BRICS’ Race to Clean Energy Risks Creating a New Energy Divide

Source: Activist Post | Original Published At: 2026-09-05 22:02:04 UTC

Key Points

• A study published in Energies analyzed renewable-energy transition and energy poverty across ten expanded BRICS economies from 2000 to 2023 using World Bank data.
• The baseline model found that a 1% increase in energy transition was associated with a 0.63% decrease in electricity access, the study’s proxy for energy poverty.
• Robustness checks using dynamic ordinary least squares and fully modified least squares showed similar negative associations of 0.52% and 0.69%, respectively.
• The study says clean-energy expansion can reduce long-term costs only when supported by infrastructure, grid upgrades, affordability policies, and protection for poorer households.
• Urbanization and economic growth were negatively associated with electricity access in baseline results, suggesting infrastructure may lag demand, although quantile analysis showed positive effects in parts of the distribution.
• The authors recommend targeted subsidies, lifeline tariffs, smart grids, storage, decentralized renewable systems, and social protection to make BRICS energy transitions more inclusive.
• The study notes limitations because it uses electricity access as a proxy and does not fully capture affordability, reliability, energy quality, and clean cooking access.