Achieving energy justice: The role of supervisory and compliance mechanisms in global frameworks and the international community

Abstract

Energy justice as a concept refers to the fair distribution of the benefits and burdens of energy production and consumption among different communities and individuals. The international community is currently attempting to achieve it through various means such as international law, the Sustainable Development Goals and the potential establishment of a human right to energy. However, the authors argue that these tools have either failed or will fail in practice to achieve this objective. This is why they suggest the use of supervisory and compliance mechanisms established within global frameworks related to energy, international human rights law and Agenda 2030, to achieve energy justice. This is of absolute importance given the inability to do so in practice despite the growing literature on the topic. These supervisory and compliance mechanisms are used to monitor and enforce compliance with energy justice principles, and include independent regulatory bodies, mechanisms for public participation and oversight, and incentives for compliance. They provide flexibility for governments to consider their own financial, technical, and human capacities when tackling a highly complicated issue such as energy justice.