TIME to Change: Rethinking Humanitarian Energy Access

Achieving Sustainable Development Goal 7 - universal access to affordable, reliable and modern energy services by 2030 – represents a considerable challenge. Currently, 40% of the global population do not have access to sustainable energy sources, and instead rely on burning biomass to satisfy their energy needs. Despite a long history of energy technology for poverty-alleviation initiatives across the globe, many interventions fail at persuading end-users to continue using these technologies beyond an initial adoption phase. Whilst many champion sustainable energy solutions, most evaluation approaches do not consider long term sustained use. As a result, many end-user-orientated energy solutions, such as Improved Cookstoves (ICS), fall out of use once project partners depart. These failures are often due to emphasis on ever-more-complex technologies rather than social methodologies such as understanding end-user priorities and the complex contextual barriers to sustained use.