On 19 and 20 March 2014 IDS convened an e-discussion on ‘strengthening the poverty impact of renewable electricity investments’. The event sought to instigate a global dialogue on what is required to maximise the poverty impact of clean electricity investments, as well as inform ongoing IDS work on this topic.
The e-discussion was structured around three threads:
- How strong is the evidence that electrification has an impact on poor people, and does this matter in decisions to finance renewable generation capacity projects?
- How can the poverty impact of renewable generation capacity projects be maximised?
- How can poverty eradication be introduced into the Sustainable Energy for All (SE4ALL) and climate finance agendas?
This note summarises the contributions made by different participants in the e-discussion. It generalises the points most commonly raised around each thread and reflects specific points of strong consensus or contestation, but without identifying specific contributors by name. It also provides a project team reflection on how valuable the event was for our research and why.