Did you know that access to electricity is not recognized as a universal human right?

Electricity consumption is closely and positively related with global economic and human development across different geographical, social, and cultural contexts. As a Sustainable Development Goal (Goal 7: Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy) and as an integral part of the water-energy-food nexus, access to electricity is vital to our individual and collective security and well-being. Despite the importance, access to electricity is not explicitly recognized as a universal human right. This blog article outlines the way to make access to clean, affordable and reliable electricity a universal human right, and explores the practical implications of the action.

The first part of Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that “Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.”

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is an international declaration set by countries describing the fundamental human rights that need to be universally protected. You may not know it, but this declaration has played a key role in enabling member states to adopt new national legislation to modern day challenges such as  equal rights for different groups, such is the case with LGBTQIA+ people, persons with disabilities, indigenous people and minorities of all sorts. The far-reaching effects of this global non-binding document could be an avenue to enabling us to accelerate the United Nations’ SDG #7 goal of universal “access to modern, affordable and reliable energy for all”.

Having said this, this blog article focuses on why access to clean, affordable and reliable electricity needs to become a universal human right, what will that practically mean, and how can we make it a reality to meet human needs across the globe.

What will it practically mean?

When a human right is treated as a positive one, the onus is put on the country and its government to act, to take necessary measures to safeguard that right or, more precisely, to adopt reasonable and suitable measures to protect the rights of the individual. In cases of violation, citizens have the right to seek protection under the law, both within and outside of their countries and in front of international judicial bodies such as the European Court of Human Rights or the International Criminal Court. Citizens can also report such violations to international organizations such as Amnesty International, the Human Rights Action Center and the Human Rights Watch. Even though the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is not a binding document, it has helped member states adopt new national legislation to ensure equal rights for different groups, such is the case with LGBTQI people, persons with disabilities, indigenous people and minorities of all sorts. In other words, the government in every signatory country has an obligation to ensure that the Declaration of Human Rights is translated and embedded into its national laws.

Why does it matter?

Electricity consumption is closely and positively related with global economic and human development, across geographical, social, and cultural contexts. As a Sustainable Development Goal (Goal 7: Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy) and as an integral part of the water-energy-food nexus, electricity is vital to our individual and collective security and well-being.

If it’s so important, why isn’t it in the declaration?

It is really hard to say, but from a historical perspective, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) was adopted in 1948 as a response to the ‘barbaric acts’ perpetrated during the second world war. In that time, the large vertically integrated electricity systems (with production on one end, consumption on the other, joined by the transmission and distribution networks) were dominated by large fossil fuel companies who had no practical technological means of reaching everyone across the globe. In other words, the traditional electricity grid requires massive investments that make sense only when the techno-economics of the system is aligned with the macro contextual political, economic, and socio-demographic factors. Considering that decentralized, small-scale solar and wind technologies were not present in the mix when the traditional electricity grid expanded in that time, reaching everyone was not possible at all.

How can we make it happen?

Luckily, the advancement of renewable energy and storage technologies and their continued increased uptake may make this possible. These technologies allow for on-spot production and consumption of electricity, meaning that no expensive electricity transmission lines and large scale energy projects are needed to reach the 940 million people that currently have no access to electricity. In addition, the costs of solar and wind technologies continue to decrease, making these technologies cost-effective options across different geographical regions. When these renewable (and intermittent) technologies are coupled with the lithium-ion energy storage technologies, making access to clean, affordable and reliable electricity a universal human right becomes more feasible. This is true even if the technological solutions allow for a time-limited access due to the intermittency nature of the technologies. As with the other human rights, this one will also be translated and embedded differently in different countries, making the definition of what is clean, affordable and reliable to also be dependent on the context. For example, reliability in developing regions with little to no electricity access might be related with time-constrained access but with consistent voltage and frequency, rather than the non-constrained access that developed regions usually have.

Who should spearhead the idea?

Working towards making access to clean, affordable and reliable electricity a universal human right should begin with those who have the power and means at their disposal. In other words, upper-middle income and high-income countries developed countries should take charge and declare this aspect to be a human right within their borders, after which a regional and international pressure can be exerted to other countries, such is the case with Switzerland’s contribution to recognizing the human right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment as a separate human right. Following Estonia’s example of making access to internet a human right through the government’s massive investments in a robust national infrastructure that contains more than 1000 hotspots for wireless internet to reach the whole population, Switzerland and the European Union can spearhead this idea considering their current commitments to increase electricity production from renewable energy technologies and the financial means that they have at their disposal.

What can be expected?

The effects of this action will be huge, and this topic is even more relevant when we consider the current energy crisis that creates massive shocks across different societal layers. However, countries can alleviate the pressure that ensuring human rights inherently put on their institutions and can allow and stimulate different stakeholders to invest in renewable energy capacities, ultimately delegating part of the responsibility. This will in turn result in multi-stakeholder support of restructuring the whole electricity system towards the low carbon transition, achievable by enabling local and national energy markets inclusive of all electricity-producing stakeholders.

Moreover, making access to clean, affordable and reliable electricity a universal human right could also enable citizens to take different forms of actions and organize themselves in different energy initiatives to support the energy transition, as part of some local or national energy market. Rather than being connected to the electricity system only through the payment of their bills, the increased uptake of individual and collective renewable energy technologies would also give agency to citizens to make change and directly contribute to the energy transition, taking a centerstage of the low-carbon transformation of their societies. This would further promote the idea of empowering citizens to participate in a democratic, inclusive and sustainable energy system, which are core elements of the energy citizenship concept.