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A new study from Moritz Wussow and colleagues assesses solar deployment equity across residential and non-residential sectors and discusses pathways for policy action to promote non-residential solar in disadvantaged communities.
Evaluating the sustainability impacts of housing policies for low- and moderate-income households is challenging. This study links observations of housing programme participation and utility consumption to quantify the benefits of locally administered housing policies in a typical community in the American Southeast.
Development ramifications of global decarbonization efforts for fossil fuel-producing low and lower–middle income countries remain underexplored. This Perspective suggests three transition pathways for navigating these ramifications.
The low-carbon transition would bring both challenges and opportunities for the labour market, which have important implications for a just transition. In the US power system, the lowest-skilled workers in fossil fuel-dependent states will face more uncertain employment and job training will be necessary.
Concrete analysis of job impacts is needed to inform efforts for a just transition. Now, a study finds that decarbonizing US electricity generation will create jobs, but with uneven distribution among states, industrial sectors and skill needs.
The shift away from mining presents substantial livelihood security challenges for mining communities, but documented mining closures offer insights into how to ensure a successful transition. Secure community transitions require support from governments in the form of proactive planning, locally led collaborative responses and targeted investments.
Compared to excise taxes and carbon taxes, setback restrictions on new oil wells have larger health benefits and worker compensation losses, but are more equitable by bringing greater benefits and lower losses to disadvantaged communities in California. For California to meet green gas emissions (GHG) targets, larger setbacks than currently proposed or additional supply-side policies are needed.
Despite increased attention, residential energy insecurity is a widespread and persistent problem in the USA. We commend ongoing investigations, urge scholars to continue to examine why some households disproportionately experience energy insecurity, and offer several lines of inquiry that may help reduce energy insecurity’s incidence and impact.