Energy Seminar – TT25 Week 3: Remote, Rural, and Peripheral: Energy Equity and Spatial Justice in Marginalised Contexts of the Global South
Dr Rihab Khalid, Loughborough University
- Start Tuesday 13 May 2025 5:00pm
- Finish Tuesday 13 May 2025 6:15pm
- Venue School of Geography & the Environment
- Postcode OX1 3AN
- Register for event
THIS IS AN IN PERSON AND ONLINE EVENT
Summary: How does spatial marginalisation impact equitable energy access, and how can spatial justice guide inclusive and sustainable energy transitions? This seminar addresses these questions through three distinct yet interrelated case-studies from Pakistan: off-grid solar electrification for a remote village in the Thar desert in Sindh; decentralised community-driven micro-hydro power projects in rural Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and energy infrastructure heterogeneity in Lahore’s urban peripheries. Using a socio-technical and intersectional lens, the talk explores how different forms of spatial marginality, including geographic isolation, socio-economic exclusion, and gendered infrastructural disparities impact energy access and shape sustainable development outcomes. It highlights spatial justice as a powerful and critical lens for achieving equity and inclusion in energy transitions, offering lessons and insights for energy policymakers, planners, and sustainability practitioners.
Speaker: Dr Rihab Khalid is a feminist energy researcher specialising in problem-driven and human-centred approaches to sustainable energy, climate, and housing infrastructure. Her work critically explores intersections between gender equity, energy access, and spatial justice, working at the nexus of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals 5 (Gender Equality), 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy), and 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities). Dr Khalid is currently a Research Associate with the Modern Energy Cooking Services (MECS) programme at Loughborough University. She holds a PhD in Architecture from the University of Cambridge, where she also completed a three-year post-doctoral research fellowship. Additionally, she serves as a Visiting Fellow at the Global Sustainability Institute, Anglia Ruskin University, UK.