Zaman Rafia, van Vliet Oscar, Posch Alfred
University of Graz, Institute of Systems Sciences, Innovation and Sustainability Research, Merangasse 18, AT-8010 Graz, Austria.
ETH Zürich, Department of Environmental Systems Science, Climate Policy group, Universitätsstrase 22, CH-8092 Zürich, Switzerland.
Energy Res Soc Sci. 2021 Jan;71:101805. doi: 10.1016/j.erss.2020.101805. Epub 2020 Oct 22.
Lack of energy access undermines the socio-economic conditions of households, reducing their resilience, particularly in the face of disruptive effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Hundreds of millions of poor rural households, who live in remote and difficult-to-reach areas, are still without access to energy. Solar energy safety nets, in the form of targeted social assistance programs and off-grid technological solutions, do not only advance energy access but also develop capacities of households to prepare for, respond to, and recover from specific threats like pandemics. We discuss ongoing solar energy safety net programs in the largest off-grid solar markets of Bangladesh, India, Kenya, and Nigeria, and how such programs are affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. We find that solar energy safety net programs should be maintained and updated to emphasize their potential for building pandemic-resilient livelihoods. These programs can be supported with efforts to build local value chains and economies based on clean electricity. Well-designed solar energy safety net policies generate multiple co-benefits, including the resilience of households to pandemics.
能源获取的匮乏破坏了家庭的社会经济状况，削弱了他们的复原力，尤其是在面对新冠疫情的破坏性影响时。数亿生活在偏远且难以到达地区的贫困农村家庭仍然无法获取能源。以有针对性的社会援助计划和离网技术解决方案形式存在的太阳能安全网，不仅能促进能源获取，还能提升家庭应对诸如疫情等特定威胁、为其做准备以及从中恢复的能力。我们讨论了孟加拉国、印度、肯尼亚和尼日利亚最大的离网太阳能市场中正在实施的太阳能安全网计划，以及这些计划如何受到新冠疫情的影响。我们发现，太阳能安全网计划应予以维持和更新，以强调其在构建抗疫情生计方面的潜力。这些计划可以通过基于清洁电力构建地方价值链和经济的努力来得到支持。精心设计的太阳能安全网政策能产生多重协同效益，包括增强家庭对疫情的抵御能力。
