Energy ageism: The framework of the problem and the challenges of a just energy transition

• Published in: Environmental innovation and societal transitions Vol. 43; pp. 237 - 243
• Main Authors: Żuk, Piotr, Żuk, Paweł
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 01.06.2022
• Subjects: Energy ageism; Energy poverty; Energy transition; Just transition; Older people; Technological exclusion; Energy ageism; Technological exclusion; Energy transition; Older people; Energy poverty; Just transition
• ISSN: 2210-4224; 2210-4232
• DOI: 10.1016/j.eist.2022.04.006

•Energy ageism directly correlates with various types of exclusion.•The process of energy transition can't take place without providing older people with access to energy and new technologies.•Without solving the problem of energy ageism, a just transition will not be complete.•The category of energy ageism opens the way to an intersectoral approach to energy transition. The article emphasises the importance of the problem of discrimination against older people in the context of energy transition. The authors propose an intersectoral perspective that creates bridges between the research sphere, including energy research and ageing studies, and practices in public health, energy policy, social policy and the challenges of climate change. The concept that connects all these threads is ‘energy ageism,’ understood as all socially conditioned mechanisms related to energy policy that disable and discriminate against older people, reducing their quality of life through limited access (economically, technologically, spatially, informationally and culturally) to different energy sources, new energy technologies and the benefits of full access to energy circulation.