The human right to energy: drawing lessons from the development of the human right to water

Abstract

This article addresses the discourse on the prospective human right to energy and assesses challenges to its full recognition, drawing on an analogy to the human right to water. Initially, we offer a bird’s eye view of the normative framework that governs the human right to energy by discussing its development. Our discussion is based on the issue of energy access, and is supported by the concepts of sustainable development and energy justice. Subsequently, we argue that the intractability of the challenges associated with the recognition of a right to energy are more apparent than real. Finally, to facilitate the recognition of the human right to energy, we suggest making the inherent link between energy services and human dignity more explicit.