Ellen Fungisai Chipango is a scholar of the communal ethic of African ubuntu – the belief that we are at our best as individuals and society if we work for the good of others, alongside others. She researches ways in which ubuntu can be applied in real life situations involving energy. In this article, she discusses her latest publication about applying an ubuntu feminist approach to rolling out renewable energy. Ubuntu feminism is the idea that everyone is obliged to care for each other’s wellbeing.

What are the limitations in the transition to renewable energy?

One limitation is that the move to green energy will not necessarily benefit women. For example, women in sub-Saharan Africa do more work at home and therefore spend more time than men working on heating the home and using energy for cooking. They walk longer distances to collect firewood, risking their safety at night when they are exposed to sexual and gender-based violence.

If renewable energy becomes available, this doesn’t mean that women will automatically be able to access enough of it or that it will be useful to them. For example, my research has previously found that in Zimbabwe, one solar panel is not enough to power electric kettles, irons and stoves. This can lead women to cooking on fires.

Another limitation is that women account for only one-third of the workforce in renewable energy jobs globally. A lack of gender equity is pronounced in technical, managerial and policy-making decisions. In South Africa’s renewable energy sector, women make up only 14% of the workforce.

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The Paris Agreement emphasises that women must be put first in the energy transition process. (The agreement is a legally binding international treaty on climate change.) But this is mainly happening through the use of smart economics – when gender equality is viewed as giving women and girls access to resources and opportunities, with the hope that these will benefit families, communities and the next generation, and boost economic growth.

Individual jobs for women in green energy are important. But smart economics and inclusion don’t dismantle the structures of power, class and imperialism that oppress women. For example, when countries in the global north switch to renewable energy, women in the global south bear the cost when they provide cheap labour in mines for critical minerals or in green technology factories.

The transition is also said to be just or fair if enough female individuals get jobs in renewable energy. But this is limited too, because older women who no longer work don’t benefit from green jobs and are therefore excluded.

How have you proposed getting around these limitations?

I propose that a framework based on ubuntu feminism could be a solution. Ubuntu is expressed as a person being a person through other persons.

Ubuntu feminism stresses that just energy use depends on putting women first through the spirit of working together towards a common goal. It says that the renewable energy rollout must recognise that energy is not just needed by individual families in their own homes, but also plays a role in making social bonds in communities stronger.

An ubuntu feminist framework for renewable energy provision should:

Encourage a deep sense of belonging: Ubuntu says caring for and being cared for is a function of all within the community. All renewable energy policies must aim to unite people.

Preserve and support social bonds: During my fieldwork, a rural resident of Zimbabwe said “being energy poor means failure to meet what is expected of me as a woman by society”. In other words, having access to energy allows people to play their role in their community. It means a woman can, for instance, prepare food to take to a community event, or to help feed a neighbour’s children.

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Address power dynamics: When the state and service providers fail to deliver energy services, this erodes the humanity of women and the service providers. The just transition will need to make sure that renewable energy providers do not fail in the same way that non-renewable energy providers have done.

Emphasise social harmony with the needy: Renewable energy must be delivered with the needy in mind, such as those who live in shack settlements, or the elderly and infirm.

Make sure that the future is one where everyone works together: Renewable energy technologies do not guarantee democracy and equality. They are neutral, and can serve any individual or administration. Ubuntu feminism, on the other hand, envisions a future that benefits everyone.

What steps would build this approach into a just transition plan?

People in society who have a lower social standing, such as the impoverished, and who are from less privileged genders, such as women, will not benefit from renewable energy unless their needs are put first. That is the first step.

The just transition also needs to include a restorative justice process between fossil fuel companies and those who were affected by pollution from those companies. Restorative justice aims to bring about reconciliation and healing for both the victim and the perpetrator. Offenders are encouraged to accept responsibility for their actions. For example, the coal industry needs to repair the harm its pollution has caused.

Read more:
Green energy for all: Zimbabwe will need a new social contract to roll out projects like solar power

The next step is to give social movements a key role in renewable energy. Social movements organise people around a collective goal. They’re generally able to monitor how the energy transition is going, and strengthen local, community and municipal control over energy.

Ubuntu feminism aims to forge a more equitable future. It should be applied to the struggle for a just energy transition because it sets out the ways that we can move away from fossil fuels and towards renewable energy in the spirit of collective wellbeing.