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POVERTY, ENERGY & GENDER

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Seminar speaker: Ms Alix Clark

Ms Alix Clark is an independent energy researcher and consultant based in Pretoria, South Africa. Clients presently include Eskom, the International Energy Initiative, DANCED and the World Resource Institute. Ms Clark’s current research interests include power sector reforms (particularly those in Africa), provision of public benefits in new electricity contexts, demand side management and energy efficiency and energy policy formulation. Prior to working independently, Ms Clark was based at the Energy and Development Research Centre at the University of Cape Town. She was Programme Leader for the Markets and Governance team. When first at EDRC, Ms Clark was based in the Energy Efficiency and Environment team. Ms Clark holds a Masters degree in Economics (UCT) and is soon to receive a Masters from the School of Community and Regional Planning from the University of British Columbia.

Ms Alix Clark Independent Energy Researcher and Consultant Associate of the Energy and Development Research Centre, UCT Associate of the International Energy Initiative PO Box 1242 Faerie Glen, 0043 South Africa Email: alix@worldonline.co.za

PRESENTATION: Regional Policies pertaining to Gender, Energy and Poverty Alleviation This paper will present an overview of how countries in the Southern Africa region are seeking to address energy poverty, and in particular, trying to improve – through energy related means – the circumstances of poor rural and urban women. The overview will also give some indication of level of success/failure in this area. It will illustrate this through specific relevant examples, and it will draw lessons from these experiences for the region. The speaker will argue that while high-level governmental policies pertaining to the improvement of women’s circumstances in the energy sector are critical, grass root initiatives in this area are also significant, and in many ways, more powerful. Again, this point will be argued through presentation of regional (and international) experiences of relevance. The presenter will use the example of power sector reforms – which indeed are presently extremely relevant to most southern African countries – to illustrate how important ‘appropriately designed’ policies at governmental level are if the plight of poor people – mainly women – is to be improved. Barriers inhibiting appropriate policies in this area will be presented, and challenges that lie ahead – to achieve both efficiency and access improvements – will be suggested. [view paper]