of 'poverty' is not necessarily 'the amount of money that can be used per day is less than a certain amount', but 'the inability to access products and services related to hygiene, education and health'. Claims. Around the world, 1.2 billion people do not have access to sanitary water, and 3 billion people do not have access to clean fuel for cooking and cook indoors with fuel that emits pollutants. It seems that it is. “Indeed, income is an important predictor of the multiple deficiencies faced by the poor, but it is not the only predictor,” says Baltruszewicz.

Therefore, Baltruszewicz's research team conducted a household survey in developing countries such as Nepal, Vietnam, and Zambia. We conducted a study to analyze the relationship between income-independent measurement of poverty and energy expenditure.

The research team conducted a survey on access to 'safe water, diet, health, education, and clean fuel' to measure the living conditions of each household. In addition, the

International Energy Agency (IEA) data, international trade data from multiple regions, and detailed questionnaires covering diverse spending and living conditions were conducted to calculate the energy footprint for each household. This energy footprint included electricity used directly at home, firewood for cooking, gasoline used to drive vehicles, and energy for goods and services consumed at home.

Analysis of this data shows that households with access to clean fuel, safe water, basic education and adequate food consume only half of the national average in Nepal, Vietnam and Zambia. It turned out. 'This result is important because it goes straight to the argument that'people need more resources and energy to escape extreme poverty',' said Baltruszewicz.

The biggest reason for the higher energy consumption of extremely poor households is that fuels such as electricity and gas are more efficient and less polluted than traditional cooking fuels such as firewood and charcoal. That's right. 'In Zambia, Nepal and Vietnam, modern energy resources are very unfairly distributed,' Baltruszewicz points out, cooking with inefficient fuels and boiling before drinking unsanitary water. It is said that poor households consume more energy due to such actions.

Baltruszewicz points out that households that do not have access to electricity or basic sanitation cannot meet the basic needs of life, even if they can afford it. 'Ironically, it's easier for many households to get a cell phone than to get clean cooking fuel. Therefore, using household income to measure the ongoing situation is poverty. It brings an inadequate understanding of and its deprivation. '

Based on the results of this study, in order to reduce the energy consumption of people in extreme poverty in developing countries, it is necessary to provide services such as electricity, indoor sanitation facilities, and public transportation to alleviate inequality due to poverty. Baltruszewicz argued that it was important.