The global Covid-19 pandemic has rapidly overwhelmed our societies, shocked the global economy and overburdened struggling health care systems and other social institutions around the world. While such impacts of Covid-19 are becoming clearer, the implications of the disease for energy and climate policy are more prosaic. This Special Section seeks to offer more clarity on the emerging connections between Covid-19 and energy supply and demand, energy governance, future low-carbon transitions, social justice, and even the practice of research methodology. It features articles that ask, and answer: What are the known and anticipated impacts of Covid-19 on energy demand and climate change? How has the disease shaped institutional responses and varying energy policy frameworks, especially in Africa? How will the disease impact ongoing social practices, innovations and sustainability transitions, including not only renewable energy but also mobility? How might the disease, and social responses to it, exacerbate underlying patterns of energy poverty, energy vulnerability, and energy injustice? Lastly, what challenges and insights does the pandemic offer for the practice of research, and for future research methodology? We find that without careful guidance and consideration, the brave new age wrought by Covid-19 could very well collapse in on itself with bloated stimulus packages that counter sustainability goals, misaligned incentives that exacerbate climate change, the entrenchment of unsustainable practices, and acute and troubling consequences for vulnerable groups.

Contextualizing the Covid-19 pandemic for a carbon-constrained world: Insights for sustainability transitions, energy justice, and research methodology

Mapping synergies and trade-offs between energy and the sustainable development goals: A case study of off-grid solar energy in Rwanda

A novel Sustainable Development Goal 7 composite index as the paradigm for energy sustainability assessment: A case study from Europe

Linking the UN SDGs and Environmental Assessment: Towards a Conceptual Framework

Energy projects in pursuit of Sustainable Development Goal 7, which addresses affordable and clean energy, can have numerous synergies and trade-offs with all other SDGs and their targets. However, the identification of such interlinkages is both complicated and scattered in literature. To overcome this gap, this research presents the development and application of the Sustainable Development Goals Impact Assessment Framework for Energy Projects (SDGs-IAE) for qualitative assessment of SDG target synergies and trade-offs within the context of a given energy project. Two diverse case studies ‒ the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) and the Hinkley Point C Nuclear Power Station (HPC) ‒ are utilized to test the framework. Each case study highlights important SDG target interactions drawn out by this process. The GERD analysis shows the many synergies that result from energy access expansion while also bringing up trade-offs related to transboundary water rights and community relocation. In the case of the HPC, long-term ecosystem impacts of uranium mining and trade-offs related to future climate resilience and energy affordability are identified. The final resulting framework and corresponding excel-based tool can inform a dialog among stakeholders about the key areas of improvement related to the project´s social, environmental and economic sustainability.

Jennifer Castor

Papers

SDGs in action: A novel framework for assessing energy projects against the sustainable development goals