Review of Benjamin K. Sovacool and Michael H. Dworkin's Global Energy Justice: Problems, Principles, and Practices

Open Access

Abstract

Energy powers the world. Having enough energy is essential to maintaining even the most minimal quality of life. But extracting and using energy renders some places uninhabitable, and now threatens the ecological integrity of the planet. Current energy systems involve profound injustices. These injustices can arise in the ways that energy is produced – including through local and global environmental degradation, human rights abuses, corruption, and social and military conflict. Injustice can also arise in the ways that energy is or is not available – with more than a billion people having far too little for a decent existence, while hundreds of millions consume lavishly. In Global Energy Justice: Problems, Principles, and Practices, Benjamin K. Sovacool and Michael H. Dworkin undertake an ambitious project: understanding these injustices and proposing ways to address them. The two are professors at Vermont Law School and are both associated with its Institute for Energy and the Environment. Among their many other activities, Sovacool also holds an appointment at Aarhus University in Denmark, and Dworkin formerly chaired the Vermont Public Service Board. Their book is well-documented and ranges across a broad array of relevant disciplines.