A transition is under way in Malawi, rolling out electrical power infrastructure in a country where wood remains the key source of fuel for many.
This presents an opportunity and a challenge: how to deliver universal access to electricity, without worsening social and environmental harms.
It may also present the chance to rethink how energy research and policy are shaped, by seeking to better understand the links between energy access, ecosystem functioning and human health.
Addressing injustice
A team from the Universities of Edinburgh, St Andrews and Malawi, and Erasmus University Rotterdam, examined the problem by drawing on the Energy Justice Framework, which advocates for including society’s most vulnerable in energy-related policymaking, and seeks to better understand where injustices occur and how to remedy these.
This approach to evaluate energy transitions could help optimise the impact of the shift, which aims to enable 30 per cent electricity access by 2030.
Researchers interviewed individuals and communities involved in the use, planning, and generation of energy in the country. Participants included stakeholders from government and non-government organisations, as well as the private sector.
The researchers aimed to understand how reliance on wood for fuel was impacting the livelihoods of Malawians and the natural environment.
Energy systems and health
Lack of access to reliable electricity in the country has affected the health of the population.
For example, lack of reliable grid electricity forces some hospitals to rely on self-generated electricity from solar panels. Some interviews described cases where these were poorly installed, so that electricity was lacking when it was needed.
This problem is not unique to Malawi – an estimated 1 billion people globally are served by health facilities without electricity.
Interviewees also described the benefits of reliable access to electricity including local income generation and attracting talented workers, such as doctors.
Impact on women
Women acutely feel the health effects of lack of access to clean fuels for cooking, as primary caregivers. According to the World Bank, 2.4 billion people lack access to clean cooking fuels and technologies, and 3.2 million people die each year from household air pollution.
In addition, women are often tasked with collecting firewood for cooking, and face personal risks in doing so. These include concerns over the perceived risks of assault when collecting wood from protected forests.
In addition, interviews also described how in some parts of the country, women increasingly spent hours collecting wood owing to the extent of deforestation.
Impact on biodiversity
Energy systems impact not only human health, but also ecosystems.
Hydroelectric power is a core source of electricity feeding into both the national grid and select mini grids.
However, the impacts of climate change in Malawi are already evident, and periods of both drought and flooding impact on hydroelectricity supply.
When rainfall is scarce, the capacity of hydroelectric facilities is reduced, further widening the gap between supply and demand.
Deforestation has led to increased soil erosion in places, which decreases the capacity of hydroelectricity generation.
Climate change, and other land-use changes, are impacting the ability to offer cheap and reliable power.
This is a vicious cycle involving energy insecurity and environmental degradation.
To better understand these problems, researchers argue for the need to consider human and ecosystem health in energy planning, supported by significant funding and international cooperation.
Ecologists have expressed concern about the decline of some fish populations, and periods of flooding and droughts in the Shire River, the largest in Malawi, because of hydroelectricity generation.
“There can be unintended consequences of renewable energy solutions, which aim to fix one problem and may inadvertently cause another.”
Rebecca Grant, former postgraduate researcher at the University of Edinburgh’s School of GeoSciences
Energy justice and renewables
The approach proposed by the researchers provides a lens to view the connections and tensions linked to different forms of energy generation and consumption in Malawi, and the connection between human and ecosystem health. Deforestation, including for energy use, is impacting on electricity generation, human health, and ecosystem functionality.
These adverse impacts intensify a cyclical loop, in which unreliable and unaffordable electricity access further entrenches the use of materials such as wood. The researchers argue for the need to consider how energy is used, where multiple forms of energy are used in the same spaces and for different reasons.
Energy on the global stage
The transition to renewable electricity is core to international aims for reducing emissions. Energy use is highlighted in the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals as a crucial factor for growth and an area that should urgently transition towards renewable sources.
The COP28 meeting in Dubai concluded with a landmark agreement to phase out fossil fuel use, and the previous COP meetings advocated support for the transition of coal-dependent economies.
Although these developments are positive, the complicated negotiations and post-decision reactions of these agreements reveal how complex and competing the transition is and how inequalities remain embedded within energy systems.
New evaluative approaches such as that proposed here provide a perspective through which to view these interconnected issues, and a step towards novel solutions that centre a sustainable future as well as healthy populations, without worsening inequalities.
The study was supported by the United Kingdom Research and Innovation Global Challenges Research Fund.
Related links
Image credits: Electrical power lines – Adesparrow / Getty; Woman carrying firewood – Wilpunt / Getty; View from river in Mulanje – Rebecca Grant; Bundle of charcoal fuel – Ashley Cooper / Getty.
