Debates on the future of energy justice: Re-grounding the triumvirate

Abstract

Energy justice is now a well-established pillar of the energy and social science field, primarily framed as the triumvirate of tenets of distributional, recognition and procedural justice. Triumvirate+ approaches also incorporate restorative and cosmopolitan justice. Most recently, the ‘five principles of energy justice’ was proposed to standardise the field. Prompted by the ‘five principles’ proposal alongside exchanges within critical energy justice scholarship, this perspective is framed by the debate between universalising or plural approaches to energy justice. It considers the triumvirate of tenets in relation to restorative justice, cosmopolitan justice and the triumvirate's broader pluralising potential. Particular attention is awarded to cosmopolitan justice and its anthropocentric tendency. Instead, this perspective proposes a re-grounding of energy justice in its environmental justice conceptual roots while maintaining the three tenets of distribution, procedure and recognition justice as a potential way forward. A re-grounded triumvirate of tenets, enriched by a decade of diverse scholarship and which departs from universalising approaches can continue to add important value across energy transition contexts, while preserving pluralising potential.