Gender and Just Transition: Envisioning a Gender- Transformative Pathway to Energy Transition in India’s Coal States.

Abstract

Globally, the emerging discourse on gender and just transition is often focused on the potential role of women in the 21st century energy system, particularly on how to ensure that women have equal opportunities to participate as actors in the clean energy ecosystem. While this is an important objective, spatially variegated clean energy development in India1 implies these opportunities won’t be available adequately and equally to the women in coal regions. Will the shift from coal to renewable energy (RE) exacerbate women’s economic exclusion in coal regions? Alternatively, can the transition be leveraged for gender-transformative outcomes in coal regions? What would be a gender transformative pathway to energy transition in India’s coal states?