Clean Energy Transitions: A Care Economy Lens

20 April 2026

How can clean energy transitions reshape not only how energy is produced and consumed, but also how care work is organised and distributed within households?

This is becoming a central question as the global shift to clean energy transforms everyday life, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Clean energy interventions can reduce the time and physical burden of unpaid care and domestic work, which falls disproportionately on women and girls. By cutting reliance on biomass, reducing cooking time, and enabling work after dark, these technologies can address energy poverty while shifting how time and labour are organised in the home.

But this shift is not automatic. Without deliberate attention to the care economy, clean energy transitions risk overlooking or reinforcing existing inequalities. Efficiency gains alone may ease workloads without changing who does the work.

This Research for Policy and Practice report, developed under the Clean Energy for Development: A Call to Action initiative, draws on three research projects that examine clean energy through a care lens. Using evidence from West Africa and multi-country studies in Vietnam, Burkina Faso, Uganda and Kenya, it explores how energy access affects women’s time, reduces drudgery, and opens up possibilities for a more equal distribution of labour. It shows that the success of clean energy transitions depends on how well care is built into them.

Authored by Rumbidzayi Makoni, Jessica Meeker, Jorge Davalos, Jane Mariara, Maria-Ancilla Bombande, Barbara Baidoo, Leonard Hasu, Vanessa Awanyo, Michele Diop, Luciano Barin-Cruz, Ibrahima Dally Diouf, Syrine Gabsi, Modou Wade.