Energy justice: understanding the 'Ethical Turn' in energy law and policy

The explosion of interest in energy justice as a guiding principle for energy law and policy is a highly significant development with potentially radical implications. This ‘ethical turn’ is associated with increased attention to energy matters by social scientists, driven by disillusionment with neo-liberal energy policies and the challenges of the energy transition. Energy justice scholars seek a more holistic, human-centred approach to energy decision-making, which understands the fundamental importance of energy and energy systems to human flourishing, and the complexity of energy decision-making as a socially-embedded phenomenon involving more than merely technical and economic considerations. However, review of the literature reveals a range of different conceptual and theoretical understandings of energy justice in play, which are not always fully developed or mutually consistent. More attention is also required to questions of implementation, particularly what implications energy justice might have for legal and regulatory systems, as well as judicial decision-making.