Reconfiguring Energy for Social Equity (ReSET) is devoted to understanding how the global transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy might strengthen justice achievements. ReSET is an international collaboration with academic partners in Germany, India, the Netherlands, and South Africa. We are committed to fostering transdisciplinary research insights generated from diverse case studies about whether, and how, the uptake of renewable energy infrastructures might lead to more inclusive, equal, and just societies.
The global transition from fossil to renewable energy infrastructures, and growing social inequities, are two of the most significant contemporary challenges in most countries
RECONFIGURING ENERGY FOR SOCIAL EQUITY
An unjust transition?
It is often thought that renewable energy developments level the playing field of social and political power and encourage justice achievements. However, recent research suggests that the opposite effect is also a possibility, meaning that the deployment of renewable energy infrastructure might have negative impacts on justice achievements. Given the enormous investments expected in renewable energy infrastructures in the coming decade, and considering that justice and equity are not guaranteed in energy transitions, we explore how renewable energy and justice might be realigned by actors operating in these systems, under unique circumstances.