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Gender, Environment Degradation, and Bioenergy Trajectories: Eco-Feminist Perspective

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SDGs in the Asia and Pacific Region

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Abstract

Bioenergy constitutes an integral part of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals and are considered as a key prerogative of climate change action. However, energy-use patterns have a distinct gender dimension. Gender and social norms restrict women from participating in renewable energy transitions and make independent decisions on energy use patterns. Women thus face distinct forms of marginalization and become victims of energy poverty in specific ways. These gender dimensions have not been systematically integrated into the mainstream discourse on renewable energy so far, which tends to treat these energy transitions as a purely technocratic imperative.

This exploratory case study contributes to the emerging discourse on the gendered aspects of renewable energy pathways through field-based research in the region of Punjab, India, framed by an eco-feminist perspective. The research captures both the opportunities and contestations in creating a sustainable energy pathway for women in a developing country context. It demonstrates how women’s daily activities and social locations shape their energy choices. These findings thus reveal that “greening” of existing energy systems will not automatically make these systems fair, inclusive, and gender-equitable, issues related to energy access and gendered nature of energy poverty are systematically incorporated in renewable energy policy frameworks.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Newcastle Business School, Northumbria University, Newcastle, UK

    Nadia Singh

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  1. Nadia Singh
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Correspondence to Nadia Singh .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. European School of Sustainability, Hamburg University of Applied Sciences, Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany

    Walter Leal Filho

  2. Sustainability Studies, Level 5, Univ Sains Malaysia, Centre for Global, Minden, Malaysia

    Theam Foo Ng

  3. RMIT University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

    Usha Iyer-Raniga

  4. Waterloo Institute for Sustainable Energy [WISE], University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada

    Artie Ng

  5. Environmental Studies, Hiroshima University, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan

    Ayyoob Sharifi

Section Editor information

  1. No affiliation provided

    Ashima Mathur

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Singh, N. (2023). Gender, Environment Degradation, and Bioenergy Trajectories: Eco-Feminist Perspective. In: Leal Filho, W., Ng, T.F., Iyer-Raniga, U., Ng, A., Sharifi, A. (eds) SDGs in the Asia and Pacific Region . Implementing the UN Sustainable Development Goals – Regional Perspectives. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-91262-8_1-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-91262-8_1-1

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-91262-8

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