Human right to energy in the context of the energy transition: toward a redistributive, accessible, and autonomous conceptual framework

Abstract

This article examines how the right to energy should be conceptualized in the context of the climate crisis and the energy transition, to ensure a just transition. Using a legal-dogmatic and comparative methodology, it analyzes states’ climate obligations, the foundations of the right to energy, and European and Inter-American case law on climate and energy litigation. It argues that the right to energy should be recognized as an autonomous social right, with minimum content centered on distributive justice—universal access and energy autonomy—as well as procedural and restorative justice, guiding the transition toward parameters of social, territorial, and ecological justice.