Research in Brief: Refugee Energy

There are now 68.5 million people forcibly displaced people across the world, of which 25.4 million are refugees. The majority of these people have very limited access to energy to light their homes, cook their food, use to travel, or power their businesses: over 80% of refugees in camps have no access to reliable electricity (Lahn & Grafham 2015) and rely on traditional biomass for cooking. With global trends in displacement increasing and many protracted crises lasting well beyond five years, UN and response agencies are increasingly recognising the importance of long-term and sustainable planning for displaced people. Energy, including sustainable and renewable energy, forms a critical part of such responses. Recent analytical research has been undertaken on access to energy in displacement settings to understand the role of renewables in emergency and protracted response. This paper presents an overview of the issues and suggests recommendations for consideration based on the findings of this research.