Climbing without the energy ladder: Limitations of rural energy development for forest conservation

Motivated by the evolution of rural electrification as more than just a project to drive modern development but to further effect environmental conservation, this paper offers an examination of the energy transition framework that guides such conclusions. Here, I present a study on household energy use in a village where fuelwood and electricity are easily available and accessible to households. Such conditions allow an examination of the energy ladder where fuel use is not influenced by resource limitations. Based on qualitative and quantitative data collected at the household level, study findings reveal a pattern of fuel accumulation in which the use of electricity and modern technologies are utilized alongside continued fuelwood consumption. Despite increases in household electricity use, the study shows little evidence of electricity displacing fuelwood use; thus, challenging the inevitability of modernization and its potential to work for environmental conservation.