Page - 15 - in options, Volume summer 2020

One project in Ethiopia perhaps typifies some of the work highlighted in the report. In the “Light for Eve” trials, thousands of girls are being given small solar-powered lanterns. These lamps are helping to stop child marriages and are changing the way girls are seen in rural areas. Instead of being sold off as child brides to bring income, girls are chosen to receive a rechargeable solar light. The lamp is used for light so girls can study at home at night, and they sell excess power to those who want to recharge their phones for extra income. This helps them become breadwinners, keeps them in school, and breaks the cycle of child-bride-births and poverty. The study also revealed that energy policies that do not explicitly target women often result in inequitable access to energy services between men and women, and that the involvement of women as entrepreneurs and employees in energy-system supply chains — particularly in non-traditional roles — is a win-win situation. Unfortunately, it is not all success stories on the march to women’s empowerment. As satirist H.L. Mencken once said: “For every complex problem, there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong.” Efforts to address the multiple dimensions of sustainable development are challenging, as is illustrated by the well-publicized venture to replace the dirty-fuel burning cooking stoves of India with Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG). Recent research by the IIASA Energy Program looked at the adoption of LPG gas for cooking by rural communities in India. The researchers found that despite the success of the LPG program, which reached a large number of low-income Indian households, many did not use LPG on a continuous basis, but continued to rely on biomass fuels as the predominant fuel for cooking, using LPG sparingly or only for specific purposes such as making tea and snacks. In addition, the capital cost subsidies through India’s Ujjwala (Bright and Lustrous) cooking gas program, which is a policy specifically directed at women, helped promote rapid adoption of LPG gas, but not regular use. The authors concluded that unless women are empowered to make decisions about the fuels and stoves they use, just providing the stoves for free or through loans to women, does not ensure they will continue to use them. Women may be key agents in supporting low- emissions development, but perhaps the above studies more importantly show that if women are properly equipped with skills and knowledge they can make an equal contribution in the sustainable development of the world. Further information: Marois G, Bélanger A, & Lutz W (2020). Population Aging, Migration, and Productivity in Europe. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) : e201918988. [pure.iiasa.ac.at/16389] Lutz W, Amran G, Belanger A, Conte A, Gailey N, Ghio D, Grapsa E, Jensen K, et al. (2019). Demographic Scenarios for the EU: Migration, population and education. Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg. [pure.iiasa.ac.at/15942] Marois G, Sabourin P, & Bélanger A (2019). How reducing differentials in education and labor force participation could lessen workforce decline in the EU-28. Demographic Research 41: 125-160. [pure.iiasa.ac.at/15987] Clancy J, Barnett A, Cecelski E, Pachauri S, Dutta S, Oparaocha S, & Kooijman A (2019). Gender in the transition to sustainable energy for all: From evidence to inclusive policies. ENERGIA the International Network on Gender and Sustainable Energy. [pure.iiasa.ac.at/15886] Kar A, Pachauri S, Bailis R, & Zerriffi H (2019). Capital cost subsidies through India’s Ujjwala cooking gas programme promote rapid adoption of liquefied petroleum gas but not regular use. Nature Energy. [pure.iiasa.ac.at/16270] Wolfgang Lutz: lutz@iiasa.ac.at Guillaume Marois: marois@iiasa.ac.at Shonali Pachauri: pachauri@iiasa.ac.at 15Optionswww.iiasa.ac.at Summer 2020