Gender, Environment Degradation, and Bioenergy Trajectories: Eco-Feminist Perspective

Bioenergy constitutes an integral part of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals and are considered as a key prerogative of climate change action. However, energy-use patterns have a distinct gender dimension. Gender and social norms restrict women from participating in renewable energy transitions and make independent decisions on energy use patterns. Women thus face distinct forms of marginalization and become victims of energy poverty in specific ways. These gender dimensions have not been systematically integrated into the mainstream discourse on renewable energy so far, which tends to treat these energy transitions as a purely technocratic imperative. This exploratory case study contributes to the emerging discourse on the gendered aspects of renewable energy pathways through field-based research in the region of Punjab, India, framed by an eco-feminist perspective. The research captures both the opportunities and contestations in creating a sustainable energy pathway for women in a developing country context. It demonstrates how women’s daily activities and social locations shape their energy choices. These findings thus reveal that “greening” of existing energy systems will not automatically make these systems fair, inclusive, and gender-equitable, issues related to energy access and gendered nature of energy poverty are systematically incorporated in renewable energy policy frameworks.