La pobreza energética y sus implicaciones

The document defines energy poverty as the lack of access to adequate, affordable, and sustainable energy services, highlighting its severe impacts on health, economic productivity, and the environment. It notes that 1.3 billion people lack electricity and 2.7 billion rely on biomass for cooking, with the highest concentrations in Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. The author argues that while energy consumption is a necessary condition for development, universal access could be achieved by 2030 with an annual investment of 30-35 billion USD, a sum significantly lower than current global fossil fuel subsidies.

• Energy poverty is defined as the "falta de alternativas suficientes para acceder a unos servicios energéticos adecuados, económicos, fiables, seguros y ambientalmente sostenibles que permitan ayudar el desarrollo económico y humano".
• As of 2010, approximately 1.3 billion people lacked access to electricity and 2.6 to 2.7 billion people relied on biomass for cooking, with over 95% of those without access located in Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa.
• Indoor air pollution from burning biomass in inadequate stoves causes an estimated 1.3 million deaths annually in poor countries, making it the sixth highest risk factor for death.
• Deaths caused by indoor air pollution are more numerous than those caused by malaria and tuberculosis, and are only exceeded by HIV/AIDS.
• Energy poverty creates a 'poverty trap' by limiting economic productivity; for example, in agriculture, the lack of incorporated energy (machinery and fertilizers) reduces crop productivity and global competitiveness.
• The 'resource curse' is evident in energy-exporting African nations where high oil and gas revenues coexist with extreme energy poverty; in Angola, for instance, 91% of the population depends on biomass.
• Universal access to modern energy by 2030 would require a total investment of approximately 979 billion USD, or an annual average of 30 to 35 billion USD.
• The annual investment needed for universal energy access is significantly lower than global fossil fuel subsidies, which totaled 544 billion USD in 2012.
• Energy poverty contributes to environmental degradation through overexploitation of biomass, which increases deforestation and reduces CO2 absorption capacity, exacerbating climate change.

APA

González-Eguino, M. (2014). La pobreza energética y sus implicaciones. Basque Centre for Climate Change. https://www.bc3research.org/h6T8Uy8Nm4gFs0O/20141124094747701166667.pdf

Chicago

González-Eguino, Mikel. La pobreza energética y sus implicaciones. Basque Centre for Climate Change, 2014. https://www.bc3research.org/h6T8Uy8Nm4gFs0O/20141124094747701166667.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=González-Eguino |first1=Mikel |title=La pobreza energética y sus implicaciones |publisher=Basque Centre for Climate Change |date=November 2014 |url=https://www.bc3research.org/h6T8Uy8Nm4gFs0O/20141124094747701166667.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{gonzlezeguino2014pobreza, author = {González-Eguino, Mikel}, title = {{La pobreza energética y sus implicaciones}}, institution = {Basque Centre for Climate Change}, year = {2014}, month = nov, url = {https://www.bc3research.org/h6T8Uy8Nm4gFs0O/20141124094747701166667.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }