Power and Inequality: Renewable Energy Systems Through a Justice Lens

¹ School of Liberal Arts & Humanities, Woxsen University, Hyderabad - 502345, Telangana, India.
² School of Liberal Arts & Humanities, Woxsen University, Hyderabad - 502345, Telangana, India.

^* Corresponding author: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Published online: 19 June 2026

Abstract

The transition to renewable energy is commonly regarded as necessity to address climate change, but its social consequences are uneven and controversial. It is based on current paper which critically analyzes renewable energy systems under energy justice criteria, which center on distributive, procedural, recognition aspects. Based on interdisciplinary literature, study reveals that transitions to renewable energy usually reproduce existing inequalities, especially those that affect disadvantaged communities, Indigenous people, Global South regions. It raises such issues as disproportionate distribution of benefits, lack of participation in decisions, injustices in extracting resources, cultural displacement. Meanwhile, it recognizes ways to more fairly transition, such as community ownership, participatory governance, labour justice models. The analysis contends that energy justice should be central to policy and practice and not auxiliary issue. Just transition involves structural change in governance, inclusive institutions, valuing diverse knowledge systems to achieve equitable and sustainable energy futures.