Seminar speaker: Tobias Albrecht, PhD Student at the School of Economics, Barcelona University

Title: Women’s political empowerment and renewable electricity capacity. Evidence from a dynamic panel of developed and developing countries.

Abstract: Renewable energy expansion is crucial to curb greenhouse gas emissions and to mitigate the effects of climate change. Hence, the identification and quantification of the effect of enabling and distorting factors on investment in renewable electricity capacity has aroused academic and social interest. Drawing on evidence on gender gaps in values, attitudes and behaviors towards the environment, this study explores the role of greater political empowerment of women in encouraging investment in renewable electricity. It does so using a broad concept of empowerment that, in addition to women’s participation in political bodies, includes civil and societal dimensions. The estimation of a dynamic panel data model for a large set of developed and developing countries, in the period between 2000 and 2018, points to a large positive effect of women’s political empowerment on renewable electricity capacity. Interestingly, the results confirm that the civil and social dimensions are relatively more important than the direct female political participation. The evidence also suggests that the effect of women’s political empowerment is moderated by human development, since a certain level of development must have been achieved for the effect to occur. The study highlights the critical role of women as agents of change in the renewable energy transition and the need to integrating gender perspectives into energy policies, aligning with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.