Toward a Shared Zero-Carbon Energy Future

This report by RMI analyzes the role of rural energy cooperatives as a collaborative model to accelerate the global transition to clean energy, focusing on overcoming barriers to energy access and affordability in rural areas.

• Rural energy transitions have the potential to resolve energy access and affordability issues for rural communities and small-scale farmers, while reducing health risks for 2.4 billion people who currently depend on traditional fuels for heating and cooking.
• Rural communities have historically been marginalized during energy transitions due to a combination of organizational, financial, and technical barriers, which has limited their ability to share benefits and participate in decision-making, potentially increasing economic and social disparities.
• Rural energy cooperatives facilitate a shift from centralized energy systems to decentralized, low-carbon, and participatory systems by utilizing local resources to enable community-led energy production and consumption.

APA

RMI (2024). Toward a Shared Zero-Carbon Energy Future. https://rmi.org/resources/toward-a-shared-zero-carbon-energy-future/

Chicago

RMI. Toward a Shared Zero-Carbon Energy Future. 2024. https://rmi.org/resources/toward-a-shared-zero-carbon-energy-future/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=RMI |title=Toward a Shared Zero-Carbon Energy Future |date=23 November 2024 |url=https://rmi.org/resources/toward-a-shared-zero-carbon-energy-future/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{rmi2024toward, author = {{RMI}}, title = {{Toward a Shared Zero-Carbon Energy Future}}, institution = {RMI}, year = {2024}, month = nov, url = {https://rmi.org/resources/toward-a-shared-zero-carbon-energy-future/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }