Dear Colleagues,

Developmental trajectory might provide policy directions at the crossroads, which leads to a trade-off between social and economic objectives. To ensure a balance between the economic development and initiation of reassessment of dominant developmental policies, the United Nations introduced the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015. Succeeding the United Nations general assembly meeting in 2015, countries came to a consensus to accomplish the objectives of SDGs by 2030, with a view to establish sustainable development, i.e., economic, environmental, and social balances, and thereby uphold the spirit of intergenerational equity.

The role of energy efficiency started becoming more prominent due to this, not only as an instrument to warrant energy security, but also an instrument to influence social inclusion. While innovation-driven energy efficiency is showing an upward trend, rural electrification is turning out to be a reality. Better living standards and rising per capita income are expected to increase energy demand in the near future, as people are becoming more likely to use cleaner energy as they move up the social ladder. Therefore, the social instruments might be a predominant driver of energy demand in future, which might be catalyzed by energy efficiency.

Nevertheless, there is another side of this coin, where the persisting trend of energy innovation might cause severe social problems, e.g., unemployment. Similar to the capital-labor substitution principle, an increase in energy efficiency might replace human labor. In the Industrialization 4.0 regime, this situation is not far from becoming reality; therefore, persisting policy myopia might submerge the developmental gains in energy efficiency relating to this social issue.

This Special Issue will focus on analyzing the social determinants of energy demand, and how energy efficiency can be visualized as a social enabler. In doing so, the role of energy efficiency will be analyzed against different measures of social sustainability and this Special Issue will suggest various policy frameworks for attaining the SDG objectives.

We welcome original research articles, short communications, industrial and country/region case studies, and review articles that cover the following topics:

1. Social trade-off and energy efficiency;
2. Case studies on the social impact assessment of energy efficiency;
3. Impact of social inequality on energy efficiency (with special focus on SDGs);
4. Energy efficiency, unserved energy, and crime rates;
5. Moderating role of political institutions in shaping the impact of social aspects on energy efficiency;
6. Desirability of energy efficiency in an emerging economy;
7. Role of energy efficiency in stimulating energy demand (with special focus on SDGs);
8. Technological innovation, Energy efficiency, and future of energy demand;
9. Energy efficiency and energy poverty—what is the way forward?;
10. Energy efficiency and social balance—moderating role of HDI.

Dr. Avik Sinha
Dr. Rajesh Sharma
Dr. Tuhin Sengupta
Guest Editors

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• energy efficiency
• energy demand
• energy poverty
• energy innovation
• social balance
• SDGs